‘130 fighters killed in 48 hours in northwest Syria’
Beirut, Jun 20 : Fighting raged in northwest Syria on Thursday with clashes between regime forces and jihadist-led fighters killing 130 combatants in two days, a war monitor said. The Idlib region, home to some three million people, is supposed to be protected by a months-old international truce deal, but it has come under increased […]
Iran says shot down US drone over its territory
Tehran, Jun 20: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Thursday it had shot down a US “spy drone” which violated Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest incident to stoke tension in the strategic sea lane. There was no immediate reaction from the United States. The US-manufactured Global Hawk surveillance drone was hit with […]
Macron sends senior diplomat to Iran to defuse US tensions
Paris, Jun 20 : President Emmanuel Macron sent his top diplomatic adviser to Iran this week as part of European efforts to defuse tensions between Tehran and Washington, the French presidency said Thursday. The adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, held “high-level meetings” Wednesday in Tehran, “with the aim of contributing to the deescalation of tensions in the […]
Turkey sentences 24 to life in ‘coup ringleaders’ trial
Sincan (Turkey), Jun 20 : A Turkish court on Thursday gave life sentences to 24 people including senior military officers in one of the biggest trials over the 2016 failed bid to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The judge handed 17 of those sentenced 141 aggravated life terms each over the deaths of 139 people, […]
Trump briefed on missile strike in Saudi Arabia: White House
Washington: US President Donald Trump has been briefed about a missile strike on Saudi Arabia, the White House said Thursday, after Yemeni rebels claimed an attack on a power station in the kingdom’s south. “The president has been briefed on the reports of a missile strike in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” White House spokeswoman […]
Iran ‘categorically rejects’ US tanker attack allegations
Tehran, Jun 19 : Iran’s defence minister “categorically rejected” Wednesday accusations that Tehran was behind two tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, describing evidence presented by Washington as “unsubstantiated”, official news agency IRNA reported. Washington has blamed Iran for last week’s attacks, releasing images and a grainy video it alleges shows Iranians on a […]
ASEAN leaders told to get serious on Rohingya issue
Bangkok, Jun 19 : Southeast Asian leaders must use an upcoming summit to hold unvarnished talks on Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya, rights groups urged Wednesday, after a report by the bloc was pilloried for whitewashing the persecution of the Muslim minority. The report, commissioned by ASEAN and leaked to AFP earlier this month, gives […]
Database says 91,600 killed in Yemen fighting since 2015
Cairo, Jun 19 (AP) Yemen’s civil war has killed at least 91,600 people so far, a database tracking violence said Wednesday, presenting a new estimate after completing reporting for the first months of fighting in 2015. The conflict began with the 2014 takeover over of northern and central Yemen by the Iranian-backed rebels, driving out […]
Record 70.8 million people displaced at end of 2018: UN
Geneva, Jun 19 : More than 70 million people were counted last year as displaced from their homes, a record that underestimates the real number of refugees and asylum seekers, the UN said Wednesday. In its annual global trends report, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) described the figure of 70.8 million at the end […]
‘Credible evidence’ linking Saudi crown prince to Khashoggi murder: UN expert
Geneva, Jun 19 : There is “credible evidence” linking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October, an independent UN rights expert said Wednesday, calling for an international investigation. In a fresh report, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard said she had “determined that […]
