TEHERAN (AFP) – Iran has seized 8.8 tonnes of narcotics destined for Europe and uncovered one of the country’s largest trafficking rings, police said on Thursday (Sept 26). “This huge narcotics shipment, which was hidden in a petrol tanker and reached here via Iran’s eastern border, was supposed to be offloaded and then smuggled to […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, said he bears “all the responsibility” for the killing of a dissident writer by Saudi agents in Istanbul last year, but denied he had prior knowledge of the plot, according to a trailer for a documentary to be released next week. The killing […]

KABUL (AFP) – Afghans go to the polls on Saturday (Sept 28) to vote in a presidential election that few expect will have much effect in bringing peace to the war-torn country. With the Taleban threatening violence against anyone who participates, and concern that the widespread fraud which blighted previous elections will resurface, analysts fear […]

JERUSALEM (REUTERS) – Israel’s president tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (Sept 25) with assembling a new government after power-sharing talks with his strongest rival, Benny Gantz, failed following an inconclusive election. Netanyahu, head of the right-wing Likud party, and Israel’s longest-serving leader, still has no clear path to a fifth term after emerging […]

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) – A Soyuz rocket blasted off on Wednesday (Sept 25) from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan carrying an Emirati who is set to make history as the first Arab on the International Space Station. The Russian rocket carrying the three-member crew – including Hazzaa al-Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates – […]

CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people, two rights groups said on Wednesday (Sept 25), in the wake of rare protests last week calling for the ouster of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Egyptian Centre for Freedoms and Rights said 1,003 had been arrested, while the Egyptian Centre for Economic and […]

Iran says it has lifted a detention order on a Swedish-owned, British-flagged oil tanker, but that it may not leave because of an ongoing inquiry. Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted that the Stena Impero was suspected of “violations and damages inflicted on the environment”. The ship’s owner, Stena Bulk, said it was not aware […]

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief opponent, Benny Gantz, agreed Monday to begin talks for a possible power-sharing deal after last week’s election left Israel in political gridlock. After meeting for more than two hours at the office of President Reuven Rivlin, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz issued a joint statement saying […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel’s election committee published final results from last week’s election on Wednesday (Sept 25) that gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud an additional seat, but which did not change the deadlock the country faces. The final results from the Sept 17 vote gave the right-wing Likud 32 seats compared to Mr Benny […]

President says Tehran is planning to reduce commitments to nuclear deal for third time, in response to US sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ruled out holding any bilateral talks with the United States and threatened to further cut commitments to the country’s crumbling nuclear deal with world powers within days. In an address to […]