Sudan’s opposition alliance on Saturday announced a 100-day plan for the peaceful overthrow of the government of President Omar al-Bashir, who has been in power for more than two decades. “I expect the regime will fall before the 100 days finish,” said Farouk Abu Issa, who represents more than 20 opposition parties. He
The village of Buwayda, the final opposition stronghold in the area surrounding Syria’s central town of Qusayr, has been reportedly captured by Syrian government forces backed by Hezbollah. “Our heroic troops have restored safety and security in Eastern Buwayda,” AFP news agency reported Syrian state television as saying on Saturday. Hundreds of people
Secretary of State John Kerry last month approved $1.3 billion in annual US military aid to Egypt, despite concerns over democratic progress by the country’s new government, a US official said Friday. All such aid is “carefully considered,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, but it was felt the funding was necessary to
Iran’s presidential election is set to kick off on June 14 when many Iranians will decide on the successor to current leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that the forthcoming election was an opportunity to testify to the people’s confidence in the Islamic establishment. “Judging from the current
A team of experts led by UNESCO said Friday it has found far more serious damage to Mali’s cultural heritage in the fabled city of Timbuktu than initially estimated, with 16 mausoleums totally destroyed and over 4,000 ancient manuscripts lost. Lazare Eloundou Assomo of UNESCO’s World Heritage Center, who led the mission, said a
The Taliban on Friday claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in southern Afghanistan that killed seven Georgians and wounded nine others. The head of the Georgian army announced the deaths on Thursday, saying the men died in a truck bombing outside a base in the restive province of Helmand. The Taliban, leading the
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to his country overnight Thursday from a North African tour, facing thousands of supporters who welcomed him back at the airport, a show of strength after a week of violent anti-government demonstrations across the country. Addressing the crowds at the airport in a speech also broadcast live
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of trying to “destroy” the Al-Aqsa Mosque by allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. In an interview he gave on Thursday to the Saudi-based Al-Watan newspaper, Abbas said that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger," claiming that Israel prevents PA Arabs from praying at
Austria is pulling its United Nations peacekeeping force from the Golan Heights, the government said in a statement released Thursday. Austria accounts for about 380 of the 1,000-strong UN force monitoring the Israel-Syria ceasefire line in the Golan Heights. “Freedom of movement in the area de facto no longer exists. The uncontrolled and
Protesters flocked to a district in downtown Cairo after the headquarters of Tamarod, a campaign against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, was set on fire early on Friday. They chanted slogans against Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the privately-owned Egyptian daily Youm 7 reported. The group told Ahram Online that it had received “threats
