Earthquake kills nine in Turkey, injures dozens in Iran
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in northwestern Iran on Sunday killed nine people, including children, in neighboring Turkey and injured dozens on both sides of the border, authorities said.
World Headlines
Italy towns close down amid virus case clusters, 2 deaths
A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the new virus from China and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.
EU Holding First Post-Brexit Summit
The European Union’s first post-Brexit summit Thursday in Brussels promises to be a contentious one. The subject is money — how to fill a nearly $65 billion budget gap left by Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Pompeo Slams Democrats for Secret Meeting With Top Iranian Official
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed on Tuesday a group of Democratic senators who reportedly met in secret with Iran’s foreign minister during a foreign policy conference held over the weekend in Germany.
United Arab Emirates To Become First Arab State with a Nuclear Power Plant
The United Arab Emirates will become the first Arab state with a nuclear power plant as it gained approval from its regulatory watchdog on Monday.
Japan recession fears grow as GDP shrinks at 6.3% rate with COVID-19 hit to come
The economy took another battering from the consumption tax increase in the last quarter, contracting by the most in more than five years and fueling recession concerns as the widening coronavirus outbreak hits activity.
Iranian dissidents call for election boycott after regime disqualifies thousands of candidates
Iranian dissidents opposed to the hardline regime in Tehran are urging their fellow citizens not to vote in next week’s elections, which they describe as a ‘sham’ — calling on them to instead work to overthrow the struggling regime.
Taliban: Peace Deal With US To Be Sealed by End of Feb
The Taliban appeared confident Monday it will sign a peace agreement with the United States by the end of this month in the presence of international guarantors to close the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Negotiators from Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt Optimistic on Nile Dam Standoff
Delegations from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan continue to negotiate water usage issues relating to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam being built on the Nile River.
China’s online censors tighten grip after brief coronavirus respite
While censorship in China has tightened under President Xi Jinping, questions of transparency around the current outbreak are especially sensitive after Beijing’s cover-up of the extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic fuelled suspicion and mistrust, and led to official calls for openness this time around.
415 million children grow up in war zones, Save the Children reports
Nearly one in six children around the world — 415 million children in all — were living in a conflict zone in 2018, more than double the figure recorded in 1995, according to a report released Thursday by Save the Children.
US intelligence expert: Soleimani was planning new Iran hostage crisis, coup against Iraqi government
A US Intelligence expert has revealed the real reason US President Trump assassinated Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani in January, claiming what looked like an escalation with the Islamic Republic ‘was actually a de-escalating event.’
EU chief rejects Johnson’s idea of loose UK trade deal
The European Union will only offer Britain unique access to its vast single market if the U.K. agrees to stick to the bloc’s standards, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, dismissing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s idea of brokering a loose trade deal with the EU.
Half-a-million insect species face extinction: scientists
Half of the one million animal and plant species on Earth facing extinction are insects, and their disappearance could be catastrophic for humankind, scientists have said in a ‘warning to humanity’.
New Secretive Iranian Nuclear Sites Spark Concern in Congress
Iran is not ‘complying at all’ with the landmark nuclear deal and continues to prevent international nuclear inspectors from accessing key sites suspected of housing the regime’s sensitive atomic weapons program, according to the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
More than 100 U.S. troops suffered brain injuries in Iranian attack, Pentagon says
The number of U.S. troops who suffered brain injuries during a Jan. 8 Iranian attack on an American military base in Iraq has topped 100, the Pentagon said Monday night.
Heavy rain in Australia extinguishes major wildfire, causes flash flooding
After weeks of devastating wildfires, Australia’s east coast is now experiencing major flash flooding caused by downpours across the region.
Chinese Officials Confirm Coronavirus Is Airborne Disease
Chinese health officials confirmed that the deadly novel coronavirus can be spread through the air, according to a Shanghai press conference on Feb. 8.
Iran unveils ballistic missile, ‘new generation’ engines
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveiled Sunday a short-range ballistic missile that they said can be powered by a “new generation” of engines designed to put satellites into orbit.
China Cuts Tariffs on $75 Billion of US Imports
China cut tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports including soybeans, pork and auto parts Thursday in a trade truce with Washington while Beijing struggles with a costly virus outbreak.