Category: World

ISTANBUL, May 23 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she had told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that his country needed a strong parliament and voiced concern over the Turkish parliament’s decision to strip lawmakers of immunity. The move by the parliament, in a final vote last Friday, is likely to sideline the pro-Kurdish… Continue reading Germany’s Merkel Tells Erdogan Turkey Needs Strong Parliament

MUZAFFARABAD/SRINIGAR, Pakistan, Nov 9 – Four people were killed on Tuesday in exchanges of fire between India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir, officials said, the latest violence amid tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Three civilians were killed and three wounded by Indian shelling in the Battal sector of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistani police official Mir Abid… Continue reading Four Killed in Latest Shelling Across Disputed Kashmir Border

OSLO/GENEVA, Oct 24 – Greenhouse gases rose to a symbolic milestone in 2015, taking climate change into a new phase which could last generations even if governments act to curb man-made global warming, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday. Globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas, reached 400.0… Continue reading Greenhouse Gases Milestone Shows Need for Action – WMO

CAIRO, May 8 – An Egyptian court on Saturday recommended the death penalty for three journalists and three others charged with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar, in a ruling condemned by the Doha-based Al Jazeera channel as shocking. Jordanian national Alaa Omar Sablan and Ibrahim Mohammed Helal, who both work for Al Jazeera,… Continue reading Egyptian Court Recommends Death Penalty for Journalists, Mursi Verdict Postponed

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept 25 – Nearly a week of recurring protests over the police killing of a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina, showed no signs of abating on Sunday after police released videos of the shooting that did not resolve the question of whether the victim had a gun. Hundreds marched through the center… Continue reading Charlotte Protesters Keep Marching After Police Release Shooting Video

TRIPOLI, Sept 20 – Two Italians and a Canadian have been kidnapped in Libya’s southwestern desert, possibly by a criminal gang, authorities said. The three, who were working on airport projects, were abducted between the towns of Ghat and Tahala, near the border with Algeria early on Monday, Ghat’s mayor Gomani Mohamad Saleh told Reuters.… Continue reading Italians, Canadian Kidnapped in Libyan Desert

DHAKA, Oct 13 – Bangladesh’s safety inspectors twice extended an operating licence at a food and cigarette packaging plant in the capital Dhaka without making physical checks. That breach of rules is now being investigated by the government after a fire at the Tampaco Foils factory killed at least 39 people last month. The cause… Continue reading Deadly Bangladesh Blaze Shows Up Safety Gaps Three Years After Factory Collapse

BAGHDAD, June 15 – For Salam, a resident in the Daesh-held Old City ofMosul, the holy fasting month of Ramadan this year is the worst he’s seen in a lifetime marked by wars and deprivations. “We are slowly dying from hunger, boiling mouldy wheat as soup” to break the fast at sunset, the 47 year-old… Continue reading Mosul Old City Residents Spend Hungry and Fearful Ramadan Under Daesh Rule

SANAA, Oct 11 – More cases of cholera have been registered in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a World Health Organisation Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday. The United Nations first reported the cholera outbreak on Friday. “The number of cases has increased from five to 11 people,” WHO official Omar Saleh told a news conference… Continue reading Cholera Outbreak Spreading in Yemen – WHO

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 – Obama administration officials have begun considering tougher responses to the Russian-backed Syrian government assault on Aleppo, including military options, as rising tensions with Moscow diminish hopes for diplomatic solutions from the Middle East to Ukraine and cyberspace, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The new discussions were being held at “staff level,”… Continue reading U.S. Weighs Tougher Response to Russia over Syria Crisis

AMSTERDAM, Oct 5 – The International Court of Justice on Wednesday rejected suits filed by the tiny Marshall Islands against the world’s nuclear powers that sought to force them to do more to disarm. Though the suits failed on procedural grounds, India, Pakistan and Britain were brought to the court to answer the complaint at… Continue reading World Court Rejects Marshall Islands Suit Seeking Nuclear Disarmament

BANGKOK, Dec 9 (Reuters) – An international judge at a tribunal in Cambodia on Friday charged a former Khmer Rouge cadre with genocide and crimes against humanity, despite government resistance to investigations into the brutal, ultra-Maoist former regime. The official, Yim Tith, also faces counts of murder and violating the Geneva Convention for his alleged… Continue reading Cambodia Tribunal Charges Former Khmer Rouge Cadre With Genocide

