Top Pakistani leaders of Haqqani terrorist network killed in Nangarhar

2 top Haqqani network leaders hailing from Pakistan killed in Nangarhar Two senior commanders of the Haqqani terrorist network were killed during an operation of the Afghan National Police (ANP) Special Forces. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in a statement said the two top Haqqani leaders were killed...

Chairman of Expediency Council Ayatollah Rafsanjani passes away

Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has passed away at the age of 82 due to heart condition. Ayatollah Rafsanjani was admitted to a hospital in northern Tehran on Sunday after having an acute heart attack. Born on August 25, 1934, the influential Iranian politician...

Truck-ramming attack kills 4 Israeli soldiers, injures 18 in East Jerusalem al-Quds

At least four Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than a dozen others injured when a truck rammed into Israel's military forces in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds. Israeli police spokeswoman, Luba Simari, said the incident took place in the Armon HaNetziv (also known as East Talpiot)...

Russia's Putin decides not to expel US diplomats

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to expel US diplomats in reprisal for Washington's recent sanctions. "We will not create problems for U.S. diplomats. We will not expel anybody,” Putin said in a statement on Friday. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed...

Afghanistan signs grant agreements worth $128 million with World Bank

Two grant agreements worth $128 million were signed between the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan and the World Bank, covering two key sectors – Farm Water Management Project and Hydropower Rehabilitation Project. The Ministry of Finance in a statement said $45 million of the funds has been...

US Excuses for Missile Sanctions on Iran

Immediately after announcement of lifting the international sanctions on Iran, which comes as an implementation of the nuclear accord reached between Iran and the P5+1group in July 2015, Washington has declared that it would continue imposing economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic this time targeting...

US-led drone strikes kill over three dozen in eastern Afghanistan

At least 41 people lost their lives when US-led foreign forces carried out separate drone strikes in Afghanistan’s embattled eastern province of Nangarhar Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said an aerial assault struck Dih Bala district in the...

Pakistan army arrests 5 over deadly university attack

The Pakistani military has announced the detention of five men on suspicion of facilitating a deadly attack on a university in the country's restive northwest. On January 20, four gunmen attacked Bacha Khan University campus in Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing more...

Austria warns Athens of Schengen zone expulsion over refugee crisis

Austria has warned Greece that it could face "temporary exclusion" from the European Union (EU)'s passport-free Schengen zone if it fails to tighten controls on its borders and stop the flood of refugees. "If the Athens government does not finally do more to secure the [EU's]...

Taliban wants to be removed from UN blacklist before new peace talks

The Taliban militant group says it wants to be removed from the blacklist of the United Nations as a condition for rejoining peace talks for an end to the conflict in Afghanistan. “We conveyed them to first remove us from the ‎blacklist of the United Nations and allow us to freely travel...

30th anniversary of man's only visit to Uranus

Thirty years ago today, humans made their first and only visit to Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, and transmitted images taken from a relatively short distance, which remain unparalleled to this day. The gas giant was on the itinerary on Voyager 2 space probe, which was...

Space junk may cause armed conflict: New report

The earth, humans’ only ship in the cosmic ocean, is engulfed by millions of space junk, which can cause serious damage to any national satellite, a signal which might be misconstrued as an attack launched by an adversary and provoke an armed conflict. In an article published by journal Acta...

Iran urges cooperation between ASEAN, ECO

Iran has underlined the necessity of cooperation between the Southeast Asian economic bloc of the ASEAN and the ECO Eurasian inter-governmental organization. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani pointed to the necessity in a meeting with visiting Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai...

Israeli forces detain Hamas members in al-Khalil

Israeli military forces have re-arrested two members of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron). On Sunday, Israeli soldiers raided the houses of Hatem Qafisha, a member of the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, and...

Saudi Arabia has killed 8,278 people in Yemen: Group

More than 8,200 people have been killed and many more injured ever since Saudi Arabia started a war on Yemen in March, a civil group says.  The Yemeni Civilian Association announced in a report on Wednesday that the ongoing Saudi attacks have claimed the lives of 8,278 people, including 2,236...

