MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Somalia will elect its next president on May 15, the presidential election committee announced on Thursday, with two former presidents among more than a dozen candidates expected to contest for the coveted position. The Federal Parliament of Somalia’s 15-member committee responsible for organizing the elec...
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AA) – At least one person died and more than 5,000 needed treatment for breathing problems after a powerful sandstorm swept through Iraq. Authorities urged people to stay indoors, particularly those with asthma and other chronic diseases. The storm originated in the Iraqi Western Desert on Wednesday night, the meteorological dep...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Casualties are feared as two roadside blasts targeted an Ethiopian military convoy in Somalia’s southwestern Gedo region on Thursday, a security official said. The attack took place between the towns of Luq and Shatalow, the official said, adding that investigation has been initiated. Witnesses told Anadol...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Many Palestinians were injured when Israeli police fired rubber bullets at them, while guarding hundreds of Israeli settlers that invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday. Israeli police also detained 51 Muslims, including an Algerian-origin French woman. On the occasion of Israel’s fou...
BRUSSELS (AA) – Over €6 billion ($6.3 billion) was pledged on Thursday for Ukraine at the International Donors’ Conference hosted by the Polish and Swedish governments in Warsaw. “At this conference, we were able to gather more than €6 billion. This money will be distributed to support Ukraine and all those who support Ukraine,” Polish [&helli...
WASHINGTON (AA) – Well over half of all Americans want the Supreme Court to support federal abortion rights protections, according to a poll released on Wednesday. The Morning Consult and Politico survey found 57% of Americans hope the top court supports abortion rights, compared to 28% who hope the court opposes them. Just 15% said [&he...
GENEVA (AA) – COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to decline worldwide, but South African scientists that identified the omicron strain have reported two more sub-variants, the World Health Organization chief said Wednesday. Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a press webinar that COVID-19 infections and fatalities are continuing to decline global...
BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Commission has proposed sanctions against the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, over his support for Russia’s war on Ukraine, according to media reports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a draft of the sixth round of sanctions against Russia to European Union lawma...
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Israeli settlers raised the national flag atop the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron ahead of Israel’s “Independence Day”, local media reported Wednesday. Nedal al-Jaabari, the head of Hebron’s Waqf, or Islamic endowment, which is in charge of administering the mosque, condemned the act “as ...
WASHINGTON (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the State Department announced in the latest episode of a senior Biden administration official contracting the coronavirus. Blinken, who “is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus,” is experiencing “mild symptoms,&#...
