(BBC)- US President Donald Trump has announced new vetting measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US". He signed the executive order at the Pentagon after a ceremony to swear in Gen James Mattis as defence secretary. He did not elaborate on the vetting measures. But in a TV...
The Mexican government said Friday that President Enrique Pena Nieto and Donald Trump had agreed to stop making public statements about the US leader's border wall plan and will seek to resolve differences as part of bilateral talks. The two leaders had a "constructive and productive"...
The Associated Press has learned that Austria has shut its door to about 300 non-Muslim Iranians hoping to use the country as a way station before establishing new homes in the U.S. The action is an early ripple effect of President Donald Trump's effort to clamp down on U.S. refugee...
(The Guardian)- Matthew Heineman’s return to Sundance after his Oscar-nominated Cartel Land is a triumphant one. Where his previous film was a journalistic masterclass in taking access to the extreme, City of Ghosts instead turns the camera on heroic journalists themselves. In doing so,...
Jihadists from al Qaeda's former Syria branch and rebels who have recently joined forces against them fought in heavy clashes in the northwest of the country on Friday, a rebel official and a monitoring group said. Fighting between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra...
New U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley arrived at the United Nations Friday announcing a new way the U.S. does business: The Trump administration's goal is to show U.S. strength, speak out, and defend its allies - and as for countries opposing America, "We're taking names." The former South...
Saudi Arabia showed off its next-generation fighter jets this week, the first batch of military items bought in a $30 billion US arms deal, as the UN warned the kingdom’s military campaign in Yemen may pull the war-torn country into famine. The kingdom unveiled the new Boeing F-15SA jets...
Moroccan authorities said Friday they had arrested seven suspected militants linked to ISIS and seized weapons and explosive belts. A statement from the interior ministry said the group had ties with commanders of the Sunni Islamist group in Syria, Iraq and Libya and had set up a hideout in...
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday described Israel's recent decision to build a host of new Jewish-only housing units in the occupied West Bank as "illegal". "In accordance with international law, this decision by Israel is illegal," the ministry said in a statement. Israeli plans...
The European Union has prolonged for a year sanctions against dozens of Tunisians, including ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, accused of illegally using state funds. EU member states agreed Friday to extend the asset freezes on 48 people until Jan. 31, 2018. They believe "the...
Afghanistan has announced fresh initiatives to bring more women into the army, weeks after the country's first female pilot sparked a national debate on insecurity and women's rights by seeking asylum in the US. The defence ministry wants to boost the proportion of women in the army to 10...
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Living conditions in the town of Markada, ISIS last stronghold in Hasaka provicne, have been increasingly deteriorated due to prices hike, blocking roads and fear of targeting trucks coming to ISIS-controlled areas by U.S.-led coalition, activists said. Activist Malaz...
Turkish authorities have detained three Iraqi brothers who are suspected of making suicide bombs for ISIS. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported Friday that the suspects were caught during police raids in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun. They are accused of setting up a factory in...
The lower house of the Russian parliament has given final approval to a bill decriminalizing some forms of domestic violence. The State Duma voted 380-3 Friday to eliminate criminal liability for battery on family members that doesn't cause bodily harm, making it punishable by a fine or a...
Ten civilians, including a child, have been killed in Turkish airstrikes and shelling in and around a Syrian town held by ISIS, activists said Friday. The bombardment hit the northern town of Al-Bab and the nearby area of Tadif, both held by ISIS, Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human...
U.N.-hosted negotiations on the Syrian conflict planned for Feb. 8 in Geneva have been postponed until the end of that month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. "The date of Feb. 8 has been put back until the end of next month," Lavrov told a meeting with Syrian opposition...
Nobel laureates and other writers have issued a message of solidarity to Turkish colleagues who have been jailed as part of what they call a "heavy-handed" crackdown against free expression. Close to 150 writers and journalists are in prison in Turkey, several jailed as the government...
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to talk by telephone this Saturday, the Kremlin said, their first conversation since Trump took office. The phone call will be a crucial first step towards what the Kremlin and the White House hope will be a thaw...
President Donald Trump's push to create safe zones in Syria could force him to make some risky decisions about how far to go to protect refugees, including shooting down Syrian or Russian aircraft or committing thousands of U.S. troops, experts said. Trump said on Wednesday he "will...
(Al-Monitor)- The Assi River and orchards surrounding the river separate al-Waer district, a northwestern suburb of Homs, from the city. Despite its proximity to strategic sites such as the military academy, the military hospital and Homs’ refinery, the district was considered a paradise and a...
