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Russia has begun carrying out air strikes in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow has confirmed. The strikes reportedly hit the rebel-controlled area of Hama province. Washington was informed an hour before that they were about to take place. Russian defence officials say the strikes targeted the Islamic State group, but an unnamed US official said that so far they did not appear to be targeting IS-held territory. Syria’s civil war has raged for four years, with an array of armed groups fighting to overthrow the government. The US and its allies have insisted that President Assad should…

A 50-year-old man in northern India has been killed in a mob lynching allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. Mohammad Akhlaq was kicked and beaten with stones by a group of men in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday night. Mr Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack, and has been admitted to a hospital. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident. Police are probing who spread the rumour. Slaughter of cows is a sensitive issue in India as the animal is considered sacred by…

The Global Youth Leaders’ Conference made its most recent stop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with an edition tagged ‘the Opportunity of Leadership’, which was targeted at young leaders in the Middle East and Asia Region. Delegates were in attendance from Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The GYLF Coordinator for the UAE, Graced Peters, welcomed the delegates and prepared their hearts for the message from the host Pastor of Christ Embassy UAE, Pastor Joseph Akinwolemiwa. Pastor Joseph charged the youths to use their imagination; he cited the life of David as…

The European Union and China have signed an agreement pledging to work together to develop the concept, technology and schedule for the rolling out of 5G internet. The deal’s timeline suggests the foundations for 5G technology could be in place by the end of this year, with the high speed internet available on commercial phone contracts by 2020. 5G internet, standing for Fifth Generation, will mark a huge jump in the speed and availability of data, but as it has not yet been officially defined it is hard to say how much faster it will be than existing 4G networks.…

The “supermoon” eclipse has delivered an eerie spectacle not seen for 33 years – turning a blood red colour before being covered by the Earth’s shadow. It appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual because the moon was at its nearest to Earth – a mere 226,000 miles away. The last time a supermoon coincided with an eclipse was 1982. The next is not until 2033. The red colour is caused by sunlight being scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere as our planet moves directly between the sun and the moon. Luckily, clear skies in many parts of the UK…

The same amount of rain falls on Taiwan’s mountains in a day as falls on London in a year as people shelter from 140mph winds. Thousands of people have been evacuated from islands off the coast of Taiwan and China as a super typhoon bears down on both countries. Winds gusting up to 141mph (227km/h) have been measured close to the centre of Super Typhoon Dujuan, which was due to make landfall in Taiwan on Monday morning UK time. Around 3,000 people were extracted from Taiwan’s Green Island and Orchid Island on Sunday as the storm approached. Several thousand more are…

German police say a woman who disappeared in 1984, sparking a murder hunt, has been found alive and well and living in Duesseldorf. Petra Pazsitka, then 24, was declared dead five years after she went missing from her student accommodation. A man convicted of murdering a teenager who went missing nearby confessed to killing the young woman too. However police investigating a robbery came across a tenant, a 55-year-old woman, who had no ID. She told the officers that she had been living under a false identity and gave them her real name. Ms Pazsitka’s disappearance was the subject of…

Royal Dutch Shell has stopped Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska after “disappointing” results from a key well in the Chukchi Sea. In a surprise announcement, the company said it would end exploration off Alaska “for the foreseeable future”. Shell said it did not find sufficient amounts of oil and gas in the Burger J well to warrant further exploration. The company has spent about $7bn (£4.5bn) on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. “Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of…

The Syrian conflict is to be at the centre of intense diplomatic activity in New York, where world leaders are attending the UN general assembly. Russian President Vladimir Putin is to hold rare talks with US President Barack Obama to outline his proposals. Moscow has suggested there are plans to form an international contact group on Syria that will include Russia, the US, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Russians are a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Western leaders have recently softened their stance towards him – conceding that he might be able to stay on during…

Volkswagen set to announce new boss. On the agenda will be choosing a replacement for chief executive Martin Winterkorn, who resigned on Wednesday. Reports have said that the front-runner for the top job is Porsche chief executive Matthias Mueller. VW is also expected to dismiss executives tainted by the scandal over the rigging of emissions tests by software in its diesel cars in the US. Some investors have suggested that appointing a new chief executive only two days after the old one resigned might be rushing things. Sasja Beslick from Nordea, which is one of Volkswagen’s biggest investors said: “I…