WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama has said the Russian bombing campaign in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad is driving moderate opposition underground and “only strengthening” Islamic State. Mr Obama said he rejected the Russian assertion that all armed opponents of the “brutal” Mr Assad were terrorists. Moscow insists its air strikes –…
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump has said he would send home all Syrian refugees the US accepts, if he becomes president. The billionaire, who is the current frontrunner in the Republican race for the White House, told a New Hampshire rally: “If I win, they’re going back.” It marks a reversal in policy – earlier this…
MOSCOW – Russia has launched a series of air strikes in Syria for a second day. The strikes reportedly targeted sites in the north-west held by the Army of Conquest rebel alliance, as well as areas in Homs and Hama provinces. Russia said it struck 12 Islamic State (IS) positions in 24 hours, destroying a…
HAJJ – Iran says number of its citizens who died in the Hajj stampeded in Saudi Arabia last week has reached 464 – nearly double the previous toll. Iranian authorities said there was no longer hope of finding any of the country’s missing pilgrims alive. According to Saudi officials, 769 people died in the crush…
BANGUI – Hundreds of inmates at a prison in the Central African Republic have escaped as a wave of violence left dozens dead. After a Muslim taxi driver was killed, clashes erupted on Saturday between Christian militia and Muslim groups. Members of a Christian militia known as the anti-Balaka attacked the prison on Monday, freeing…
NEW YORK – Vladimir Putin is back — and stealing Barack Obama’s thunder. The Russian president showed up at the United Nations on Monday for the first time in a decade, proposing a coup against U.S. global leadership and seeking to wrest control of a coalition battling ISIS away from America’s grip. And he wasn’t…
PARIS – France has carried out its first air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. French planes destroyed a training camp in the eastern town of Deir al-Zour, President Francois Hollande said. A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year. Speaking in…
MUNICH – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that a solution to the migrant crisis is far off and how it is handled will shape Europe in the long term. She told German MPs the latest EU measures agreed on Wednesday were only a “first step” and that “selective relocation” of migrants was not enough….
MECCA – A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season has killed more than 300 people and left 450 others wounded. The stampede occurred during the ritual known as “stoning the devil” in the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca. Hundreds have been killed in past years during…
ATHENS – Greece’s Alexis Tsipras has said his left-wing Syriza party has a “clear mandate” after winning a second general election in less than nine months. But he said Greeks faced a difficult road and recovery from financial crisis would only come through hard work. Syriza has won just over 35%, slightly down on its…
