Al Qaeda confirms death of leader, appoints successor
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed the death of its leader, Qassim al-Raymi, and appointed his successor, a jihadist monitoring agency said Sunday.
World News
Iranians Threaten to Destroy the Tomb of Queen Esther and Mordechai
An Iranian group is reportedly threatening to destroy what local Jews believe to be the ancient burial site of Queen Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
Drought slashes Australian crop output to record low
Australia’s hottest and driest year on record has slashed crop production, with summer output expected to fall to the lowest levels on record, according to official projections released Tuesday.
South Korean and Iran report first deaths from coronavirus
South Korea reported its first death from the COVID-19 virus, formerly known as coronavirus, on Thursday, a day after two people died in Iran from having contracted the Chinese virus.
Iran’s Khamenei says ‘Zionist-controlled’ US government will sink like Titanic
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the United States will sink like the ‘Titanic,’ blaming it on ‘wealthy Zionist individuals and corporate owners’ who he said controlled the US economy.
Russia and Turkey agree on more talks on Syria amid crisis
Talks between Russia and Turkey meant to reduce tensions in northwestern Syria did not yield a ‘satisfactory result’ for Ankara, but both sides agreed to continue negotiations, a spokesman for Turkey’s president said Tuesday.
Locust plague begins to spread from Africa to Middle East and Asia
Locusts swarming across eastern Africa have now made their way out of the continent, into the Middle East, and as far as India, Pakistan, and China, though authorities in east Asia say they are not yet worried about the locusts coming further inland.
China’s Hurting Banks Brace for Worst-Case Economic Scenario
The impact of the spreading coronavirus risks bringing to life the worst-case economic scenarios contained in China’s annual banking stress tests. Last year’s exercise envisaged annual economic growth slowing to as low as 4.15% — a scenario which showed that the bad loan ratio at the nation’s 30 biggest banks would rise five-fold. Analysts now say that the outbreak could send first-quarter growth to as little as 3.8%.
Iran says it will strike U.S. and Israel if they make the ‘slightest error’
Iran is ready to strike the United States and Israel if they give it any reason to do so, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said in a live speech on state television.
Trump, Turkey call for Russia to stop backing Syrian ‘atrocities’
US President Donald Trump has called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime’s ‘atrocities’ as he expressed US concern over violence in the Idlib region, the White House said Sunday.
China coronavirus cases pass 70,000 as WHO mission gets underway
The number of deaths from the coronavirus in China rose to more than 1,700 on Monday as international experts began a joint mission with their Chinese counterparts to tackle the epidemic.
Rockets hit U.S. coalition base in Baghdad, no casualties
Rockets hit a U.S.-led military coalition’s Baghdad headquarters early on Sunday but caused no casualties, a coalition spokesman said, in the latest attack to target U.S. facilities in Iraq.
China Still Not Sharing Coronavirus Information, Experts Say
Six weeks after announcing the appearance of a new, highly contagious and sometimes lethal virus, experts say China is still not sharing important data that could help contain the epidemic.
U.S. Navy Seizes Suspected Iranian Weapons Cache In Arabian Sea
The U.S. Navy says that it seized advanced weapons and weapon components believed to be of Iranian ‘design and manufacture’ intended for Huthi rebels in Yemen.
Coronavirus cases rise sharply as 242 people die in a single day
More than 14,800 new cases of the coronavirus have been reported in China’s Hubei province – the epicenter of the outbreak.
Erdogan Threatens Military Escalation in Syria
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is threatening to escalate fighting against Syrian government forces following Monday’s killing of Turkish soldiers. The warning comes in the face of calls for restraint from Moscow, but Erdogan is facing growing domestic pressure for an uncompromising stance.
Iranian leader sees ‘pretext’ for attacking Israel in death of Soleimani
A former leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps says Iran has been looking for an excuse to ‘raze Tel Aviv to the ground,’ and has one now following the killing of Qassem Soleimani in January.
Coronavirus cases appearing outside China could be ‘spark’ for larger outbreak
The World Health Organization said on Monday that a rash of coronavirus cases spotted outside China could be ‘the spark that becomes a bigger fire,’ as the death toll reached 908 and surpassed the SARS outbreak of 2002 and 2003.
NATO official warns of rising China as new threat
A senior NATO official expressed concern about the rise of China as a global power in a speech recently, calling on the communist regime to join existing missile agreements with the US and Russia.
White House mulls new trade weapon for EU talks: ‘Carousel’ tariffs
The Trump administration is reportedly considering a novel source of leverage against the European Union in seeking a trade deal: ‘carousel’ retaliation, meaning tariffs applied to a shifting set of products.