Jordan’s security court will hand down its verdict in a behind-closed-doors trial of a former royal confidant accused of destabilising the monarchy on Monday, an official source said. The prosecution accuses former finance minister Bassem Awadallah, along with a minor royal, of backing the aspirations of the former heir to …
Read More »Russia drills attack helicopters, pledges help to secure Tajik-Afghan border
Russian military helicopters based in Tajikistan fired air-to-surface missiles during a training exercise on Tuesday as Moscow said its forces in the Central Asian nation were fully equipped to help secure the border with Afghanistan. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 military reservists to bolster …
Read More »Oil nears three-year high after OPEC fireworks
Oil prices were heading towards three-year highs on Tuesday, towing petrol currencies and bond yields with them, after the world’s main oil producers failed to agree on production plans. Europe’s stocks spluttered at the prospect of faster inflation. China had spooked its tech sector too with another high-profile clampdown, but …
Read More »Lucas Paquetá’s goal sends hosts Brazil past Peru into Copa América final
Lucas Paquetá’s 36th-minute goal lifts Brazil in 1-0 victory Brazil to face either Argentina or Colombia on Saturday’s final Many Brazil players didn’t want to take part in the Copa América tournament. After the Seleção advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over Peru on Monday, some players said …
Read More »Iraqi Forces Capture IS Member in Kirkuk
Iraqi security forces managed to capture one more member of the Islamic State (IS) in the province of Kirkuk, a statement confirmed. The Iraqi Security Media Cell explained in a statement that the insurgent used to be “the official of the ISIS media platform,” noting that he was captured after …
Read More »French prosecutors probe modern-day slavery lawsuit against Saudi prince
French prosecutors said Monday they are investigating claims that a Saudi prince kept seven employees in a state of modern-day slavery at an apartment he owned outside Paris. The inquiry for human trafficking was opened after the women, most from the Philippines filed complaints of modern-day slavery in October 2019, …
Read More »Taliban aim to present written peace plan at talks as soon as next month -spokesman
The Taliban plan to present a written peace proposal to the Afghan government side as soon as next month, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgents said even as they make major territorial gains in the breach left by departing foreign forces. Hundreds of Afghan security force members have fled into …
Read More »Ukraine to hold land military drills with US, Poland, Lithuania
Ukraine, the US, Poland, and Lithuania will hold a large military exercise in the western part of Ukraine later in July, the Ukrainian military said on Monday, the second round of war games involving Kyiv and foreign partners in a month. The drill, Three Swords-2021, will involve more than 1,200 …
Read More »UN Security Council to meet on controversial Ethiopia mega-dam project
The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Thursday on Ethiopia’s mega-dam project, which has sparked fears in downstream Sudan and Egypt over their water supplies, diplomats said. Both nations have been pushing Ethiopia to ink a binding deal over the filling and operation of its Grand Ethiopian …
Read More »Iraq logs 8030 new Covid-19 cases, 29 fatalities in 24 hours
Iraq reported 8030 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said today. The daily epidemiological report on the COVID-19 situation stated that 29 COVID-19 deaths were registered today. On the other hand, 5789 patients achieved full recovery. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Iraq, 1379505 …
Read More »Miami condo collapse: death toll reaches 27 as demolition expands search area
Three more victims were discovered in the rubble of the collapsed South Florida condo building on Monday after crews set off a string of explosives that brought down the last of the structure, allowing search efforts to resume. Miami-Dade’s assistant fire chief, Raide Jadallah, told family members that the bodies …
Read More »UN raises alarm over Yemeni children’s education amid conflict
More than two million children are out of school because of the continuing war across Yemen, says UNICEF. The United Nations has warned that Yemeni children’s education and futures were under threat because of the continuing war in the Middle Eastern country. In a report titled Education Disrupted: Impact of …
Read More »Rockets hit Ain al-Assad military base housing US forces in western Iraq; no casualties reported
An airbase in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, where American military forces and trainers are stationed, has reportedly come under attack by a barrage of rockets. An Iraqi security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that three Katyusha rockets targeted the vicinity of Ain al-Asad Air Base, located about …
Read More »Italy arrests four suspected of sending funds to Islamic State
Italian police said on Monday they had arrested four men accused of sending funds to people across Europe and the Middle East who were collecting on behalf of Islamic State, in an investigation that led to a larger suspected terrorism-funding network. The four men were suspected of wiring 30,000 euros …
Read More »Fire rages, mass evacuation after Thai factory blast
Thousands of people on the outskirts of Thailand’s capital were being evacuated on Monday as firefighters battled blazes for hours after a factory explosion that killed a rescue worker and wounded 29 people, officials said. Disaster authorities said 70 houses were damaged and fires were still being fought 15 hours …
Read More »Gunmen attack Nigeria school, abduct about 150 students
Around 150 children are missing after armed men attacked a school in northwest Nigeria’s Kaduna state, a parent and an administrator told Reuters on Monday. Police said gunmen shooting wildly raided the Bethel Baptist High School in southern Kaduna state overnight. “They … overpowered the school’s security guards and made …
Read More »Vaccinate or repent, Russian church says amid hundreds of daily COVID-19 deaths
Russia’s Orthodox Church admonished people refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, calling them sinners who would have to atone for the rest of their lives, as the country reported another jump in new infections and deaths. The church urged all its faithful to be inoculated as another 24,353 new COVID-19 …
Read More »Hundreds of Afghan security personnel flee into Tajikistan as Taliban advance
More than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the border into Tajikistan on Sunday after Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan, the Tajik border guard service said, while dozens of others were captured by the insurgents. The crossings underscore a rapidly deteriorating situation in the country as foreign troops near a …
Read More »Iraqi forces launch military operation to pursue ISIS sleeper cells southwest Mosul
Nineveh Operations Command launched on Monday a military operation to pursue sleeper cells in the areas of Al-Sabuniya and Al-Tiniya, southwest of Mosul. A statement issued by the Command, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that the security forces conducted a military operation to pursue the sleeper cells …
Read More »Iraqi PMF reinforce their security fortifications with thermal cameras
Iraqi popular mobilization forces reinforced on Sunday, security cameras thermal fortifications in the province of Diyala. The commission said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “the heroes of the 20th Brigade in the Popular Mobilization, installed thermal cameras and fortifications on the points of the …
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