Putin to join 4-way talks on Paris-Berlin Ukraine plan

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin plans to hold four-way discussions with the heads of state of Germany, France and Ukraine on a peace initiative drawn up by Berlin and Paris to end the deadly crisis in neighboring Ukraine. On Sunday, Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko are...

ISIL online video shows burning death of Jordanian pilot

ISIL has released a video online showing the Takfiri terrorists torching the Jordanian pilot who was taken hostage in December. The 22-minute video, which surfaced on social media on Tuesday, showed the pilot, Moaz al-Kassasbeh, burned to death. The pilot was seen dressed in an orange jumpsuit and...

Fresh Castro Photos Published in Cuba After 6-Month Hiatus

Fresh Castro Photos Published in Cuba After 6-Month Hiatus Cuban official media on Monday published new photos of former leader Fidel Castro. The veteran revolutionary lives privately after retiring from politics, with rumors concerning his health arising regularly.   The pictures of Castro,...

Saudi Arabia�s King Abdullah dies

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has died at the age of 90, according to Saudi media. An announcement, made by state TV early on Friday, also said that his 77-year-old half brother, Salman, has succeeded him. "His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members...

Ukraine forces lose control of Donetsk airport

The Ukrainian army says its troops have lost control of the main terminal of the Donetsk airport, which has been the scene of fierce clashes between pro-Russia fighters and Kiev’s forces in recent weeks. On Thursday,  Vladyslav Seleznyov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military, admitted...

Obama warns again Congress over Iran sanctions

US President Barack Obama has warned the new Republican-dominated Congress against additional sanctions on Iran, saying he would veto any such move. Obama made the remarks during his sixth State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. He warned Congress that any measures...

Funeral held for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon

Mourners in Lebanon have held funeral processions for three of the six members of the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, killed in a recent airstrike by the Israeli regime in Syria. The ceremonies took place on Tuesday in the resistance fighters’ hometowns of Khiam, Arab Salim and Yohmor. The...

Clashes continue over Donetsk International Airport

Clashes between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian forces have intensified, with heavy gunfire and explosions shaking the area around Donetsk International Airport. Fighting battered the site of the airport throughout Saturday, with local sources speaking of some of the worst shelling in the...

US-Cuba deal 'new front for Russia war': Analyst

The United States sees the restoring of relations with Cuba as a “new front in its war against Russia” and upsetting the Russian interests, a political analyst says. “I think what has gone under the radar as far as the Cuba-America agreement is concerned, a lot of people...

Families of missing students to continue protests in Mexico

The families of the 43 students who have been missing in Mexico since September say they will continue their protest throughout the holidays as they call for justice to be served. “There is no vacation, no Christmas or New Years; these days are for struggling,” Meliton Ortega,...

North Korea threatens to strike US over Sony hack

North Korea has threatened to retaliate against the United States after it was accused of orchestrating a destructive cyberattack on Sony Pictures. In a long blistering statement, Pyongyang warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole US mainland,” which it described...

Izadi girl gives account of sex slavery by ISIL

An Izadi girl has given a blow-by-blow account of the way the ISIL Takfiri group enslaved and abused thousands of women in the Iraqi town of Sinjar. “They were local Sunni” militants, “some of whom we recognized,” the 19-year-old Izadi girl, who introduced herself as...

14 Americans, one Spanish fund Netanyahu�s Likud campaign: Report

A report says 14 Americans and one Spanish national have funded a campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retain his position at the head of the Likud party. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Saturday that Netanyahu has raised nearly 539,000 shekels (over USD 137,000)...

US drone strike kills 5 in Pakistan�s North Waziristan

At least five people have been killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern restive tribal region near the Afghan border.  Two missiles were fired on Saturday at a compound in Mada Khail neighborhood of Datta Khail area in North Waziristan. Local security officials confirmed...

Panel to advise against punishment for CIA computer search

A CIA panel has decided not to consider punishment for the agency’s officers who spied on the US Senate's computer inquiries into the use of torture, according to current and former officials. The panel is investigating the CIA’s search of a computer network, which staff members...

