DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Amid stalled efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to Myanmar, many people from the persecuted ethnic minority are seeking a way out and playing into the hands of human smugglers. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees take perilous journeys on boats through the Bay of Bengal to reach Malaysia, Thailand an...
WASHINGTON (AA) – Russia is preparing to hold “sham” referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories within a matter of weeks, the US has said. Moscow has instructed officials to begin preparations in areas that have fallen under its control during its war on Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, parts of Donetsk and...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan has rejected New Delhi’s dismissal of the firing in March of an Indian missile that landed in Pakistani territory as “an accident.” The reaction came a day after New Delhi sacked the three Indian Air Force officers found responsible for the incident, which was handled by the two nuclear neighbors [&helli...
LAHORE, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan was granted pre-arrest bail on Thursday by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad. In his speech during a rally on Aug. 20, Khan said he would take legal action against Islamabad’s police chief, and a judicial official who ordered t...
Khartoum, Sudan (AFP): The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has said Sudan had promised its “full cooperation” in the war crimes probe of atrocities committed in the Darfur region under ousted president Omar al-Bashir. Karim Khan said this after meeting army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan — who seized powe...
Tripoli, Libya (AFP): Migrants heading to Europe by crossing the Mediterranean are being detained and ransomed in Libya by European Union-backed authorities who are accused of “extreme abuse” against those captured. Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said some 32,450 people had been intercepted by Libyan forces last year and &#...
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has said it has received a response from the US to an EU-drafted plan to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal and is reviewing it. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran is making a “detailed review” of the US response, which was received through EU coordinator Josep Borrell. Iran will […]
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed matters regarding NATO as well as bilateral and regional issues in a phone call. Akar and Austin exchanged views on defense and security issues, especially developments in Ukraine, the fight against terrorism, and talks on the US selling...
LONDON (AA) – The UK imported no fuel from Russia in June for the first time on record, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced. The UK’s overall import of goods from Russia also dropped to £33 million ($39 million) in June, the lowest since ONS records began in January 1997. Britain is among […]
ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s Defense Minister has reiterated Beijing’s position that Taiwan belongs to its mainland territory. Addressing the participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said: “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan, and the Taiwan issue is China’s internal affair.” Hailing su...
