Cairo, Egypt (AFP): Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was “near” death behind bars, his family told AFP after their first visit since he ended a seven-month long hunger strike. “When we saw him today, he was exhausted, weak and vulnerable,” the activist’s aunt novelist Ahdaf Soueif said. “He...
DAKAR (AA) – France halted development assistance to Mali on Thursday, citing the presence of Wagner mercenaries, according to French media reports and Foreign Ministry officials. Humanitarian aid to Mali and support for select non-governmental groups will be maintained, said the reports. Media reports said the decision was made two to t...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Islamophobia in the US and Europe has triggered hatred against Muslims in other parts of the world, including the Asia Pacific region, according to a leading academic. “It is legitimate today to talk about the globalization of Islamophobia,” John Louis Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic...
UNITED NATIONS (AA) – The UN on Thursday painted a bleak picture of the conditions in Afghanistan, warning that what was an already desperate humanitarian situation across the country will only get worse for millions of people as winter approaches. ”More than 28 million people – two-thirds of the entire population – will need human...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Seventeen suspects linked to Sunday’s terrorist attack on Istiklal Avenue in central Istanbul were arrested by a court order early Friday. They include Syrian national Ahlam al-Bashir — the PKK fighter who confessed to planting the bomb. The suspects’ statements had been taken earlier by the 3rd and 4th Istanb...
WASHINGTON (AA) – Coalition forces stationed at northeast Syria’s Green Village base came under rocket attack, but no casualties were reported, US Central Command said Thursday. Neither the base nor coalition property was damaged in the attack, according to the command. “Attacks of this kind place coalition forces and the civ...
PARIS, TEHRAN (AA/AFP) – Six more security personnel were killed by armed assailants across Iran on Thursday amid sweeping protests triggered by the death of a young woman in September. Col. Hassan Yousefi was traveling with another police officer in the northwestern city of Sanandaj when they were attacked with knives and stones, accord...
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has said that there is an “uninterrupted exchange of messages” between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear deal, contrary to public statements made by US officials. Speaking on the sidelines of a government meeting in Tehran, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian termed recent statements by Rob...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US has sanctioned three senior officials and two “interrogator” journalists who work with Iran’s state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). According to the US, the IRIB has been “a critical tool in the Iranian government’s mass suppression and censorship campaign ag...
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – A court in Tehran has sentenced three more protesters to death in connection with months-long protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, taking the total number of death penalties to five. One of the protesters was sentenced for “attacking police officers”, in which a policeman was killed and [&he...
