BEIRUT , Lebanon (AFP) — Al-Qaeda fighters and their allies shot dead 19 civilians from President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority in their own homes after seizing their village in central Syria, a monitor said Friday. Other villagers were kidnapped following the assault in which eight pro-regime militiamen were killed trying to defend Al-Zara in Hama province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “During the attack, they entered houses and opened fire on families, killing […]
International
Temer dives into tough new job: save Brazil in crisis
by Sebastian Smith BRASILIA , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s interim president Michel Temer kicks off his new administration Friday, seeking to resuscitate the economy and steer clear of the corruption scandal that helped bring down his predecessor. The former vice president installed a business-friendly cabinet Thursday, just hours after senators voted to suspend his boss-turned-nemesis, Dilma Rousseff, and open an impeachment trial against her. The tumultuous transfer of power ended 13 years of rule by […]
Canada wildfires in ‘bullseye’ of warming planet trends
by Kerry SHERIDAN MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Experts say climate change is contributing to the wildfires raging across Canada, and the increasing frequency of such fires may overwhelm one of Earth’s most important ecosystems, the boreal forest. In just over a week, an out of control blaze has charred more than 2,290 square kilometers (884 square miles) of land and forced the evacuation of 100,000 people from Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. Dominated by […]
Presidential air base briefly locked down after bomb threat
WASHINTON, United States (AFP) — Joint Base Andrews, the military air base that is home to the US president’s plane Air Force One, was briefly placed on lock-down Thursday after a woman claimed to be wearing a bomb. “At approximately 5:15 p.m. today, a woman walked into the Visitor Control Center on JBA and claimed to have a bomb strapped to her chest,” the base said on Twitter. “Once emergency responders arrived, the individual was […]
Turkey visa deal unravels as Erdogan defies EU on key condition
by Fulya OZERKAN ANKARA , Turkey (AFP) — A deal to grant Turks visa-free travel to most of the European Union was hanging by a thread Thursday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defiantly vowed Ankara would not fulfil a key condition set by Brussels. With alarm growing over the deal’s future, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker bluntly told Erdogan that Turks would only enjoy travel to the passport-free Schengen area if all conditions were met […]
Hezbollah announces death of top military commander in Syria
BEIRUT , Lebanon (AFP) — Hezbollah on Friday announced the death of its military commander in Syria, Mustafa Badreddine. “He said a few months ago, ‘I will not come back from Syria, unless a martyr or carrying the flag of victory’. He is the top commander Mustafa Badreddine. And he came back today as a martyr,” the Shiite movement said in a statement carried by the Al-Manar TV channel. Hezbollah, along with Iran, is […]
US ready to loosen Libya arms embargo: US official
by Andrew BEATTY WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — The US government is ready to loosen a ban on arms exports to Libya, in a bid to help the country’s fledgling unity government fight the Islamic State group, officials and diplomats told AFP Thursday. Under White House-backed plans, the United Nations would carve out exemptions to an embargo introduced by the Security Council in 2011, during Moamer Kadhafi’s failed attempt to suppress a popular uprising. […]
Storms kill at least 33 in Bangladesh
DHAKA , Bangladesh (AFP) — Fierce tropical storms wreaked havoc across Bangladesh on Thursday, killing more than 30 people, with police attributing many of the deaths to lightning strikes. The death toll from the 10 worst-hit districts stood at 33, police told AFP, with reports of an unconfirmed number of casualties in more remote regions. The northwest of the country was the worst hit, with at least 19 people killed in Pabna, Rajshahi, Sirajganj and […]
US Navy fires officer in charge of sailors held by Iran
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — The officer in charge of 10 US sailors who were briefly captured by Iran in the Persian Gulf was relieved of his command Thursday, the Navy announced. Commander Eric Rasch “was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” the Navy said in a statement, adding he has been temporarily reassigned to a new role. The dismissal is the first time a sailor has been […]
‘We must restore Brazil’s credibility’: acting president
BRASILIA , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s acting president Michel Temer said Thursday his new cabinet must work to restore the country’s “credibility,” in his first address after assuming power from suspended predecessor Dilma Rousseff pending her impeachment trial. “We must significantly improve the business environment for the private sector… and rebalance the government’s budget,” the center-right leader said after installing his new business-friendly cabinet in a ceremony at the presidential palace, ending 13 years of […]
Former Trump butler posts online about killing Obama
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — The US Secret Service said Thursday it is “aware” that Donald Trump’s former butler had repeatedly posted messages on Facebook about killing President Barack Obama and will conduct an investigation. The threatening posts by 84-year-old Anthony Senecal, who served as the presumptive Republican nominee’s butler for 17 years before becoming the “historian” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, were made public by Mother Jones magazine. In a message posted Wednesday, only […]
IS releases video of ‘citizen executions’ in Iraq
BAGHDAD , Iraq (AFP) — The Islamic State group has released a video showing five alleged “spies” being shot dead in Iraq by young men from a crowd assembled for the execution. The 12-minute video released on social media on Wednesday mimics a participatory television show, in which members of the public are interviewed and invited to take part. Produced by the group’s branch in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, the video […]
