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Macron and Merkel unite in struggle for Europe

Beleaguered at home, belittled abroad, Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany's Angela Merkel will use a Berlin meeting on Sunday to bolster their alliance as champions of a united Europe fraught with resurgent nationalism. After weeks of stalemate on issues such as eurozone reforms and...

Migrants refuse to disembark in Libya, fearing torture: Amnesty

Dozens of migrants and refugees aboard a merchant vessel at a Libyan port are refusing to disembark for fear of "detention and torture", rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Friday. It said in a report that the group of at least 79 refugees and migrants, including several...

North Korea tests new 'ultramodern tactical weapon'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the testing of a "newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon", Pyongyang's state media reported Friday, a move seen by analysts as more of a political message than a serious provocation. It marked the first official report of a weapons test...

Iraq restarts small Kirkuk oil exports after a year of suspension

Iraq has restarted exports of Kirkuk oil, interrupted more than a year ago amid a standoff between the central government in Baghdad and Kurdistan's semi-autonomous region, industry sources said on Friday. The development is a win for the U.S. government which has been putting pressure...

Turkey has more evidence in Khashoggi murder: report

Turkey has more evidence contradicting the Saudi version of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi including a second audio recording, a Turkish newspaper reported on Friday. The second voice recording -- said to be 15 minutes -- clearly reveals that the murder of the Washington Post...

Greek silk town finds itself back in fashion

Inside the machine-crammed Mouhtarides factory near the Greek-Turkish border, Ioanna Pistola deftly spins a silk thread in a loom, ignoring the deafening noise around her. “I’ve been working in this hall for 20 years,” the middle-aged weaver shouts above the din. The dormant,...

U.S. eyes possible ways to remove Erdogan foe to appease Turkey: NBC

The Trump administration is exploring possible ways to remove U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, a foe of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to convince Turkey to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of a Saudi journalist, NBC News reported Thursday. NBC, citing...

Israelis call on Netanyahu to step down over Gaza truce

Over a thousand Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Thursday to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a cease-fire deal with Gaza-based Palestinian factions. According to Israeli media, around 1,500 protesters denounced Netanyahu’s decision to approve the Gaza...

US sanctions 17 individuals tied to Khashoggi murder

The U.S. on Thursday sanctioned 17 people tied to the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, including the Saudi Consul General in Istanbul Mohammad al-Otaibi. Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi diplomatic facility shortly after he entered the consulate Oct. 2. ...

UK demands 'accountability' for Khashoggi murder

The British government on Thursday said it want to see accountability for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In a statement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “The U.K. has been clear that we need to see accountability for the horrific murder of the...

Germany names new spy chief

Germany on Thursday named a new head for its domestic intelligence agency BfV, which has been embroiled in various scandals in recent years. Thomas Haldenwang, currently vice president of the BfV, was appointed by the Cabinet to head the agency, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer...

Abbas, Erdogan discuss Israel's recent Gaza aggression

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday received a phone call from Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. The phone call, according to WAFA, focused on the “latest Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip”. According to...

Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for five accused in Khashoggi murder

Five Saudi officials face the death penalty for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not involved in the prominent journalist’s killing, the kingdom’s public prosecutor said Thursday. The announcement follows growing international outcry over the...

Iran executes gold market’s ‘Sultan of Coins’

Iran executed a trader Wednesday dubbed the “Sultan of Coins” for his wholesale trafficking in gold to exploit a surge in demand from savers spooked by this year’s currency crisis. Vahid Mazloomin and accomplice Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi had been convicted of “corruption on...

Yemen president backs UN peace talks but vows to 'liberate' key port

Yemen's president has backed UN-proposed talks to end fighting in his war-torn country but vowed to "liberate" the battleground rebel-held port city of Hodeida regardless of the peace process. Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi "has issued directives to back all efforts that guarantee the interests...

Arab coalition orders halt in assault on Yemen's Hodeida: sources

The Arab coalition has ordered a halt in its offensive on Yemen's main port city of Hodeida, three sources told Reuters Thursday. "The coalition has instructed forces on the ground to halt fighting inside Hodeida," said one pro-coalition military source. The decision comes as...

Afghan officials: Taliban kill 30 policemen in west province

Afghan officials say the Taliban have killed 30 policemen in a blistering overnight attack in western Farah province. Provincial council member Dadullah Qani said on Thursday that the onslaught on the police outpost in the province's district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and...

CIA mulled ‘truth serum’ post-9/11

Shortly after 9/11, the CIA considered using a drug it thought might work like a truth serum and force terror suspects to give up information about potential attacks. After months of research, the agency decided that a drug called Versed, a sedative often prescribed to reduce anxiety, was...