Erbil– Iraq’s Kurds insist on holding the independence referendum on September 25 as planned, despite an official US request for postponing it, a high-ranking Kurdish official stated on Saturday. US and other Western nations fear that the vote could create a new conflict with Baghdad and creat
Tangier- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received the king of Morocco at his residence in the city of Tangier on Saturday, and they discussed topics of mutual interest and showcased bilateral ties between the two countries. King Mohammed VI welcomed King Salman wh
London police have released a man they arrested for allegedly pushing a woman into the path of an oncoming bus in London earlier this week. The police say they will take no further action against the 41-year-old man and has been released without charge. Police have not named the person they arrested
What do the economists at the International Monetary Fund see when they look at the US? An economy in the midst of a long expansion (“its third longest expansion since 1850”), with “persistently strong” job growth, “subdued” inflation and something close to “
Kuwait announced on Saturday that it had arrested 12 convicted members of the al-Abdali terrorist cell. The members have ties to Iran and Lebanon’s “Hezbollah,” which is also backed by Tehran. The suspects were arrested after a weeks-long manhunt, announced the Interior Ministry according to the Kuw
Oxygen shortages at a northern Indian hospital have left dozens of children dead, officials announced on Saturday. They said that at least 60 children were killed at the Baba Raghav Das Hospital in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh state in the past five days. They warned that the death toll could
Myanmar has deployed hundreds of troops in the volatile Rakhine state amid concerns by the United Nations that the development would pave the way for more violence in the region. Rakhine has been gripped by violence since October last year when gunmen attacked police posts, sparking a bloody militar
Opposition protests that erupted after the election victory of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have turned violent in the African country, with three people killed on Saturday. The latest deaths mean nine people have been killed in election-related violence since Tuesday. The second day of the demon
Jeddah- Yemen’s interior ministry announced on Friday foiling a number of plots targeting several liberated cities. Most of the attacks were aimed at undermining the internationally-recognized government’s interests. Terror rings were arrested in each of Shabwa, Hadhramaut and the interim capital Ad
Cairo, London- Libya National Army Spokesman Colonel Ahmad al-Mesmary revealed on Friday that multiple conflict zones overrun by extremist militias were run by Doha. He further clarified his claims by saying that direct funding and deployment of an armed faction into eastern Benghazi took place in 2
Over half a million Hajj pilgrims have arrived from outside of Saudi Arabia to perform the annual rituals in Mecca, announced the Passports General Department on Saturday according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). It said that as of Friday, 570,139 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia. The 2017 Haj
US President Donald Trump did not rule out on Friday the possibility of military intervention in Venezuela as the south American country and Peru severed their ties. “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary,” Trump told reporters. “We h
The Iraqi Kurdistan Region will hold its contentious independence referendum on September 25 despite misgivings by the United States. “The date is standing, September 25, no change,” said Hoshyar Zebari, a close adviser to Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani. The US ha
Tel Aviv- Israeli officials on Friday said that intelligence reveals grim prospects facing the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, with infrastructure being closer to rubble and uninhabitable than sufficient housing units and facilities necessary for human survival. Saying that Gaza is racing towards its own co
The United States and North Korea have been engaged for months in back channel diplomacy aimed at addressing imprisoned Americans in the isolated country, reported The Associated Press. On the surface, the administration of Donald Trump has not backed down from the threatening Pyongyang as it contin
KILLORGLIN, Ireland- For a few days this week a goat will be king of a small town in Ireland’s rural south west. Billed as one of Ireland’s oldest festivals, the Puck Fair sees locals in the town of Killorglin pluck a wild mountain goat from its habitat and crown him ‘King PuckR
Algeria- A nation-wide power struggle took over Algeria’s ruling hierarchy concerning rising controversy over the succession of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. His brother and chief adviser, Saed Bouteflika, is rumored to be seeking his own chance at being president in the upcoming 2019 elections. M
London- The UK is likely to face an Islamist terrorist threat for the next 30 years, the former head of MI5 has warned. Jonathan Evans, who stepped down as director general of the spy agency in 2013, described the threat as a “generational problem” which will take decades to tackle. Lord Evans also
Beirut – Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea voiced on Friday his support for expanding the mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to the Lebanese-Syrian border in the east and north. He said that he “sees no problem in this issue. On the contrary, it will fall in Leban
Beirut, Ankara- Syrian regime forces expanded their grip in the southeast part of the country near the Jordanian border, getting nearer from al-Tanf military base close to the Iraqi border where US forces and western factions from the Free Army are being trained to fight ISIS. “Jordan is greatly sen
