27 December, 2019 ALMATY: A plane carrying 95 passengers and five crew members crashed near Almaty in southeastern Kazakhstan. Initial reports indicate there are survivors and emergency services have responded at the crash site. An airplane crashed with 100 people on board on Friday morning in southeastern Kazakhstan, according to …
Read More »Crowds in Asia gather to see Annular Solar Eclipse
26 December, 2019 COLOMBO/ NEW DELHI/ RIYADH: People across Asia are witnessing an annular solar eclipse, which is also known as a “ring of fire”. Crowds have gathered to watch the natural phenomenon in a number of countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Saudi Arabia. In an annular eclipse, …
Read More »World’s largest genocide of over 500,000 Shia Muslims
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 …
Read More »Sri Lanka marks Christmas amid high security
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 …
Read More »Khamenei pays tribute to Jesus Christ on Christmas Eve
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 …
Read More »Dozens killed in another Burkina Faso attack
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 …
Read More »God loves “even the worst of us”: Pope Francis
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 …
Read More »Deadly Russian missile hits Syrian school
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 …
Read More »Iran announces redevelopment of Arak reactor
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 …
Read More »‘Daesh more dangerous than al-Qaeda; re-organizing in Iraq’
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 …
Read More »