KHARTOUM: Sudanese protesters voiced regret Thursday at an army decision to suspend crucial talks on installing civilian rule but vowed to press on with a sit-in despite being targeted in fresh violence.Army generals and protest leaders had been expected to come to an agreement on Wednesday over the make-up of a new body to govern…
GENEVA: At least 10 civilians were killed and 30 wounded in Syria by a rocket strike on the Neirab camp for Palestinian refugees close to the city of Aleppo on Tuesday night, the United Nations said in a statement on Thursday."As families gathered to break their fasts for the Ramadan Iftar meal, several rockets hit the…
CAIRO: Egypt's army on Thursday said 47 militants and five of its troops were killed as part of its military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting Daesh.The suspected militants had "guns of different makes, ammunition, explosive devices in northern and central Sinai" in their possession, according to a slickly produced video…
GAZA CITY: Palestinians protested Wednesday for the annual commemoration of what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.Thousands gathered at various locations along the volatile border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, while crowds also demonstrated in the…
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s cabinet delayed until Friday its last session on the 2019 draft budget, a minister said, pushing back a critical meeting to finalize plans for cutting the deficit.Lebanon has one of the heaviest public debt burdens in the world, and long-stalled reforms are seen as more pressing than ever after years of low economic…
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday opened a suspension bridge over the Nile touted as the world’s widest, one of a series of military-led, mega-projects designed to improve infrastructure and provide jobs.The bridge, which crosses the Nile just north of central Cairo, is a key link in a highway stretching from the Red…
DUBAI: Four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged by what Gulf officials described as sabotage, though satellite images obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed no major visible damage to the vessels.Details of the alleged sabotage to two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati oil tanker on Sunday remained unclear, and Gulf…
DUBAI: Four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged by what Gulf officials described as sabotage, though satellite images obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed no major visible damage to the vessels.Details of the alleged sabotage to two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati oil tanker on Sunday remained unclear, and Gulf…
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Syrian regime of “seeking to sabotage” Ankara’s relationship with Russia through its latest offensive in the northwest of the war-torn country.Clashes in Idlib province in northwestern Syria have killed at least 42 fighters in 24 hours, a monitor said Monday, and the regime bombardment on the region…
KHARTOUM: The spokesman for Sudan's military council said on Monday that the structure of transitional bodies had been agreed with opposition groups and their make-up would be addressed in further talks a day later."We discussed the structure of the transitional authority and agreed on it completely, and we also agreed on the system of governance…
KHARTOUM: The spokesman for Sudan's military council said on Monday that the structure of transitional bodies had been agreed with opposition groups and their make-up would be addressed in further talks a day later."We discussed the structure of the transitional authority and agreed on it completely, and we also agreed on the system of governance…
ANKARA: Turkey’s military launched a major naval exercise on Monday at a time of rising tensions over its plans to explore for gas off the coast of Cyprus.The exercises, featuring 131 vessels, 57 planes and 33 helicopters, began early on Monday, a Turkish defense ministry official confirmed to AFP.They are due to last until May…
FUJAIRAH: The UAE emirate of Fujairah has denied media reports that claimed a series of explosions had rocked its port on Sunday, WAM News Agency reported. Claims from a number of news outlets, which were then shared on social media, said there had been explosions on Sunday morning and that fires had broken out on…
Iranian commander threatens to hit America ‘in the head’ if it makes military move LONDON: A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened Sunday to hit America “in the head” if it made a military move, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported. Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard's aerospace division, also said that America’s military presence in the Gulf used to…
Four commercial vessels targeted by ‘sabotage’ near UAE waters: Foreign ministry DUBAI: Four commercial vessels were targeted by "acts of sabotage" near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday morning, the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement amid rising tensions between neighboring Iran and the US. The statement added the vessels, that were targeted near…
BEIRUT: UN-linked aid groups have suspended activities in parts of violence-plagued northwest Syria, where stepped up bombardment by the regime and Russia is jeopardizing the safety of humanitarian workers.“As of 8 May, at least 16 humanitarian partners have suspended their operations in areas impacted by conflict,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,…
BEIRUT: UN-linked aid groups have suspended activities in parts of violence-plagued northwest Syria, where stepped up bombardment by the regime and Russia is jeopardizing the safety of humanitarian workers.“As of 8 May, at least 16 humanitarian partners have suspended their operations in areas impacted by conflict,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,…
Houthis start withdrawal from Hodeidah port, Yemeni minister dismisses pullout as a ‘show’ HODEIDAH: Houthi militia on Saturday started withdrawing forces from Saleef port in Hodeidah under a UN-sponsored deal stalled for months, a Reuters witness said, reviving hopes for peace efforts to end the four-year war. But a minister in the Yemeni government backed…
BEIRUT: After eight months of relative calm, Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib is once again a theater for bloody military operations: heavy bombardment, airstrikes and waves of civilian displacement as Syrian government troops, backed by Russia, push their way into the rebel-held enclave in a widening offensive.The violence of the past week threatens to completely…
JERUSALEM: Around 180,000 Muslims prayed at east Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound Friday, the first in the holy month of Ramadan, a body responsible for the site said.The figure from the Waqf organization is 50 percent higher than last year, when around 120,000 people attended the first Friday prayers. Azzam Al-Khatib, director general of Waqf, said…
