ISTANBUL (AA) – Addressing top diplomats of G-7 nations on Monday, Japan’s foreign minister called for direct engagement with the interim Taliban administration in Afghanistan. Drawing from Japan’s experience of the situation on the ground, a statement by Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Yoshimasa Hayashi “emphasized the need to engage persistent...
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – The US Embassy in Sudan said Monday it has no plans for evacuating American citizens from the country amid armed clashes between military rivals. “Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for US government-coordinated evacuation at this time,” the embassy said [&h...
Sanaa, Yemen (AFP): Yemeni rebels and government forces freed scores of prisoners Sunday on the last of a three-day exchange of nearly 900 detainees, boosting hopes of ending their protracted war. Planes carrying detainees took off at the same time from the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the government-controlled northern city of Marib...
SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The Yemeni Houthi group said Friday it agreed with a Saudi delegation to keep a calm atmosphere in war-torn Yemen. Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam said on the pro-Houthi Al-Masirah channel that his group finalized a round of consultations with the delegation under Omani mediation. “(A) positive and serious a...
SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The implementation of the prisoner exchange deal began in Yemen on Friday, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “Today, the process of releasing a group of detainees has begun in accordance with the agreement that took place in Switzerland in March,” ICRC spokesman Adnan Hizam told A...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Nearly a quarter million Palestinians performed the fourth Friday prayers of the month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, according to a statement by the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem. Palestinians started early this morning to move toward the holy mosque to avoid crowds at the Israeli check...
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (AFP): Burkina Faso’s military junta declared Thursday a “general mobilisation” to give the state “all necessary means” to combat a string of attacks by insurgents since the start of this year. The goal is to create a “legal framework for all the actions to be taken” against t...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US on Wednesday welcomed an announcement by Bahrain and Qatar that they will resume diplomatic ties. “We welcome the restoration of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar, two close US partners and major non-NATO allies,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Noting that the Bid...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday decided to halt Israeli settler intrusions into Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem until the end of the month of Ramadan. Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, is expected to end later this month. A statement by Netanyahu’s office said the decision w...
Jerusalem, Undefined (AFP): Israeli forces killed two Palestinians near Elon Moreh, an illegal Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter. A senior Palestinian official told AFP that he had been informed of the death of the two Palestin...
