KARANGASEM, Indonesia (AP) — A volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali has rumbled to life with eruptions that dusted nearby resorts and villages with ash and forced the closure of the small international airport on neighboring Lombok island as towering gray plumes drifted east. Mount Agung erupted on Saturday evening and three times early … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — On a surprise trip to Russia, Syria’s Bashar Assad discussed potential new peace initiatives for post-war Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin who declared that Russia’s two-year military campaign in Syria is wrapping up, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Moscow released footage of Assad warmly embracing Putin, who hosted him in the Black … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Syrian president Assad’s visit to Moscow (all times local): 9:50 p.m. The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Saudi King Salman to discuss peace initiatives for a solution to Syria’s war. Tuesday’s call comes a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad made a surprise visit to … Continue reading
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The latest on an earthquake along the Iran-Iraq border (all times local): 6:30 a.m. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the death toll in the powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake along the borders of Iran and Iraq has risen above 140. IRNA also said over 860 people were injured in the quake that … Continue reading
IRUT (AP) — Lebanese officials insisted Friday on the return home of Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia, and the leader of the militant group Hezbollah said the Saudis had “declared war” on Lebanon by holding Hariri against his will. The U.S. added its voice to those urging that Hariri be allowed to return … Continue reading
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Among those caught in the unprecedented arrests this week of top princes, wealthy businessmen and senior officials was the scion of one of Saudi Arabia’s most recognizable families: Bakr Binladin, the chairman of the kingdom’s pre-eminent contractor — and Osama bin Laden’s half-brother. It was a stunning end to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Russia are nearing an agreement on Syria for how they hope to resolve the Arab country’s civil war once the Islamic State group is defeated, officials said Thursday. If clinched, the deal could be announced by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin after a meeting in … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday ordered its citizens out of Lebanon in its first concrete action against the Mediterranean country, while officials in Beirut demanded the immediate return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who abruptly announced his resignation last week in a television appearance from the kingdom, where he has been holed up … Continue reading
By IRAM ASIM, Associated Press BASTI LASHARI, Pakistan (AP) — Aasia Bibi had warned her parents time and again that if they forced her to marry her cousin, a man she disliked, she would be capable of going to any length to exit the union. She was already in a relationship, she said, and should be … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson doubled down Thursday on Washington’s call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power, looking past recent battlefield gains by his Russian-backed forces to insist that “the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end.” Tillerson made the comments after what he called a … Continue reading
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan. Tillerson visited Bagram Air Base for talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and other senior officials to outline for them the Trump administration’s new South Asia policy. He also underscored the ongoing … Continue reading
MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The Yves Saint Laurent museum opened its doors to the public Thursday in Marrakech, the sunny, bustling, gritty Moroccan city beloved by the late French designer. The highly-anticipated opening comes less than three weeks since the inauguration of a museum dedicated to the fashion pioneer in his home city of Paris. … Continue reading
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. “I understand that leaving was against the law,” said Bergdahl, whose decision to walk off his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 prompted intense search and recovery missions, during … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish armored vehicles have rolled into northwestern Syria to impose a “de-escalation zone” in a province dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants, an incursion that the Turkish leader said was meant to secure his country’s border. The Turkish military said it began an operation late Thursday to set up “observation points” in Idlib, without … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will say Friday the Iran nuclear deal is no longer in America’s national security interests, but he won’t withdraw from the landmark 2015 accord or immediately re-impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, other U.S. officials and outside advisers to the administration. Trump’s speech from … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 