TUNIS: Tunisia’s prime minister said exiled former autocrat Zine el Abidine Ben Ali would be allowed to return home if he was critically ill as reported by his lawyer.“I will give my green light for his return. It’s a humanitarian case. If he’s ill as rumored, he can return to his country like any other…
BEIRUT: The return of Israeli agent Amer Elias Fakhouri to Lebanon has sparked off heated debate about the Lebanese who fled to Israel during and after the Israeli occupation of the south of the country.The depth of feeling aroused was demonstrated in the social media exchanges and the protests that have been taking place.Fakhouri, 56,…
WASHINGTON: The US is to continue its economic pressure on Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea said on Friday. Speaking at the Atlantic Council, Billingslea added that the drug trade in South America was financing the terrorist organization, and that other sources of funding included money laundering.…
ANKARA: Turkish officials say Kurdish rebels have detonated an improvised explosive device on a road in southeast Turkey, killing four people and wounding 13 others.The local governor’s office said the explosion Thursday on a road near the town of Kulp hit a vehicle carrying villagers who were returning home after gathering wood. The private DHA…
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution renewing its mission in Libya for another year and pledging to support struggling efforts to build a ceasefire in the war-torn country.Libya has been mired in chaos since an uprising toppled and killed dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, when the United Nations mission…
GENEVA: Washington’s top envoy for Syria rejected Thursday an allegation put forward in a UN report that some US-led air strikes in the conflict-torn country could possibly be categorized as indiscriminate attacks, amounting to “war crimes.”James Jeffrey, the US special representative on Syria, dismissed findings published in a UN report on Wednesday suggesting that the…
PARIS: The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO announced Wednesday that a landmark reconstruction of Iraq’s Al-Nouri mosque in Mosul, which was blown up by the Daesh group in 2017, will start at the beginning of next year.The timeline of the restoration plan of the 12th-century monument, famed for its leaning minaret, was hammered out during…
DUBAI: Abu Dhabi police foiled a recent attempt to smuggle 18 workers, including women, in the bed of a lorry across the Khatam Al-Shakla border in Al Ain, according to a statement released by the force on Tuesday. The people, who were found in a cramped, hollowed-out section of the truck floor, were attempting to…
CAIRO: An Egyptian court has sentenced 11 Muslim Brotherhood leaders to life in prison on charges of espionage with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.Among those sentenced by the Cairo criminal court was the Brotherhood's head, Mohammed Badie. This is the latest of several sentences against Badie, who received a life sentence last week on charges…
WASHINGTON: The United States said it was imposing sanctions on a "wide range of terrorists and their supporters," including the Palestinian group Hamas and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, on Tuesday, on the eve of the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.The sanctions targeted 15 leaders, individuals and entities affiliated with groups including Hamas,…
BAGHDAD: The US-led coalition says American warplanes have dropped 36,000 kilograms (40 tons) of bombs on an Island in the Tigris River “infested” with members of the Daesh group.The coalition said F15 and F35 warplanes took part in the bombing on Qanus Island in the central province of Salaheddine, north of the capital Baghdad.Tuesday’s attack…
PARIS: Rwanda agreed Tuesday to take in 500 refugees and asylum-seekers trapped in Libya under an agreement signed with the United Nations and African Union.The deal comes after repeated allegations of dire conditions for migrants in Libya’s detention centers, including beatings and other abuses, rape and a lack of both medical care and food. Many…
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Tehran had been developing nuclear weapons at a secret site in Abadeh in Iran.It was the first time that Netanyahu had identified the site, which, he said, was discovered in a trove of Iranian documents Israel previously obtained and released publicly last year. "In this site,…
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had been developing nuclear weapons at a secret site near the city of Abadeh, but that Tehran destroyed the facility after learning it had been exposed. It was the first time Netanyahu had identified the site, which, he said, was discovered in a trove of…
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed on Monday in his eleventh hour bid to legislate that cameras be installed in polling stations to prevent what his supporters claim is voting fraud in Arab districts.After a stormy session, a parliamentary committee voted it down before it reached the plenum with Netanyahu’s backers deadlocked with his…
JEDDAH: First, the international ratings agency Fitch downgraded Lebanon’s credit rating. Next, tensions on the border with Israel soared as Hezbollah let loose a barrage of anti-tank missiles. Finally, Lebanon’s political leaders declared “an economic state of emergency,” raising questions about the country’s ability to service its debts. Sounds familiar? That’s because the more things…
Charity boat rescues 50 African migrants in sea off Libya /node/1551581/middle-east Updated 4 min 52 sec ago September 08, 2019 17:45 Charity boat rescues 50 African migrants in sea off Libya Updated 4 min 52 sec ago AP September 08, 2019 17:45 ABOARD THE OCEAN VIKING: Humanitarian groups SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders rescued…
KHARTOUM: Sudan’s first cabinet since the ouster of president Omar Al-Bashir was sworn in Sunday as the African country transitions to a civilian rule following nationwide protests that overthrew the autocrat.The 18-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, which includes four women, took oath at the presidential palace in Khartoum, an AFP correspondent reported.It…
TEHRAN: Iran seized a boat and arrested 12 Filipinos as it busted a “fuel-smuggling ring” in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. “A foreign tugboat was confiscated as well as 283,900 liters (75,000 gallons) of petrol worth 233.71 billion rials ($20.2 million),” ISNA said, citing the coast guard chief…
TEHRAN: Iran seized a boat and arrested 12 Filipinos as it busted a “fuel-smuggling ring” in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. “A foreign tugboat was confiscated as well as 283,900 liters (75,000 gallons) of petrol worth 233.71 billion rials ($20.2 million),” ISNA said, citing the coast guard chief…
