Baghdad, Iraq (AFP): Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he hoped to “strengthen and broaden” relations with Iraq, on a Baghdad visit ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Defense Secretary Austin also told Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani that US troops were “ready...
GENEVA (AA) – The UN’s Palestine refugee agency UNRWA launched a $16 million appeal Monday for Palestinian refugees impacted by last month’s earthquakes in Türkiye. It aims to “meet the humanitarian and early recovery needs of Palestine refugees who were affected by this natural catastrophe in Syria and Lebanon,” the ag...
ANKARA (AA) – Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with Türkiye on Monday to deposit $5 billion in the Turkish Central Bank. A statement by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) said the agreement was signed by SFD chairman Ahmed Al-Khateeb and bank governor Sahap Kavcioglu. “This deposit comes as an extension of the historic relations ...
Kabul, Afghanistan — AFP Male students trickled back to their classes Monday after Afghan universities reopened following a winter break, but women remain barred by Taliban authorities. The university ban is one of several restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021, and has sparked global outrage...
ISTANBUL (AA) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on developed countries to fulfill their pledge to raise $100 billion for vulnerable nations. “The time has come for the developed countries to fulfill their obligations towards the least developed countries by providing 0.15 to 0.20 percent of their GDP in the form of devel...
WASHINGTON (AA) – Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has vowed to stop giving money to the “countries that hate America.” Haley, who announced her 2024 presidential bid last month, said she named the 128 countries that condemned the US when it decided to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017. “So, I […]...
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) – At least 12 people were killed Friday after a pipeline explosion and fire raged near an illegal oil refinery in Nigeria’s Delta region, according to police. Police spokeswoman Grace Iringe-Koko said the explosion occurred when people involved in bunkering activities attempted to steal crude from a pipeline...
Turmus Ayya, Palestinian Territories (AFP): Wielding long sticks and with their faces wrapped in Palestinian chequered keffiyeh scarves, young men set out on a night patrol to guard their village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Each night, the team gathers at Turmus Ayya in the north of the West Bank, ready to raise the alarm […]
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories (AFP): Israeli troops shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian and critically wounded another child in the occupied West Bank Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Violence flared in the northern West Bank town of Azzun when troops arrived to search suspects after fireworks were launched at Israeli vehicl...
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A European human rights organization as well as Palestinian factions and institutions have called for international pressure to prevent Israel from passing a death penalty bill against Palestinian prisoners convicted of killing Israelis. The Israeli parliament, Knesset, approved Wednesday the first reading of the co...