Australian woman arrested over child murder

An Australian woman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering eight children who were found dead inside her home. The 37-year-old woman is currently recovering from stab wounds in hospital under police guard, Queensland Police Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar told The Associated Press on...

Peshawar attack over, militants killed: Pakistan police

Pakistani police say an attack by pro-Taliban militants on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar is over and all the militants are dead. The attack on an army-run school in Peshawar killed at least 130 people, leaving a dozen more injured. Officials said the combat operation is over...

Five hostages escape from Australia cafe

Five people have reportedly escaped from a café in the central Australian city of Sydney, where at least one gunman took an unknown number of people hostage early Monday local time. According to witnesses, some six hours into the siege three men emerged from the cafe and ran for their lives,...

Imran Khan supporters block roads in eastern Pakistan

Supporters of Pakistan’s opposition Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party have staged anti-government demonstrations in the eastern city of Lahore, causing a suspension of public transport services. On Monday, dozens of supporters of the PTI party gathered at the city’s main roads, burning tires...

Gunmen take several hostages in Australia caf�

Gunmen have reportedly taken several people hostage at a café in the central Australian city of Sydney, making them hold a black flag, apparently belonging to a Takfiri group, against a window. According to witnesses and reports, as many as 30 people are believed to be held by at least...

Turkish police raid TV station close to former Erdogan ally

Turkish police have raided a television station and a newspaper close to a self-exiled US-based cleric, detaining some people, media reports say. Police launched simultaneous operations in different parts of the city of Istanbul and provinces across Turkey, arresting people, among them a top...

FBI to investigate death of black teen in North Carolina

The FBI has launched an investigation into the death of an African-American teenager previously ruled a suicide by authorities in North Carolina. Lennon Lacy, 17, was found hanging from a swing set by two belts in Bladenboro, southeast of Charlotte, in August. It was confirmed on Friday that...

US Congress approves over half a trillion dollars in military spending

The US Congress approved a massive military spending bill on Friday worth more than half a trillion dollars, which includes billions of dollars for waging wars and developing nuclear weapons. The legislation sets the Pentagon’s budget for fiscal year 2015 at $577 billion, including a base...

Pakistan arrests al-Qaeda commander in Karachi

Pakistani authorities have arrested a regional al-Qaeda commander during a raid in the southern port city of Karachi. Police said on Friday that Qari Shahid Usman was captured on Thursday with four other militants. Ali Raza, a Pakistani police official, said ten kilograms of explosives were also...

Palestinians to hold 3-day mourning for slain minister

Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah are set to observe three days of mourning over the killing of a Palestinian minister by Israeli forces. On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed Ziad Abu Ein, who was in charge of the issue of Israeli settlements within the Palestinian Authority, in...

Global oil price fall political scenario: Rouhani

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has warned that the current drop in global crude prices is not simply an economic issue, but rather a political plot by some countries. “The fall in crude price is not merely an economic issue. Rather, it is caused by a plot and political planning...

US police arrest 150 civil rights protesters in California

More than 150 people protesting against police brutality in the United States have been arrested in the state of California. On Monday night, the protesters in California and several other places denounced grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the shooting death of black...

Parts of Swedish airport evacuated over bomb threat

Several sections of Stockholm’s Arlanda International Airport have been evacuated following a bomb threat, airport and police officials say. The airport’s website released a statement regarding the threat on Tuesday. "Due to suspicions concerning a luggage, two of the piers…in...

US police fire tear gas at protesters in California

US police have fired tear gas at demonstrators in northern California as unrest continues over police brutality and racial profiling across the United States.   In a bid to disperse peaceful protesters in Berkeley, police threw smoke bomb and fired tear gas at the crowd. Several protesters...

Another white police officer kills another black man in US

Another unarmed black man has been killed by a white police officer in the United States, amid nationwide protests over a spate of police killings of African Americans in the country. A Phoenix police officer fatally shot 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon on Tuesday evening. He died with two bullet...