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Tuesday September 26, 2017 / 6 , Muharram , 1439

World

1 - 10 from 601 . In "World / Mena"

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during Kurds independence referendum in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Monday. — Reuters

September 25, 2017

Iraqi Kurds shrug off threats to hold independence vote

IRBIL/SULAIMANIYA, Iraq — Kurds voted in an independence referendum in northern Iraq on Monday, ignoring pressure from Baghdad, threats from Turkey and Iran, and international warnings that the vote may ignite yet more regional conflict.The vote organized by Kurdish authorities is expected to deliver a comfortable “yes” for independence, but is not binding. However, it is designed to give Massoud Barzani, who heads the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a mandate ...

This file photo taken shows young Palestinians abseiling during a military graduation ceremony at a Hamas summer camp in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. — AFP

September 25, 2017

Hamas concessions don’t guarantee Palestinian reconciliation

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The militant group Hamas has announced a number of key concessions to the rival Fatah movement that could potentially pave the way for reconciliation after a 10-year rift that has left the Palestinians torn between two governments. But ending the division between the bitter rivals is far away and far from certain.Hamas won legislative elections in 2006 and the following year seized control of the Gaza ...

An Iraqi policeman stands in a street in the capital Baghdad. — AFP

September 25, 2017

Iraq anti-graft task force fishes for ‘sharks’

Baghdad — When the heat inside prison became unbearable for the corrupt former governor of Iraq’s Salaheddin province he offered to stump up the money himself to air-condition the whole jail.The authorities readily accepted. After all, this was one way of recuperating some of the cash the former official had skimmed from state coffers.After three years battling the Daesh (the so-called IS) group, the authorities have now set their sights ...

Rami Hamdallah

September 25, 2017

Palestinian PM to visit Gaza for reconciliation efforts

Ramallah — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will travel to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 2 as part of renewed reconciliation efforts with Hamas, which runs the enclave, his government said Monday.The visit follows concessions by Islamist group Hamas after discussions with Egypt, which has urged it to take steps toward reconciliation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah, based in the occupied West Bank.Fatah and Hamas have been divided for ...

At one point, Eman Abdul Atti reportedly weighed around 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). — File photo

September 25, 2017

Egyptian once known as ‘world’s heaviest woman’ dies in UAE

Dubai — Doctors say an Egyptian once known as “the world’s heaviest woman” has died in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates.She was 37.Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi said that Eman Abdul Atti died at 4:35 a.m. on Monday.Doctors described her death as being due to complications from her weight, including heart disease and kidney dysfunction.The hospital said: “Our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to her family.”At one ...

September 25, 2017

Kurd referendum: Turkey warns of retaliation; Iran closes border

Istanbul — Turkey on Monday warned the Kurds of northern Iraq they would face sanctions over a non-binding referendum on independence vehemently rejected by Ankara.Iran has shut its border with Iraqi Kurdistan in response to its independence referendum, the foreign ministry said Monday."At the request of the Iraqi government, we have closed our land and air borders" with Iraqi Kurdistan, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said at a press conference.Iran ...

A car drives past the wreckage of another vehicle on the outskirts of Deir Ezzor. — AFP

September 25, 2017

US allied Syrian groups form civilian council to run Deir Ezzor

Deir Ezzor, SYRIA — US-allied militias in northern Syria announced on Saturday the formation of a civilian council to govern the oil rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor where they are racing with the Syrian army to capture territory held by Daesh.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab militias but is dominated by the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, launched an operation in Deir Ezzor province which borders Iraq earlier ...

The railway project which extends at 2,117 kilometers and passes through 6 Gulf countries from Kuwait to Oman has met several technical difficulties. — File photo: Reuters

September 25, 2017

GCC committee postpones work on Gulf railway until 2021

Dubai — The committee of the ministers of transport in the Gulf Cooperation Council decided to postpone working on the Gulf Railway Project from 2018 until 2020-2021.Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the UAE's Minister of Infrastructure Development, said the UAE is ready to fully implement the project.He noted that around 160 kilometers of the constructed railways which are currently in use can be used for the massive project, Al-Khaleej ...

September 25, 2017

Saudi Embassy in London celebrates 87th National Day

By Mohammed AlshaikhiLONDON — The Saudi embassy in London held a reception ceremony on Thursday marking the 87th Saudi National Day, in the presence of His Excellency Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Saudi ambassador to United Kingdom. His majesty Prince Mohammed spoke before an audience of his guests, and this was followed by an exchange of greetings.The reception was attended by a large gathering of ambassadors, foreign ministers, diplomats, ...

Yemen President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi speaks to world leaders at the 72nd United Nations (UN) General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City. — AFP

September 25, 2017

Military solution only option to Yemen crisis: Hadi

DUBAI — A solution to Yemen's two and-a-half year-old civil war will likely come through military rather than political means, the country's president said, blaming the Iran-aligned Houthis of obstructing chances of peace.Speaking in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi also told Al-Arabiya news channel that a plan to hand over control of the country's main port to a neutral party remained ...

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