Newswatch
Kuwait reiterated its keenness to exert more humanitarian efforts to alleviate suffering of the Syrian people.
Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations Nasser Al-Hayyen expressed great pleasure in Kuwait’s participation at the 15th meeting of the Group of Senior Donors to Syria in Istanbul.
In his speech during the meeting, Al-Hayyen said that Kuwait took the initiative to host the first nine meetings where it had a great impact on highlighting the suffering of the Syrian people, refugees and displaced persons, as well as efforts of neighboring countries in hosting them and providing all means to ensure their human dignity. (KUNA)
Foreign ministers and senior officials from the 79-member, US-led anti-Islamic State coalition
are meeting in Washington to develop a way ahead after President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw American forces from Syria.
The conference comes amid fears that the impending US exit could imperil gains that have swept IS from more than 99 percent of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. TEHRAN:
Gunmen killed an Iranian policeman and wounded a police officer in a shootout Wednesday during which a stray bullet hit a fuel tanker, causing it to explode, Iran’s state TV reported. Authorities later said five suspects were arrested.
State TV quoted Gen Mohammad Mahdia, police chief in western Lorestan province where the shootout took place, as saying the suspects belong to two different groups. He did not elaborate but said an investigation was ongoing. WASHINGTON:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday reassured allies that the withdrawal of US troops from Syria was not “the end of America’s fight” and called on them to recommit to permanently defeating Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Addressing roughly 79 coalition partners, gathered in Washington to discuss next steps in the conflict in Syria, Pompeo said Islamic State remained a menace. BAGHDAD:
Iraqi novelist Alaa Mashzoub was a secular civil society activist who used his bike to get around Karbala’s infamous traffic and road closures. He was also an outspoken critic of foreign interference in Iraq and political meddling by powerful Iran-backed militias.
On Saturday, Mashzoub was gunned down in the Shiite holy city by unknown assailants who silenced him with 13 bullets as he rode his bicycle home for the last time. CAIRO:
An Egyptian parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved proposed constitutional amendments which would allow President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to stay in power until 2034 and boost his control of the judiciary.
The approval is the first step needed to move forward with the constitutional changes, which are expected to be finally endorsed by parliament and then move to a referendum within a few months.