The parliament of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region approved a plan on Friday to hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, ignoring opposition from Baghdad and the wider region as well as Western concerns that the vote could spark fresh conflict. Parliament reconvened in Erbil,...
U.S.-backed Syrian militias will not let government forces cross the Euphrates River in their bid to recover eastern Syria, their commander said on Friday, but Russia said army units had already done so near the city of Deir al-Zor. An aide to President Bashar al-Assad meanwhile said...
Qatar is ready to sit at the negotiating table to try to end a dispute with its Gulf Arab neighbors, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said on Friday in Berlin. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, accusing the...
(Zaman Al Wasl)- A Syrian regime warplane failed to take off due to technical failure in Dumayr airport east of the capital, local activist told Zaman al-Wasl on Friday. Activist Omar Hamdan said the warplane had been crashed after hitting an army barrack near the airport at...
Russia, Iran and Turkey will post observers on the edge of a de-escalation zone in northern Syria’s Idlib region largely controlled by Islamist militants, the three nations said on Friday. The move is part of a broader plan under which Moscow, Tehran and Ankara will set up four such...
(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 6 regime army soldiers wounded in Tayfour military airbase in the eastern countryside of Homs province due to a huge explosion struck weapons depots, pro-regime media outlets aid on Friday. The military airbase, 85 km (about 60 miles) east of Homs lies in the...
Myanmar insisted on Friday it was not barring aid workers from Rakhine State, where a counter-insurgency campaign has sparked an exodus of Muslim Rohingya refugees, but said authorities on the ground might restrict access for security reasons. Nearly 400,000 Rohingya have fled to...
North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, deepening tensions after Pyongyang’s recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb. The missile flew over Japan and landed in the...
A blast on a London underground train left some passengers with facial burns, London’s Metro newspaper reported on its website. Police said they were aware of an incident at Parsons Green station in West London and that officers are in attendance. London Ambulance said paramedics were...
A young journalist at the Financial Times was dragged into a river and killed by a crocodile whilst holidaying in Sri Lanka, the BBC reported on Friday. Paul McClean, an Oxford University graduate with a first-class degree in French, joined the newspaper as a graduate trainee two years...
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Well-informed sources revealed that a US company is supplying Iran with electronic equipment exclusively used in missile industry, such a news came as the United States extended some sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal. Boxes made by...
The United States and Western allies pressed Iraqi Kurdish leaders to ditch a “very risky” independence vote on Thursday, presenting an alternative plan in an attempt to avoid conflict between the oil rich region and central government in Baghdad. The referendum, slated for Sept. 25,...
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it was investigating Equifax Inc’s (EFX.N) massive data breach, and a top Democrat suggested the credit-monitoring company’s corporate leaders might need to resign. Shares of Equifax fell 2.4 percent on Thursday and trading volume hit a...
The United States on Thursday extended some sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal, the State Department said, but no decision has been made on whether to preserve the deal itself. At the same time, President Donald Trump said that Iran is violating “the spirit” of the...
An American citizen fighting for Islamic State in Syria surrendered to U.S-backed fighters earlier this week and has been handed over to U.S. forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The American surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance of mostly Arab and...
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Islamic State said at least 320 people have killed in a deadly aerial and ground bombing on Deir Ezzor by the Syrian regime, US-led coalition and Russia, Amaq news agency said on Thursday. The horrible death toll followed Russia's seven cruise missiles on Deir Ezzor,...
A mysterious Syrian wheat purchase signed last October with a little-known Russian trader has formally been called off, a government source has told Reuters. War-torn Syria had sought 1 million tonnes of wheat from trader Zernomir to feed government-held territories and prevent bread...
Republican U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday any agreement on protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children must be tied to border security and disputed Democratic congressional leaders who said they had reached a deal on the issue. “No deal was...
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Thursday welcomed an Iraqi parliament move to reject a referendum on Kurdish independence. The parliament in Baghdad authorized the prime minister to “take all measures” to preserve Iraq’s unity in response to the move to hold an independence referendum in...
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked the Iraqi parliament on Thursday to hold a vote on removing the governor of Kirkuk from office, the parliamentary speaker’s office said. Abadi’s call came after Kirkuk - an oil-rich province claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the...
