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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq’s parliament was expected to vote Sunday on ousting US troops from military bases, which are threatened by pro-Tehran factions after an American strike killed top Iranian and Iraqi commanders. Late Saturday, missiles slammed into the Baghdad enclave where the US embassy is located and an airbase north of the capital where American troops are deployed, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten strikes on 52 sites in Iran. The […]
DIWANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public buildings in southern Iraq Sunday, as the latest deadline for choosing a new prime minister loomed. Anti-government rallies have rocked Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south since October 1, with demonstrators calling for a complete overhaul of a regime they deem corrupt and inefficient. “The revolution continues!” shouted one demonstrator at a protest encampment in central Diwaniyah. Protesters blocked off public buildings one by […]
by Anuj Chopra RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Top finance moguls and political leaders attended a Davos-style Saudi investment summit on Tuesday, in stark contrast to last year when outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder sparked a mass boycott. Organisers say 300 speakers from over 30 countries, including American officials and heads of global banks and major sovereign wealth funds, are attending the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII), nicknamed “Davos in the desert”. A […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Turkey’s deadly assault on Kurdish positions in northeastern Syria has forced 130,000 people to flee their homes, the UN said Sunday, adding it was preparing for that figure to more than triple. “We have moved into a planning scenario where up to 400,000 people could be displaced within and across the affected areas,” Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA told AFP in an email, adding that […]
by Amir HAVASI Agence France Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Suspected missile strikes hit an Iranian oil tanker off the Saudi coast on Friday, its owner said, the first Iranian vessel targeted since a spate of attacks in the Gulf Washington blamed on Tehran. The National Iranian Tanker Company, which owns the ship, said the hull of the Sabiti was hit by two separate explosions off the Saudi port of Jeddah, saying they were […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sunday he was seeking “non-aggression” agreements with Gulf Arab nations that do not formally recognize the country as a prelude to possible future peace deals. Details of the proposal were not made public, but it was the latest sign of Israel’s push to improve ties with Gulf Arab nations with whom it has no formal diplomatic relations. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory has long […]
AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Jordanian teachers ended a month-long strike on Sunday after reaching an agreement with the government for a rise in wages. The strike, which began on September 8 just a week into the school year, paralysed some 4,000 public schools in the kingdom where more than 1.4 million students are enrolled. The teachers had demanded a 50-percent hike in their salaries, “the lowest among state employees,” according to the union. Union […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi’s cabinet issued a series of reforms early Sunday after an “extraordinary” session overnight in response to sweeping anti-government rallies that have left nearly 100 dead. Iraqis have gathered in Baghdad and across the south since Tuesday to demand widespread government reforms, which Abdel Mahdi had promised to tackle when he came into power just under a year ago. Early Sunday, his cabinet issued a […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said in an interview aired Sunday that war with Iran would devastate the global economy and he prefers a non-military solution to tensions with his regional rival. “If the world does not take a strong and firm action to deter Iran, we will see further escalations that will threaten world interests,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the CBS program “60 Minutes.” “Oil supplies will be […]
by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse ABQAIQ, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Friday revealed extensive damage to key oil facilities following weekend aerial strikes that were blamed on Iran, but vowed to quickly restore full production even as regional tensions soar. Yemen’s Tehran-linked Huthi rebels, who on Friday announced a sudden halt to attacks on Saudi Arabia, claimed the strikes on state giant Aramco’s facilities in Khurais and the world’s largest oil processing […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that the United States will send reinforcements to the Gulf region at the request of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, following attacks on Saudi oil facilities which it blames on Iran. The Pentagon chief said an Iranian attack on an American spy drone in June after Tehran seized a British oil tanker, combined with the attack on two Saudi oil installations […]
by Guillaume Lavallee JERUSALEM (AFP) — Benjamin Netanyahu has become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister with his right-wing leadership and by repeatedly besting rivals with deft political moves, but he will have to pull another rabbit out of the hat in Tuesday’s elections. The 69-year-old is fighting his second election in five months with a potential corruption indictment looming. After April polls, Netanyahu suffered one of the biggest defeats of his political career when he […]
