Presiding at a Good Friday service, Pope Francis I asked God for forgiveness for scandals in the Catholic Church and for the “shame” of humanity as he deplored the suffering of migrants, victims of racism and persecuted Christians. Francis presided at a traditional candlelight Via Crucis
Algeria- The top aide to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has criticized the government’s economic and good governance performance as part of the parliamentary elections campaign that enters its second week on Sunday. Government circles say there is a huge discord between the aide, Ahmed Ouya
Paris – If there is a need to demonstrate that Jean-Luc Melenchon, the French presidential candidate who has been described as the “rebellious France”, has started to affect his three rival candidates, one need only observe how all three of them have simultaneously launched an attack against him in
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance backed by the United States, have advanced to the edge of Tabqa, a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday. SDF fighters “are now hundreds of meters from TabqaR
North Korea displayed what appeared to be new long-range and submarine-based missiles on the 105th birth anniversary of its founding father with ruler Kim Jong Un looking on with delight despite a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier group steaming towards the region. Kim did not address the rally, w
Ankara – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to reassure nationalists and ensure their backing of the presidential system on the eve of the country’s vote on a referendum that would introduce constitutional changes that would grant the presidency sweeping powers. Fears had emerged that a f
London- On the eve of closing candidate registration for Iran’s upcoming May presidential elections, current President Hassan Rouhani and his chief conservative rival, Ebrahim Raisi, submitted their bids. Raisi, 56, is a hardline cleric known for his ultra-conservative stances and great proximity wi
A deal to evacuate people from four Syrian towns was halted on Saturday, leaving thousands of Syrians stuck in and around Aleppo. The deal to evacuate people from the two Shi’ite villages of Fuaa and Kafraya in return for Sunni rebels and their families leaving the two besieged towns of Madaya
The death toll from the American military’s 11-ton and largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat nearly tripled Saturday, with Afghan officials saying at least 90 ISIS jihadists were killed, as US-led forces conducted clean-up operations over the rugged terrain. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnanc
Moscow – Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime accused on Friday the United States of seeking to “destroy the political settlement in the Syrian crisis” in wake of its strike on a Syrian airbase last week. Meeting in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad
Washington- US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is heading to the Middle East next week on a tour that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Qatar and Djibouti, the Pentagon announced on Friday. Mattis is making the trip to “reaffirm key US military alliances, to engage with strategic p
With ISIS expelled, Iraqi Christians are trickling back to the ransacked town of Qaraqosh, beset by anxiety for their security and yet hopeful they can live in friendship with Muslims of all persuasions. According to Reuters, the town, about 20 km from the battlefront with ISIS in the northern city
French prosecutors have asked the European parliament to lift the immunity of far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen over an expenses scandal,legal sources said Friday.If lifted Le Pen will need to answer and cooperate with a thorough financial probe. The move comes just nine days before Fra
Canada has announced new sanctions against the Syrian regime in response to the chemical attack that took place in Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib. In a statement issued today, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has said 27 high-ranking officials are now subject to an asset freeze and dealing
London – Mathieu Flamini was doing his best to say the right things, to see a broader picture and to tip-toe around the subject that has come to hold Arsenal, his former club, in its grip. It was a little after 10:30pm on Monday night and the Crystal Palace midfielder, who had come on as [&hel
At least 36 suspected ISIS militants were killed in Afghanistan when the United States dropped a massive bomb that targeted a network of caves and tunnels in the Achin district, the Afghan defense ministry announced on Friday. The bomb has been described as “the mother of all bombs,” one
Uzbekistan announced on Friday that it had relayed information on suspect held in the Stockholm truck ramming incident that left four people dead last week. Uzbekistan’s security services passed information on Rakhmat Akilov to the West before the deadly attack, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kami
Istanbul police announced that they have detained five suspected ISIS members, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Friday. Some were believed to be planning an attack in Turkey ahead of Sunday’s referendum, it added. Anadolu said three of the detained people were suspected of planning an
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who championed the country’s nuclear deal with world powers, registered on Friday to run for re-election next month, state TV reported. Rouhani, who won election by a landslide in 2013, faces a tougher than expected battle for a second term on May 19 as critic
Facebook says it has started rooting out 30,000 bogus accounts linked to France ahead of the country’s presidential election. The security improvement is part of a worldwide effort to rid the leading social network of hoaxes, misinformation, and fake news by making sure people are who they cla
