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Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed solidarity with the German and Belgian government and people in the aftermath of the horrific floods that stroke the Rhineland. In a statement issued earlier today, Saturday, the Ministry said, “we express sentiments of sympathy for the scores of victims and missing civilians and …

Gunmen abducted at least 60 people in northwestern Nigeria after riding motorbikes into five villages and firing sporadically into the air, a police officer and several residents said on Saturday. Nigeria is battling an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, mainly in northwestern areas, where thinly stretched security …

Firefighters used water-carrying planes on Saturday as they battled to control a wildfire in Spain’s Costa Brava region that has forced 350 people to be evacuated from their homes, the regional fire service said. The blaze, which police think was caused by a discarded cigarette, tore through more than 400 …

Greece banned music in restaurants and bars and imposed a nighttime curfew on its popular holiday island of Mykonos on Saturday after a rise in new coronavirus infections there. Known as the party island of the super-rich, Mykonos is one of Greece’s most popular destinations, attracting more than a million …

Thousands marched across France on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to force vaccination of health workers and require a COVID-19 free certificate to enter places such as bars, restaurants, and cinemas. Macron this week announced sweeping measures to fight a rapid surge in coronavirus infections, which protesters …

The Saudi-led military coalition and its mercenaries plunder “three to four million barrels” of Yemeni oil every month, Yemen’s oil director says. Executive Director of the Yemeni Oil Company Ammar al-Azra’i announced the grim news in an interview with Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television news network on Friday, saying, “We do …

Bahrain’s leading religious scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim has called on the tiny Persian Gulf island state’s authorities to immediately release political prisoners because such an issue “cannot be postponed” until the Bahraini parliament is ready. According to Press TV, in a statement carried by Bahrain Mirror, the religious scholar …

Five Palestinians go on indefinite hunger strike at the Israeli regime’s jails as their last resort to protest their similarly indefinite and unexplained imprisonment at the hands of the regime. The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported the development on Thursday, citing the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Authority. “Four of them are …

The head of the Executive Council of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says all the sufferings in Lebanon today have been directly or indirectly caused by the United States. “Today, the one who has destroyed Lebanon is the United States, which continues to interfere in all of the affairs of …

US President Joe Biden has said that American social media companies, such as Facebook, that allow coronavirus misinformation to spread on their platforms are “killing people.” On Friday afternoon, Biden was asked during a press conference at the White House what his message is to social media platforms on the …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the weeklong looting and deadly unrest that have rocked the country were “planned.” Ramaphosa made the comment on Friday, as he arrived in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, known as the epicenter of the unrest, which spreads in South Africa in the wake of the jailing …

Russia has dismissed as “false” and “great pulp fiction” a recent article by The Guardian about Moscow’s alleged secret efforts to ensure Donald Trump’s victory in the United States’ 2016 presidential election. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the comments during a press conference on Friday, after the British newspaper reported a day earlier, citing …

China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday promised $3 billion in aid to developing countries to fight COVID-19 at an unprecedented emergency online meeting of APEC heads of state. Xi said the additional funds, which come after a similar pledge in May, were intended to “support COVID-19 response and economic and …

Shock has rippled through the Muslim community after the European Union’s Highest Court ruled that businesses can sack Muslim women for wearing the hijab if they work face-to-face with customers or if the wearing of the religious clothing causes workplace conflicts.

The US government has warned American businesses against engaging in operations in Hong Kong as tensions between China and the United States grow. The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security issued the warning on Friday, claiming new laws …

Former US national security adviser John Bolton has insisted that the United States did not lose the war in Afghanistan, but has simply “walked away from it.” In an interview on Friday, Bolton also denounced US President Joe Biden’s order for a full military withdrawal from the country which the …

British health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he had tested positive for COVID-19, but added that his symptoms were mild and he was thankful to have had had two doses of vaccine against the disease.

An Indian family of five burst into tears of joy after being chosen for this weekend’s downsized hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, but hundreds of thousands of rejected applicants were left disappointed. Up to 60,000 Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia are allowed to take part in this year’s hajj, evoking …

The Australian city of Sydney on Saturday ordered a shutdown of building sites, banned non-essential retail, and threatened fines for employers who make staff come into the office as new COVID-19 cases kept rising three weeks into a citywide lockdown. Authorities in New South Wales state, of which Sydney is …

Russian investigators said on Saturday engine failure had caused a small passenger plane to make a forced landing in Siberia a day earlier, flipping the aircraft upside down but causing no serious injuries among the 18 people on board. Fears had swirled over the fate of the Russian Antonov An-28 …