ALKARM, Egypt, May 30 – Soad Thabet’s house no longer has a door. Inside, its walls are blackened with soot and a television lies shattered on the floor. The remains of a red nightgown stand out among the ashes. Thabet, 70, describes being dragged outside by Muslim villagers and stripped naked in the dirt roads… Continue reading In Egyptian Village, Attack on Christian Grandmother Fuels Anger

MOGADISHU, Nov 26 – A suspected car bomb killed at least 10 people when it exploded at a police checkpoint next to a busy market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday, police and witnesses said. Reuters witnesses saw several bodies at the scene of the blast near the vegetable market in Mogadishu’s Waberi district,… Continue reading Suspected Car Bomb Kills at least 10 People in Somali Capital

ISTANBUL, Sep8 – A group of 292 Syrians went back to the Syrian town of Jarablus from Turkey on Wednesday, marking the first formal return of civilians since Ankara launched a military incursion two weeks ago to try to secure the border region, a Turkish official said. Jarablus, which had been held by Daesh, was… Continue reading Syrians Begin Returning Home, Two Weeks into Turkish Offensive

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 9 – A Muslim funeral for Muhammad Ali on Thursday drew thousands of admirers to the boxer’s hometown, where mourners prayed over the body of a man who battled in the ring and sought peace outside it. The jenazah, or funeral in Arabic, was held at a convention space in Freedom Hall,… Continue reading Muslim Funeral in Muhammad Ali’s Hometown Draws Thousands

DOHA, July 8  – Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked Prophet Mohammed’s Mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse. Twelve Pakistanis and seven Saudis have been detained in relation to attacks that day. Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next… Continue reading Saudi Interior Ministry Names Qatif, Medina Bombers; Suspects Arrested

ISLAMABAD, June 20 – Pakistani police arrested a man under the majority-Muslim country’s strict blasphemy laws on Monday for selling shoes with a sacred Hindu symbol, police and Hindu leaders said. The shopkeeper, Jahanzaib Khaskhili, was arrested in the southern town of Tando Adam and the shoes, which carried the “Om” symbol, were confiscated, said… Continue reading Pakistani Man Charged With Blasphemy Over Shoes With Hindu Symbol

LASHKAR GAH/KABUL, Afghanistan, June 6 – A veteran American photojournalist and a translator working for NPR were killed while accompanying Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, NPR and military officials said. NPR’s David Gilkey and Afghan translator Zabihullah Tamanna were in an Afghan army Humvee traveling between the provincial capital of Helmand province, Lashkar… Continue reading American Journalist, Translator Killed in Afghanistan

ISTANBUL/KARKAMIS, Turkey, Aug 24 – Turkish special forces units and jets supported by warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition launched an operation in northern Syria on Wednesday to wipe out Daesh militants along the border with Turkey, Turkish officials said. The Turkish army began firing artillery rounds into the Syrian border town of Jarablus at around… Continue reading Turkish military, U.S.-led Coalition Launch Operation to Sweep Daesh from Syria Town

ISLAMABAD, July 17 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday began hearings that will decide the future of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is fighting for his job and contesting a damning corruption report by an investigative panel. The Supreme Court is expected to either put Sharif on trial on corruption charges, or even disqualify him,… Continue reading Pakistan’s Supreme Court Starts Hearings to Decide PM’s Future

BRUSSELS, March 8 – European Union leaders welcomed Turkey’s offer on Monday to take back all migrants who cross into Europe from its soil and agreed in principle to Ankara’s demands for more money, faster EU membership talks and quicker visa-free travel in return. However, key details remained to be worked out and the 28… Continue reading EU Welcomes Bold Turkey Plan to Stop Migrants, Defers Decision

WASHINGTON, Aug 8 – Fifty prominent Republican national security officials, including a former CIA director, on Monday called party nominee Donald Trump unqualified to lead the country and said he would be “the most reckless president in American history.” The statement was the latest repudiation of Trump’s candidacy by veteran Republican national security specialists, and… Continue reading Republican National Security Experts: Trump Would Be ‘Dangerous’ President

Passengers on an Emirates flight that crash landed in Dubai in August last year are suing the aircraft’s manufacturer Boeing. The law suit, filed in Chicago where Boeing has its corporate headquarters, alleges on behalf of 15 people that the crash was caused by an issue with the aircraft’s design. According to the lawsuit, a… Continue reading Passengers to Sue Boeing over Emirates Crash at Dubai Airport