14-12-2022 DHAKA: The leader of Jamat-e-Islami (JI/ Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), Bangladesh’s largest Muslim party, has been arrested days after he announced the party would join opposition-led protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “Shafiqur Rahman was arrested from his residence at around 1 am on 13th December (19:00 …
Read More »‘Tunisian president must be held accountable by US’
14-12-2022 TUNISIA, TUNIS: A Tunisian advocacy group has called on United States President Joe Biden to confront Tunisian President Kais Saied during the latter’s visit to Washington for human rights abuses it says were carried out by high-ranking Tunisian officials over the past year. The US-based Tunisian United Network (TUN) …
Read More »MEP denies Qatar bribery after €1.5m seized
14-12-2022 BRUSSELS: Greek MEP Eva Kaili has denied involvement in an alleged bribery scandal involving World Cup host Qatar at the European Parliament. She is one of four suspects charged, after Belgian investigators found €1.5m (£1.3m) in two homes and a suitcase. MEPs have voted, by 625 to one, to …
Read More »Israel chooses Knesset speaker as forming new gov’t looms
14-12-2022 JERUSALEM: A close ally of Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has been elected as the new speaker of Israel’s parliament, marking a step closer to the formation of what is expected to be the most right-wing government in the country’s history. Yariv Levin, a senior member of Netanyahu’s right-wing …
Read More »NZ PM apologizes for swearing at rival in parliament
14-12-2022 WELLINGTON: New Zealand´s Jacinda Ardern apologized for calling a political rival an “arrogant prick” in parliament on Tuesday, as the prime minister faces a drop in public support. In the throes of spirited parliamentary debate, Ardern took issue when the leader of an opposition party asked her to give …
Read More »“All bets off” if Iran gets nuclear weapon: Saudi FM
13-12-2022 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Sunday that Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbors would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons. Indirect US-Iranian talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact between global powers and Iran, which Washington exited in 2018, stalled in September. The …
Read More »4 people charged in EU parliament corruption investigation
13-12-2022 BRUSSELS: A Belgian judge has charged four people over allegedly receiving money and gifts from a Gulf state to influence decisions in the European Parliament, putting the credibility of the European Union at stake. Prosecutors searched 16 houses and seized 600,000 euros ($631,800) in Brussels on Friday as part …
Read More »Lockerbie bombing suspect in US custody
13-12-2022 NEW YORK/ LONDON: A Libyan man accused of making the bomb which destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie 34 years ago is in United States custody, Scottish authorities have said. The US announced charges against Abu Agila Masud two years ago, alleging he had played a key role …
Read More »Iran’s vessel intercepts US warships in Persian Gulf
13-12-2022 TEHRAN: A new military vessel of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy has blocked the path of two American warships as they intended to sail into the Persian Gulf last week, a senior commander said. In an address to a cultural ceremony in Iran’s northern province of Gilan, IRGC …
Read More »Volcano Fuego erupts in Central America’s Guatemala
13-12-2022 ANTIGUA/ GUATEMALA: One of the most active volcanoes in Central America has erupted again, spewing lava and ash and forcing authorities in Guatemala to close a major road on Sunday. The volcano named Fuego, Spanish for fire, rumbled into activity overnight Saturday into Sunday, with molten rock oozing down …
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