ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed US threats to cancel the sale of high-tech F-35 jets to Turkey, saying his country will move ahead with the purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense missiles.In an interview with Kanal 24 television late Wednesday, Erdogan also said Turkey could consider purchasing the more advanced Russian S-500…
NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria: US-backed Syrian forces prepared for another outpouring of civilians and suspected militants Thursday from the remnants of the Daesh group’s “caliphate,” which is teetering on the brink of total collapse.A fierce assault on the besieged enclave in eastern Syria has sparked an exodus of dust-covered children, veiled women dragging suitcases and disheveled,…
BAGHDAD: An official with a mainly Shiite militia organization in Iraq says Daesh militants attacked a bus carrying the group’s forces in northern Iraq, killing six militiamen and wounding 31 fighters.The official from the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces told The Associated Press that the Wednesday night ambush took place near the town of Makhmour, south…
BENGHAZI, Libya: Libya’s parallel government in the east has sold bonds worth more than $23 billion to fund its wage bill, bypassing the central bank in Tripoli and creating a potential financial black hole if the country reunifies, bankers and diplomats said.The eastern government’s finance ministry has been selling the debt to a parallel central…
DUBAI: More than 30 Houthi militants, including a commander, were killed by Arab coalition raids aimed at militia reinforcements coming from Imran to the Hajar Front in the province of Hajjah in north-west Yemen. Coalition forces continued to supply Hajar tribes with food, medical, and logistical supplies, particularly in the besieged Qashar district of the…
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed US threats to cancel the sale of high-tech F-35 jets to Turkey, saying his country will move ahead with the purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense missiles.In an interview with Kanal 24 television late Wednesday, Erdogan also said Turkey could consider purchasing the more advanced Russian S-500…
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Parliament elected members to serve on the country’s new Supreme Council (SC) on Wednesday, which will be responsible for trying ministers and presidents accused of crimes ranging from corruption to treason. The SC will consist of seven members elected by the Chamber of Deputies, and eight of the country’s most senior judges. The…
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Parliament elected members to serve on the country’s new Supreme Council (SC) on Wednesday, which will be responsible for trying ministers and presidents accused of crimes ranging from corruption to treason. The SC will consist of seven members elected by the Chamber of Deputies, and eight of the country’s most senior judges. The…
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Parliament elected members to serve on the country’s new Supreme Council (SC) on Wednesday, which will be responsible for trying ministers and presidents accused of crimes ranging from corruption to treason. The SC will consist of seven members elected by the Chamber of Deputies, and eight of the country’s most senior judges. The…
BAGHOUZ: Veiled women carrying babies and wounded men on crutches hobbled out of Baghouz on Wednesday after US-backed forces pummeled the last militant village in eastern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leading the assault expected more militants to surrender with their families in tow before moving deeper in the Daesh’s last redoubt. Bandaged and bedraggled,…
IDLIB: In Syria’s militant-controlled Idlib province, Mudar Darwish and fellow medical students clutched banners and chanted against the closure of their university. “Our future is being wasted because of unfair decisions against our university,” Darwish told the crowd gathered in the northwestern region. “We won’t allow it,” said the 28-year-old with a short beard, who has…
ANKARA: Tensions between the US and Turkey will continue in the near future, with the latest developments “ringing the alarm bell,” experts warn. Since October 2018, when a Turkish court permitted Pastor Andrew Brunson to return to the US after a two-year sentence, relations have still not reached their optimal level. Despite high-level talks over recent…
ANKARA: Tensions between the US and Turkey will continue in the near future, with the latest developments “ringing the alarm bell,” experts warn. Since October 2018, when a Turkish court permitted Pastor Andrew Brunson to return to the US after a two-year sentence, relations have still not reached their optimal level. Despite high-level talks over recent…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran who defended protesters against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarves for women has been convicted and faces years in prison, an activist group said Wednesday.The conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who previously served three years in prison for her work, underlines the limits of challenging Iran’s…
IRBIL, Iraq: Iraq and the Kurdish regional government have charged hundreds of children with terrorism for alleged affiliation with the Daesh group, often using torture to coerce confessions, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.In a report, the New York-based group estimated that Iraqi and Kurdish authorities were holding approximately 1,500 children for alleged Daesh affiliation in…
IRBIL, Iraq: Iraq and the Kurdish regional government have charged hundreds of children with terrorism for alleged affiliation with the Daesh group, often using torture to coerce confessions, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.In a report, the New York-based group estimated that Iraqi and Kurdish authorities were holding approximately 1,500 children for alleged Daesh affiliation in…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran who defended protesters against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarves for women has been convicted and faces years in prison, an activist group said Wednesday.The conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who previously served three years in prison for her work, underlines the limits of challenging Iran’s…
DUBAI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Wednesday of plotting to use economic pressure to overthrow the Islamic republic’s clerical establishment, and ruled out the possibility of talks with Washington. “Iran is in economic and psychological war with America and its allies. Their aim is to change the regime but their wish…
DUBAI: Russia aims to strengthen relations with Gulf countries, the country’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Kuwait on Wednesday. “Russia and Saudi Arabia seek to fight terrorism in Syria,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with Kuwaiti FM Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, adding that, “Saudi Arabia sees need in creating a constitutional committee in…
WASHINGTON: The US has sanctioned Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, a radical militia group of about 10,0000 fighters, as well as its leader Akram Kaabi, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday. Active in Iraq and Syria, Nujaba, which is known by various names including the “The Movement of the Noble Ones,” is also loyal to Iran. Reuters…
