WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Friday renewed five of seven sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European nations to conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran, even as the US steps up the pressure on Tehran, a senior US official said.The waivers, which were due to expire Saturday, are being extended for between 45 days and…
GAZA: Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip Friday, authorities in the territory said, after Israel said two of its soldiers were wounded in a shooting on the border.One of the Palestinians was shot dead along the frontier while the two others were killed in an air strike, the health ministry in…
TAJOURA, Libya: It’s a day of rest from fighting on the front line in Libya and Abdelaziz and his comrades down their weapons only to pick up their phones and resume combat. “(Khalifa) Haftar’s guys are coming to get us,” shouts Abdelaziz, referring to the military commander who launched a bid to capture Tripoli last…
TAJOURA, Libya: It’s a day of rest from fighting on the front line in Libya and Abdelaziz and his comrades down their weapons only to pick up their phones and resume combat. “(Khalifa) Haftar’s guys are coming to get us,” shouts Abdelaziz, referring to the military commander who launched a bid to capture Tripoli last…
RIYADH: The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) of the Arab coalition on Thursday rejected allegations over airstrikes and rights violations in Yemen.It investigated three claims that were reported in the media and rights groups about the coalition’s operational conduct in the conflict.Saudi Arabia leads a coalition of nations to support the internationally recognized government in…
RAMALLAH: Israel and the US are putting the financial squeeze on the Palestinian Authority (PA), where opposition to a long-awaited US peace plan and anger over Israeli sanctions remain strong. Analysts see steep cuts in US aid to the Palestinians over the past year as an attempt to draw them toward a blueprint that Washington promises…
RAMALLAH: Israel and the US are putting the financial squeeze on the Palestinian Authority (PA), where opposition to a long-awaited US peace plan and anger over Israeli sanctions remain strong. Analysts see steep cuts in US aid to the Palestinians over the past year as an attempt to draw them toward a blueprint that Washington promises…
AL-MASHAHADA, IRAQ: After plentiful winter rains, Iraq is heading into summer with overflowing reservoirs and lush marshes. But don’t be fooled, observers warn: Its water woes and related protests are not over. Far from last year’s shortages, “the land between the two rivers” is expected to hold 42 billion cubic meters in its reservoirs at the…
HBEIT: Shelling of areas in northwestern Syria in the past three days has damaged a medical center and put two hospitals out of service, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The UN is deeply disturbed by three separate reported attacks on hospitals and health facilities in northwestern Syria, depriving thousands of people of their basic right…
HBEIT: Shelling of areas in northwestern Syria in the past three days has damaged a medical center and put two hospitals out of service, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The UN is deeply disturbed by three separate reported attacks on hospitals and health facilities in northwestern Syria, depriving thousands of people of their basic right…
RABAT: Two dozen suspects are set to go on trial in Morocco Thursday for offenses linked to the gruesome murder of two young Scandinavian hikers late last year that shocked the North African country. Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland had their throats slit before they were beheaded in December at…
KHARTOUM: Sudan’s military rulers and an opposition alliance met on Monday to discuss the powers of a joint military-civilian council to steer the country’s transition after three decades of rule by Omar Al-Bashir, sources said. The two sides had been due to talk about the makeup of the proposed body, but military officers who toppled…
DUBAI: Iran is facing a double financial meltdown, with soaring inflation and an economy expected to shrink by 6 percent in 2019, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. In addition, the IMF’s projection was calculated before US President Donald Trump this month told buyers of Iranian oil to halt purchases by May or face…
TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya: An armed group attacked Libya’s largest oilfield but was repelled after clashes with its protection force on Monday, while fighting escalated in eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar’s effort to capture the capital, Tripoli. The state oil company NOC said unknown gunmen fired a rocket propelled grenade at a control station of El Sharara oil…
AMMAN: It was only when his children began to starve that Abdullah Al-Amour decided time had come to leave the sanctuary of Rukban camp with his family to face an uncertain fate back under Syria’s Bashar Assad. The cattle trader from Palmyra fled to Rukban on the Syrian border with Jordan and Iraq more than…
AMMAN: It was only when his children began to starve that Abdullah Al-Amour decided time had come to leave the sanctuary of Rukban camp with his family to face an uncertain fate back under Syria’s Bashar Assad. The cattle trader from Palmyra fled to Rukban on the Syrian border with Jordan and Iraq more than…
ALGIERS: A former Algerian police chief once considered a pillar of the regime of ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been summoned for questioning about allegations of corruption, state media said on Sunday. Since Bouteflika resigned in early April after weeks of mass protests against his rule, several regime officials and businessmen who were close to…
ALGIERS: Abassi Madani, founder of Algeria’s banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), was buried in the capital Algiers on Saturday days after his death in Qatar where he lived in exile, a security source said.Madani had called for armed struggle in 1992 after Algeria’s military scrapped the country’s first multi-party parliamentary election which the FIS had…
KHARTOUM: The organizers of the protests that drove Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir from power said they met Saturday with the ruling military council for talks on forming a transitional government.The protesters had agreed on Wednesday to resume talks with the military after a temporary break. The announcement to set up a joint committee to tackle…
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday to confront opponents inside his own party weeks after he suffered shock election defeats in the capital Ankara and commercial hub Istanbul.Erdogan and his supporters have up to now blamed the losses on electoral fraud by unspecified groups and launched a string of legal challenges against the…
