NUKUS, Uzbekistan (AA) – Uzbekistan has announced that the situation in the protest-hit autonomous region of Karakalpakstan has been brought under control. In a statement issued in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, Hamidjan Dadabayev, the deputy commander of the Uzbekistan National Guard, said the situation in the region is “complete...
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A young Palestinian was shot dead Wednesday by Israel in the occupied West Bank, according to local media. Rafek Riyad Ghannam, 20, was killed by Israeli forces during a military raid in the town of Jaba, south of Jenin, the official Palestine TV reported. Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces raided a number […]
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Torrential monsoon rains and flash floods killed at least 29 people and injured several others in southwestern and northern Pakistan over the past 24 hours, officials and local media said on Wednesday. Southwestern Balochistan province and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region were the worst hit where massive downpours and ...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Bin Yaakob arrived Wednesday in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on a four-day trip to Türkiye. It is Sabri’s first visit to Türkiye as chief executive of the Southeast Asian nation. “This visit underscores the great importance Malaysia attaches to its relations and partnership with Türki...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – A bomb blast, targeting a vehicle carrying security personnel, killed a senior Somali security official near the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday. The bomb blast took place in the town of Afgooye, in the southwestern province of Lower Shabelle. Afgooye is a strategic agricultural town located 30 kilometers (18 mil...
Khartoum, Sudan – (AFP) Sudan’s main civilian bloc has rejected a proposal by the country’s coup leader to make way for a civilian government as a “giant ruse” and urged more protests. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose power grab last October derailed a transition to civilian rule, had vowed in a surprise m...
Mecca, Saudi Arabia – (AFP) White-robed worshippers from around the world have packed the streets of Islam’s holiest city ahead of the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began. Banners welcoming the faithful, including the first international visitors since 2019, adorned squares and alleys, while armed security ...
Mecca, Saudi Arabia – (AFP) “Business is back,” exclaims Abdullah Mekhlafi at the shop where he sells prayer mats in Islam’s holiest city, which is preparing for the biggest influx of hajj pilgrims since the coronavirus pandemic began. Two years of drastic restrictions on the number of pilgrims who could perform the haj...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has threatened to use a “variety of tools” amid tension with Lebanon over a maritime gas field between the two countries. Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar visited the disputed Karish field on Tuesday, days after the Israeli army shot down three unarmed drones fired by Lebanese group Hezbollah over the region. [&h...
PARIS/ANKARA (AA) – France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Israeli interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday for discussions about the Iran nuclear deal, Lebanese group Hezbollah, as well as the current tensions over Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon. It is Lapid’s first trip to France after he took over as pre...
