International

26 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri DAMASCUS/ NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: Five more pro-Iran fighters were killed by unidentified missiles on Wednesday evening in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Ezzor, but the missile was attacked by Israeli forces, sources and a war monitor said. “Missiles of unidentified origin targeted the headquarters …

25 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri COLOMBO/ MELBOURNE: Sri Lanka has marked Christmas on a sombre note, with tight security in places around churches after bombings at several hotels and places of worship on Easter Sunday killed 268 people. Police officers, backed by armed forces, were positioned around all churches that …

25 December, 2019 TEHRAN: In a message released on Christmas Eve, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH), which requires righteousness and abhorrence of anti-righteous powers. “The honor Muslims attribute to Jesus Christ (pbuh) is no less than …

25 December, 2019 BURKINA FASO/ MELBOURNE: Suspected Islamist militants have killed 35 people, nearly all women, in an attack on a military base and a town in Burkina Faso, local officials say. They say seven soldiers and 80 militants were killed as the army repelled Tuesday’s attack in Arbinda, the …

25 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri VATICAN CITY/ MELBOURNE: Pope Francis has ushered in Christmas by saying God loves everyone – “even the worst of us”. He was speaking to thousands of people during Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. “You may have mistaken ideas, you …

25 December, 2019 ISTANBUL/ DAMASCUS: At least eight people, including five children, were killed on Tuesday as missiles hit a school in northwest Syria sheltering displaced civilians, a monitor and opposition activists said. The strikes targeted the village of Jobas near the town of Saraqeb in southern Idlib province, the last rebel …

24 December, 2019 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran has unveiled a redevelopment of part of its Arak heavy water reactor in a move that did not breach international restrictions on its nuclear work, but showed it is developing the sector in the face of United States pressure. Iranian state media said on Monday that technicians …

23 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri ISTANBUL/ BAGHDAD/ DAMASCUS: There are growing indications that the Islamic State (IS/ Deash) group is re-organizing in Iraq, two years after losing the last of its territory in the country. Kurdish and Western intelligence officials have revealed that the IS presence in Iraq is …

21 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + BBC CANBERRA/ SYDNEY/ MELBOURNE: Australia is grappling with massive bushfires fuelled by record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought. Fires in New South Wales (NSW) have burned at least 2.7m hectares (7.4m acres) this season, destroying more than 700 houses. Eight people – …

21 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies DAMASCUS/ ISTANBUL: Syria’s Idlib province has been hit by over 400 airstrikes over the past 24 hours, monitors said, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee. Rescue workers described the situation as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Tens of thousands of civilians have …