In a war in which the United States has sought to minimize its own military footprint, this militia has become the American military’s ally of choice in northern Syria and its best hope of taking Raqqa in the coming months. Continue reading the main story But the budding alliance has drawn the United States deeper into the complex politics of northern Syria and prompted furious objections from […]
Iraqi fighter jets struck Isis positions in neighbouring Syria on Friday, in what officials said was retaliation for a spate of car bomb attacks in the capital Baghdad. The air strikes coincided with Iraq’s ground forces pushing deeper into the western half of Mosul and reaching the first residential districts. Iraq’s second city, a critical Isis stronghold split by the Tigris river, is divided between government forces […]
Photo Christian families who had left El Arish, in northern Sinai, arriving at a church in Ismailia, Egypt. Credit Ahmed Aboulenein/Reuters CAIRO — Dozens of Egyptian Christian families fled their homes in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Friday, driven by a targeted campaign of Islamist violence that has killed at least seven people in recent weeks. People flooded into a church compound in the city of Ismailia, […]
By John Walcott and Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A proposal the Trump administration is considering to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation has stalled over warnings from defence and intelligence officials that the move could backfire, according to officials familiar with the matter. “If you do that, there is no way to escalate, and you would foreclose any possibility of talking to the […]
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman starts a month-long Asian tour on Sunday to build ties with the world’s fastest growing importers of Saudi oil and promote investment opportunities, including the sale of a stake in its giant state firm Saudi Aramco. The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan […]
RIYADH Saudi Arabia’s King Salman starts a month-long Asian tour on Sunday to build ties with the world’s fastest growing importers of Saudi oil and promote investment opportunities, including the sale of a stake in its giant state firm Saudi Aramco. The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, […]
By Rozanna Latiff and Emily Chow | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR VX nerve agent, a chemical on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in last week’s bizarre murder in a busy Kuala Lumpur airport, Malaysian police said on Friday. Kim Jong Nam died on Feb. 13 after being assaulted by two […]
By A. Ananthalakshmi and Liz Lee | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR VX, the chemical used in the airport murder Kim Jong Nam, is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man. Just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent or a single drop enough to kill in minutes, experts say. With the texture and feel of engine oil, VX was first produced in the United Kingdom in […]
That leaves many governments invested in vague hopes that such a settlement, however rickety or superficial, will somehow stop the metastasis of the Syrian crisis and ease fears of Islamic State terrorism — often conflated with concerns about ordinary Syrian refugees — that have fueled the rise of right-wing politicians. Photo Syrian refugees live in makeshift tent settlements in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Credit Diego Ibarra Sanchez for […]
By Tom Miles and John Irish | GENEVA GENEVA Opposing sides in the Syrian war came face-to-face in U.N. peace talks for the first time in three years on Thursday, to hear mediator Staffan de Mistura implore them to cooperate to find a way out of almost six years of war. “I ask you to work together. I know it’s not going to be easy to end […]
There was so much weaponry inside that visitors got searched not just on the way in, but also on the way out. Continue reading the main story The exhibition served to promote Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which has distinguished itself as a regional hub for international business at a time when wars and uprisings have upended other Arab states. It also provided […]
Photo Iraqi forces attacked the Mosul airport in an offensive to take the western side of the city from the Islamic State on Thursday. Credit Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have seized most of Mosul’s airport, an important milestone in the broader offensive to retake from the Islamic State the western half of the city, allied and Iraqi officials said on Thursday. […]
BEIRUT: Turkish-backed Syrian opposition announced on Thursday they had taken full control of Al-Bab from the Daesh group, marking a key defeat for the jihadists after weeks of heavy fighting.The town of Al-Bab, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, was the last Daesh stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.“We are announcing Al-Bab completely liberated, and we are now clearing mines from […]
By Humeyra Pamuk and John Davison | ISTANBUL/BEIRUT ISTANBUL/BEIRUT Turkey-backed rebels have seized the centre of the town of al-Bab from Islamic State, Turkish state media and rebels officials said on Thursday, marking a likely breakthrough in Ankara’s drive to wipe out the militant group in northern Syria. Turkey launched its Syrian operation, dubbed “Operation Euphrates Shield”, in August in an effort to push Islamic State from […]
Three Egyptian real estate executives said on Thursday that their companies have suspended housing deals with the Saudi Arabian government amid political tensions between the two countries. Four Egyptian real estate companies had signed memorandums of understanding with the Saudi Housing Ministry during King Salman’s April visit to Cairo last year. Since then, political differences have emerged as the two Arab powers have diverged on the conflict […]
BAGHDAD U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city’s airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response descended on the airport early on Thursday and the nearby Ghozlani military complex, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state TV. “Our forces started a major […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. A few months ago Vice founder Shane Smith fronted a superior Vice-HBO documentary, “A House Divided,” that detailed the issues, tactics and rancor that dominated Barack Obama’s relations with a Republican-dominated Congress. Now he sees “a perfect storm” that involves […]
Russia is pressing world powers to provide Syria with billions of dollars for reconstruction to bolster its faltering efforts to resolve the Arab state’s six-year conflict. But European and Gulf states, angered by Russia’s military intervention that tilted the war in favour of President Bashar al-Assad, will only contribute if Moscow secures a peace settlement that sets the terms for an eventual political transition, western diplomats say. […]
By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay | GENEVA GENEVA U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday he did not expect an immediate breakthrough when Syria peace talks restart on Thursday but wanted productive talks that relaunch the process towards a political solution to end the six-year war. They will be the first U.N.-mediated negotiations on Syria in almost a year, during which time the military and […]
SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred civilians have fled their homes in the outskirts of western Mosul, the first reported displacement since a U.S.-backed offensive on the jihadists’ remaining stronghold there began at the weekend. A Reuters correspondent saw about 200 women and children being transported on buses by federal police on Wednesday to the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km (12 miles) south of […]
But one option being considered is for American troops to step up their support of the fighters by firing artillery, shooting mortars, helping with logistics and significantly expanding efforts to advise them, much as the United States is doing for Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul. Continue reading the main story In late January, President Trump gave the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, 30 days to develop […]
The global Panama Papers investigation is based on the unprecedented leak of confidential information from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. (Arnulfo Franco / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO) In Brisbane and Ankara, Harare and Quito, Berlin and New York, the Panama Papers investigation into tax haven abuses has been recognized with some of the most prestigious journalistic accolades on the planet. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which […]
However, neither American nor British officials could say for certain that the militant was the same man as Jamal Malik al-Harith, the man who had been held at Guantánamo. Continue reading the main story The British government also said it could not confirm the Islamic State’s communiqué nor the reports in the British news media. “As all U.K. consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited […]
By Nathalie Kantaris Diaz | PARIS PARIS Amnesty International said on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s “poisonous” rhetoric on his way to winning the White House led a global trend towards increasingly divisive politics in 2016 that had made the world a “darker” place. In its annual report covering 159 countries, the human rights group said principles of human dignity and equality had come under assault from […]
