BETHLEHEM (REUTERS) – Christmas cheer rang out through Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Monday (Dec 23) as pilgrims and worshippers flocked to the city revered as Jesus’s birthplace and locals made final preparations for this year’s festivities. Children dressed as Santa Claus sang carols and rang bells during a Christmas-themed show at the College des Freres, […]

State media said Gaid Salah died of a heart attack on Monday morning in the military hospital of Algiers. Algeria’s powerful army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah has died, state television reported. Algerian government radio said he died on Monday morning in an Algiers military hospital after a heart attack. Gaid Salah, 79, was seen […]

ANKARA (REUTERS) – Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday (Dec 22), warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence in Syria’s north-west is not stopped. Turkey currently hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the […]

Khartoum launches investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region since 2003. Sudan has opened an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region by members of the government of former president Omar al-Bashir, the state prosecutor has said. The conflict between pro-government forces and ethnic minority rebels left around 300,000 people dead and 2.5 […]

CAIRO (AP) – A 17-year-old boy sought to protect a girl from being sexually harassed by three youths. But he ended up being killed by the three teens who stabbed him repeatedly. On Sunday (Dec 22), a court in Egypt convicted the three teenage boys and sentenced them to 15 years in prison. The juvenile […]

Protesters demand appointment of independent prime minister as they block roads and public buildings in southern Iraq. Thousands of protesters have blocked roads and public buildings in southern Iraq, demanding the appointment of an independent prime minister as the latest deadline for choosing a new leader looms. Anti-government rallies have rocked Baghdad and the Shia-majority south […]

JERUSALEM — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Friday that she had found a basis for investigating possible war crimes by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories. But she is first asking the court to confirm that it has jurisdiction there, which Israel insists it does not. The announcement in The […]

Officers killed while on their way to accompany a polio vaccination team in northwest Lower Dir district. At least two policemen have been killed in an attack targeting a polio vaccination drive in northwest Pakistan, officials say, the latest in a series of attacks targeting eradication efforts in one of only three countries in the world […]

Musharraf, who is in self-imposed exile in Dubai, has been on trial for for imposing a state of emergency in 2007. A special court in Pakistan has sentenced former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death on charges of high treason and subverting the constitution. “Pervez Musharraf has been found guilty of Article 6 for violation of […]

Tripoli could request vehicles, equipment and weapons for use in army, navy and air operations as well as intelligence. Turkey moved closer to military support for Libya’s internationally-recognised government when a bilateral deal was sent to Parliament that includes provisions for launching a “quick reaction force” – if requested by Tripoli. Late last month, Ankara […]