Iraqi Shia cleric Sadr visits UAE after Saudi Arabia
Mon Aug 14, 2017 (Agencies) Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has flown to the United Arab Emirates on a charter flight sent from Abu Dhabi, just two weeks after visiting Saudi Arabia in a string of controversial trips. The Sunday visit was the second by Sadr to the Emirates in as many months, Emirati paper The National reported. The […]
Taliban seize district in northern Afghan province
Mon Aug 14, 2017(Agencies) Taliban militants have seized control of a district headquarters in Afghanistan’s northern province of Faryab, officials say. Security forces were forced to pull out of the Ghormach district to avoid civilian casualties, said Nasratullah Jamshidi, an army corps spokesman for the northern region, on Sunday. The military official said after the […]
Syrian rebels head home; US gives Lebanon combat vehicles
BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of Syrian rebels and civilians started leaving the Lebanon-Syria border area Monday after a deal was reached for their departure following days of delay, the media arm of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said. In Beirut, meanwhile, the United State handed over to the Lebanese army eight Bradley Fighting Vehicles, part of […]
Beijing-Islamabad friendship stronger than steel: Chinese leader
Islamabad, Aug 14 (IANS) Pakistan on Monday celebrated its 71st Independence Day, with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang saying the Beijing-Islamabad friendship “is stronger than steel and sweeter than honey”. Wang, who attended the flag hoisting ceremony at Islamabad’s Convention Centre, said China and Pakistan had stood by each other in difficult times and “this […]
Israel demolishes four Palestinian homes in West Bank
Thu Aug 10, 2017 Israeli forces have demolished four West Bank homes belonging to the families of the Palestinians allegedly involved in attacks on Israeli forces. In pre-dawn attacks on Thursday, Israeli forces demolished three homes in the villages of Deir Abu Mashaal and one home in Silwad in the Ramallah district, Ma’an reported. The three […]
South Korea urges North to stop ‘threatening words’
South Korean authorities urged their reclusive northern neighbor to stop using “threatening words” Thursday, and called for Pyongyang to enter into dialogue to ease tensions in the region. It came as North Korea claimed it was writing an attack plan to fire missiles toward the western Pacific island of Guam — a U.S. territory — “to signal a crucial […]
US destroyer challenges China’s claims in South China Sea
10 Aug 2017 WASHINGTON: A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters. The operation came as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s […]
North Korea ready to teach U.S. ‘severe lesson’, says U.N. abused its authority
August 2017 MANILA (Reuters) – North Korea is ready to give the United States a “severe lesson” with its strategic nuclear force if it takes military action against it, and will not put its nuclear programme or its missiles on the negotiating table, it said in a statement to a regional meeting on Monday. In […]
Withdraw from Doklam to avoid confrontation: PLA to India
August 07, 2017 Senior Col Li Li of the People’s Liberation Army may be thousands of kilometres away from Doklam but has a stern message for the Indian Army — withdraw from the Chinese territory to avoid confrontation. A visit by Indian journalists, sponsored by the Chinese government, on Monday turned into a propaganda exercise by […]
Iran ridicules US push for inspecting its military sites
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has mocked the U.S. push for inspections of the country’s military sites, calling it a “ridiculous dream that will never come true.” This comes after U.S. officials said last month that the Trump administration is pushing for inspections of suspicious Iranian military sites in a bid to test the strength […]
