The European Union’s general court upheld on Thursday the bloc’s sanctions against Russian banks and oil and gas companies over their involvement the turmoil in Ukraine. Rosneft, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprom Neft, Vnesheconombank, Prominvestbank and DenizBank challenged the EU sanctions, which restrict their access to some financial transactions and certain sensitive goods and technologies, as […]
Pentagon cancels $300 million in aid to Pakistan
The U.S. military said it has made a final decision to cancel $300 million in aid to Pakistan that had been suspended over Islamabad’s perceived failure to take decisive action against militants, in a new blow to deteriorating ties. The so-called Coalition Support Funds were part of a broader suspension in aid to Pakistan announced […]
Libya closes Tripoli airport after rockets fired
Libyan authorities closed Tripoli airport on Friday after some rockets were fired in its direction, a spokesman for the state airline Libyan Airlines said. Flights will be diverted to Misrata airport, the spokesman said, without elaborating. Misrata lies about 190 km (120 miles) east of Tripoli. Rival groups have been fighting in Tripoli for several […]
UN calls on China to free Uighurs from alleged ‘re-education’ camps
United Nations’ human rights experts voiced alarm on Thursday over alleged Chinese political re-education camps for Muslim Uighurs and called for the immediate release of those detained on the “pretext of countering terrorism”. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination cited estimates that up to one million Uighurs may be held involuntarily in […]
Germany’s Merkel: Atrocities against Armenians must not be forgotten
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday addressed the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 after meeting with the country’s prime minister, saying the atrocities committed against Armenians should not and would not be forgotten. Merkel avoided using the term “genocide” in her remarks, sidestepping a possible repeat of tensions that flared […]
More dirt on President Trump? Cohen’s lawyer suggests so
What other dirt might Michael Cohen have on Donald Trump? Cohen’s lawyer says the president’s former “fixer” has information “on certain subjects that should be of interest” to the special prosecutor beyond his allegations made while pleading guilty Tuesday that Trump directed him to make hush-money payments to fend off damage to his White House […]
Hajj 2018: Heavy & Strong Wind Blows Into Masjid Al-Haram , video
Several hours of heavy rain and thunderstorms forced pilgrims to take cover in tents and trudge through puddles. Saudi Arabia’s civil defence warned of possible flooding throughout the evening but denied it would result in adverse effects on the rituals.
Israel holds 10 tons of Palestinian mail for 8 years
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are about to receive a special delivery of more than 10 tons of mail that has been delayed by Israel for the past eight years. Postal workers have been sorting through thousands of mail sacks in the West Bank city of Jericho for the past several days after Israeli […]
Iranian spiritual leader sentenced for ‘insulting Islam’
An Iranian court has sentenced the founder of a spiritual movement to five years in jail, his lawyer told ILNA news agency on Saturday, after he was accused of corrupting Muslims. Mohammad Ali Taheri, founder of Erfan Halgheh, which calls itself “Interuniversalism” in English, was arrested in 2011 and charged with “insulting Islamic sanctities” and […]
Former UN chief Kofi Annan has died at age 80
Kofi Annan, one of the world’s most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first black African secretary-general, has died. He was 80. His foundation announced his death in a tweet on Saturday, saying that he died after a short unspecified illness. It is […]