WASHINGTON – Nearly three in four US counties saw population declines in 2021 as the nation grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Census Bureau data. The figures depict a dramatic increase in declines from the two previous years. Over 73% of counties recorded more deaths than births — what is referred to as a […]
MOSCOW – Some 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 16,000 wounded since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed. The Russian armed forces gained air dominance and blocked the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mykolaiv, as well as Kherson and most of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Sergey Ru...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US confirmed on Friday that it has canceled talks with the Taliban over the hardline groups’ decision to cancel secondary education for Afghan girls. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters that the Taliban’s decision is a “potential turning point in our engagement” with Afghanistan’s de facto rulers. Th...
RIYADH – The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has said that an Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah was attacked by Houthis. A coalition statement said that Saudi Aramco’s Bulk Plant in Jeddah was targeted with an “act of aggression” by Iran-backed Houthi militia. The statement added that following the attack, a fire erupted in...
KARACHI, Pakistan – A crucial session of Pakistan’s lower house, the National Assembly, summoned to table a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan has been adjourned until next week. Speaker Asad Qaisar adjourned the session until March 28 after making prayers for some deceased former members of the House. Opposition par...
TRIPOLI, Libya – Some 1,300 mercenaries of the Russian private contractor Wagner Group have been moved from Libya to Ukraine to fight alongside Russian forces, according to a Libyan security analyst. “There were 2,200 Wagner militants in Libya. Russia has withdrawn 1,300 and left just 900 here,” Adel Abdel-Kafi, a military and security expert ...
BRUSSELS – The EU and US have announced a new deal to supply extra liquefied natural gas for the EU to curb the bloc’s dependence on Russian imports. “The United States together with international partners are going to work to ensure an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Europe this […]
ANKARA – The foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have endorsed the appointment of a special envoy for Africa. Meeting on March 22-23 in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers passed a resolution endorsing the bloc’s appointing Nassirou Bako Arifari as special envoy, the 57-nation Musli...
ANKARA – Turkish forces “neutralized” two YPG/PKK fighters in Syria and Iraq, the National Defense Ministry announced. One fighter was ‘neutralized’ during an attempt to infiltrate the Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, while the other was targeted in the Operation Pence-Yildirim area in northern Iraq, the ministry ...
Over 400 Russian elites, including members of the government and defense companies, face sanctions from the U.S., the European Union and G7 countries. So far, 600 Russian targets have been sanctioned by the U.S. due to Moscow’s war on Ukraine, according to a White House statement. These economic sanctions on Russia are unprecedented. In no [&...
