International News

Swedish foreign minister cleared in corruption inquiry

  • STOCKHOLM, (APP/AFP): A Swedish anti-corruption prosecutor said Tuesday he had closed an inquiry into Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, concluding no crime was committed when she obtained a Stockholm rental apartment from a union. Special prosecutor Alf Johansson at the National Economic Crimes Bureau opened a preliminary inquiry in January after daily newspaper Aftonbladet revealed details […]

  • Palestinian PM dismisses Netanyahu’s direct talks proposal

    RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, (APP/AFP): Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday dismissed an Israeli proposal for direct negotiations instead of a French multilateral peace initiative, calling it an attempt to “buy time”. Hamdallah made the comments as he met French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who has held talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this […]

  • Death toll from IS bombings in Assad heartland hits 154: monitor

    BEIRUT, (APP/AFP): The death toll from a wave of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group in the heartland of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has risen to 154, a monitor said on Tuesday. More than 300 people were also wounded in the Monday attacks in the Mediterranean coastal cities of Jableh and Tartus, some […]

  • Campus bomb kills two in rebel-held Yemen capital

    SANAA, (APP/AFP) – A bomb hit a university campus in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday killing two people at an event commemorating the country’s 1990 unification, a security official said. Several people were also seriously wounded, the official said, adding that death toll was likely to rise. The event was organised by the […]

  • US envoy calls on Syria rebels to respect truce

    BEIRUT, (APP/AFP) – The US envoy for Syria has urged rebel groups to respect a shaky nationwide truce after they gave its brokers 48 hours to stop a regime offensive near the capital. Twenty-nine rebel groups on Sunday set the deadline for the US and Russian sponsors of the February 27 ceasefire to halt an […]

  • Landmine kills Saudi soldier on Yemen border

    RIYADH, (APP/AFP) – One Saudi soldier was killed and three were wounded when a landmine exploded on the border with Yemen where Riyadh has led a 14-month military intervention, the interior ministry said late Monday. The blast hit a border patrol in the southwestern province of Jazan, the ministry said in a statement. The border […]