Pakistan claims attack on university handled from Afghanistan

Pakistan claims the attack on a university in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that left 21 people killed and at least 30 others wounded was handled from Afghanistan. “The attackers were in touch with a number from Afghanistan,” Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, the director general of the Inter-Services...

Pakistan observes mourning for university massacre victims

Pakistan is observing a day of national mourning in the wake of a militant attack on a university that claimed 21 lives in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Flags were flying at half-mast on all government buildings inside and outside the country on Thursday while a prayer...

Bahraini regime jails 250 children on political grounds: Report

At least 250 children are behind bars on political grounds in Bahrain which is facing almost daily protests for years now, a report says. According to a report by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights released on Wednesday, the incarcerations violate Article 16 of the Convention on...

Security agencies investigating deadly attack on journalists

Ministries of defense and interior strongly condemn the deadly attack on journalists in capital Kabul. Mohammad Masoum Stanikzai, the acting Defense Minister visited victims of Wednesday’s attack in the hospital and said that investigation is underway into the incident. Sediq Sediqi, spokesperson...

Another group of Daesh recruiters busted in Nangarhar

Police have busted another group of Daesh recruiters in eastern Nangarhar province. Spokesperson for the police headquarters of Nangarhar said in a statement on Wednesday that the four recruiters were arrested during a special raid in Buland Ghar area of Behsood District. They are identified as...

Global oil prices fall below 12-year low of $25 a barrel

Global oil prices have plunged to below USD 28 a barrel for the first time in past 12 years as a result of gloomy economic forecasts as well as continued economic slowdown in China and abundant crude supplies. During morning deals on Wednesday, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February...

4 killed, 24 wounded in blast near Russian embassy in Kabul

A relatively heavy explosion rocked Kabul city few minutes earlier with a thick smoke rising from the western part of the city. Sediq Sediqi, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior confirmed a suicide attack has taken place in Dar-ul-Aman area of the city. He did not disclose further information regarding...

Persian Gulf banks eye Iran prospects

Persian Gulf banks are weighing re-entry into the Iranian financial system after sanctions were officially lifted on Tehran Saturday. International companies are coveting business opportunities in a tempting market of about 80 million people -- the second-largest economy in the Middle East and...

Nuclear agreement result of Iranian nation�s endeavors: Leader

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers was result of endeavors of Iranian nation and scientists, not a US favor. Referring to Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers, also known as Joint Comprehensive...

Saudi Arabia bought $1.5bn worth of bombs from UK last summer

Britain sold the Saudis over 1.5 billion dollars worth of arms last summer that saw Riyadh escalate its deadly military campaign against Yemen, say human rights groups. From July to September 2015, the British government authorized the sales under an export category which covers missiles, rockets...

Israel conducted 570+ attacks on reporters in 2015: Report

A new report has cataloged around 574 instances of attacks against reporters by Israeli forces during the course of the last year. The number was featured in the Annual Report by the Palestine Office of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union. According to the report, two of the incidents were...

Ghani Leaves Kabul for World Economic Forum

President Ashraf Ghani has left Kabul for Switzerland where he will participate in the 46th World Economic Forum at Davos ski-resort from January 20 to 23. Over 40 heads of state, as well as 2,500 business and society leaders are expected to attend. The world's leaders will convene at the meeting...

21 Killed, 50 Wounded In Pakistan University Attack

At least 21 people have been killed and over 50 wounded after a number of gunmen stormed the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan early Wednesday morning. A number of armed men entered the university and opened fire at about 9am local time. Several explosions...

Helicopters From India Now Fully Operational: Officials

Three of the four Mi-35 helicopters – donated by India – have been assembled and are now fully operational, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. According to the ministry, the helicopters will be used in the ongoing Helmand battle for the first time. "We have always been helped by India....

Raheel Sharif Oversees Clearance Op After Deadly University Attack

Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif has arrived at the Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkha's Charsadda town to oversee the clearance operation by military forces following Wednesday's deadly attack against the facility. Officials have so far confirmed that four gunmen...