TEHRAN – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Monday began a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported on the eve of talks with the United States. The war games, the duration of which was not specified, aim to prepare the Guards for “potential security and military threats” in the...
JERUSALEM – Israel’s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as “state property”, drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Israel’s foreign ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal...
NIGERIA – The northern Nigerian state where the United States staged Christmas Day air strikes targeting Islamist militants is preparing for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and trying to banish thoughts of the violence that has plagued the region. Sokoto state is home to Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the spiritual head of Muslims in...
TOAMASINA – Flooding and fierce winds have pushed Madagascar’s death toll from Cyclone Gezani to 59, with more than a dozen people still unaccounted for, the country’s disaster agency said yesterday. It is the latest in a string of tropical storms to batter the southern African island in recent months, underscoring its vulnerability to increasingly...
BRUSSELS – The European Union will take part in this week’s inaugural meeting of US president Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, but a spokesman insisted Monday that Brussels would not be joining as a member. The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, will head to Washington to represent the EU at the meeting on...
GAZA CITY – Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people since dawn yesterday, while a military official said the attacks were carried out in response to violations of the ceasefire. Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Palestinian territory, with...
NEW DELHI – Farmers rallied across India yesterday to oppose a trade deal with Washington which reduces tariffs on US goods, warning that it would hurt Indian agriculture and endanger livelihoods. Farmer unions have called the deal announced last week a “total surrender” to American agricultural giants, despite assurances from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government. ...
JERUSALEM – Five Arab Israelis were shot dead across the country in less than 24 hours, police said yesterday, as a surge in violent crime continues to grip the Arab community. The deaths raise the number of Arab Israelis killed this year to 44. Crime and armed violence have escalated sharply among Israel’s Arab minor...
CARACAS – Venezuela debated a landmark bill yesterday to grant amnesty to political prisoners, marking an early milestone in the transition from the rule of toppled leader Nicolas Maduro. The legislation, which covers charges used to lock up dissidents under Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, aims to turn the page on nearly three decades...
LAGOS – The party and supporters of a Nigerian opposition leader named in aUS congressional bill seeking sanctions on Nigerian groups and individuals accused of persecuting Christians yesterday strongly rejected claims portraying him as a religious extremist as “unfounded” Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of northwestern Kano state, is the only politician individually named...