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Caltech researchers say there is an elevated risk that a long-overdue earthquake, dubbed the ‘Big One,’ is on the way after recent seismic activity shifted a previously-dormant fault line for the first time in 500 years. California was rocked by several major earthquakes in July and August. The Ridgecrest earthquake …

A senior Israeli official attended a maritime security conference in Bahrain on Monday in another sign of Gulf Arab nations and Israel transcending longtime enmities to focus on a perceived common threat from Iran. Israel, which regards Gulf states as natural allies against Iran, has formal diplomatic relations with only …

At least three people have died after a small plane crashed into a residential street and burst into flames in Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The aircraft smashed into a street in the Caicara area just minutes after taking off from the nearby Carlos Prates Airport on Monday morning. A spokesperson …

Egypt will push Ethiopia this week to agree to an external mediator to help resolve a deepening dispute over a giant hydropower dam being built on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile, officials said on Sunday. Egypt sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as an existential risk, fearing it will threaten scarce …

US forces leaving northern Syria have reportedly crossed into Iraq, where they will continue their seemingly endless military presence in the region. Donald Trump had insinuated that the soldiers would be returning home. More than 100 armored vehicles were spotted entering Iraq from the Sahela border crossing in Dohuk province, …

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan on Saturday with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials. Pelosi said in a statement the visit was at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region… With the deepening crisis …

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban, on Sunday, the International Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to issue a decision to lift the suspension of Iraq’s membership in the initiative. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Extractive Industries Initiative in Iraq Thamer Ghadhban …

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper says all of the American troops pulling out of northeastern Syria will move to western Iraq. “The US withdrawal continues apace from northeastern Syria… we’re talking weeks not days,” Esper told reporters en route to the Middle East late on Saturday, noting that the process …

The number of Arbaeen pilgrims has so far hit 18 million people, an informed official said on Saturday. He said that five million non-Iraqi pilgrims from other countries participated in the event. The official added that 1,100 Mawkebs (makeshift tents to provide the pilgrims with emergency services) have been erected …

Harrowing photographs show the mayhem in downtown Santiago, following violent protests sparked by a recent fare hike for public transport in the Chilean capital. The country’s president has announced a state of emergency. Addressing the nation in the early hours of Saturday, President Sebastian Pinera said that he would invoke …

Turkey has accused Kurdish militants of violating a temporary truce in northern Syria even as a fragile ceasefire was reported to b holding. Ankara on Thursday agreed to pause its incursion into Syria for 120 hours while the US facilitates the withdrawal of Kurdish SDF militants from a 20-mile safe …

Boris Johnson has said he will press on “undaunted” with his Brexit strategy despite losing a vital vote in the House of Commons. He has vowed to introduce legislation needed to implement his agreement in Parliament next week. But he will be compelled later to ask the EU for an …

At least 15 miners were killed on Saturday (October 19) when a dam collapsed at a gold mine about 160 km (100 miles) south of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russian news agencies reported. Heavy rains had caused erosion of the dam and water had broken through, sweeping away several …

Suicides and homicides are on the rise among children, teens and young adults in the United States, according to a new study by the government that underscores what US experts say is a disturbing trend among the young. The report, published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

The fifth day of protests and a general strike have brought Barcelona to a halt amid ongoing fury over jailed Catalan separatist leaders. Tens of thousands of demonstrators entered the city on Friday, stopping trains and blocking roads. Barcelona and Real Madrid football teams postponed a match they were due …

At least 62 people were killed and “nearly 60” others were wounded in two blasts inside a mosque in Nangarhar province during Friday prayers, TOLOnews reported, citing Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the local governor. The mosque is in the Jaw Dara area of the Haska Meyna district of Nangarhar. Explosives …

Heavily armed fighters surrounded security forces in a Mexican city on Thursday and made them free one of drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s sons after his capture triggered gunbattles and a prison break that sent civilians scurrying for cover. Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said a patrol by National Guard …

Tens of thousands of angry protesters blocked roads and burned tires across Lebanon for a second day on Friday, demanding the demise of a political elite they say looted the economy to the point of breakdown. The nationwide protests, Lebanon’s biggest in years, brought ordinary people from all sects and …

Millions of pilgrims have gathered in Iraq’s holy city of Karbala to commemorate Arba’een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam. Among the pilgrims, which usually number 20 million from around the world every year, many arrive in Karbala after trekking about 70 …

Iraqi President Salih met today at the Presidential Office in Baghdad, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the delegation accompanying him. The President stressed the need to intensify efforts to support Iraq in maintaining its security and stability, emphasized that terrorist gangs must not be given a chance …