MIDDLE EAST

Saudi sentences Yemeni to death over Spanish theatre group stabbing

8:39 pm December 29, 2019

Riyadh: A Saudi court sentenced a Yemeni man to death Sunday for a knife attack on a Spanish theatre group, state television said, amid a controversial push to ease decades-old restrictions on entertainment. The court also sentenced an accomplice to 12 and a half years in jail for the November 11 attack during a live […]

Taliban kill 10 Afghan soldiers in attack on base

3:23 pm December 28, 2019

Kandahar: Ten Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on a military base in the southern province of Helmand on Saturday, officials said. The Taliban dug a tunnel into the base in volatile Sangin district and then blew it up before their fighters could attack the compound, Nawab Zadran a spokesman for 215 Maiwand […]

Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation

Israel’s Netanyahu sweeps party primary in re-election boost

10:20 pm December 27, 2019

Jerusalem: Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told supporters Friday he would win a March general election after scoring a landslide victory in the leadership primary of his right-wing Likud party. Israel’s longest-serving premier, who faces a corruption indictment as well as a third general election in 12 months, was expected to beat rival Gideon […]

Turkey vows to expand anti-PKK operations in northern Iraq

Erdogan says parliament to vote in January on Libya troop deployment

7:24 pm December 26, 2019

Ankara: The Turkish parliament will in January vote on a motion to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday. “We will present the motion to send troops (to Libya) as soon as parliament resumes” on January 7, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. “God […]

Iraqi protesters torch buildings, block roads over PM pick

7:22 pm December 26, 2019

Nasiriyah (Iraq): Iraqi anti-government protesters blocked roads and bridges in Baghdad and the country’s south Thursday after torching several buildings overnight. The demonstrators oppose the entire political class and have vented their anger against leaders who are negotiating to nominate an establishment insider as the next prime minister. “The government is hostage to corrupt parties […]