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
WASHINGTON (AP) — The parents of an American woman freed with her family after five years of captivity say they are elated, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan. “Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable,” … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years after they were seized by a terrorist network in the mountains of Afghanistan, an American woman, her Canadian husband and their children — all three born in captivity — are free after a dramatic rescue orchestrated by the U.S. and Pakistani governments, officials said Thursday. The U.S. said Pakistan accomplished … Continue reading
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision to grant women the right to drive in the conservative kingdom marks a significant expansion in women’s rights, but activists said Wednesday it is also only the first step in a long list of demands for equality. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world … Continue reading
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Kurdish referendum on independence from Iraq was approved by more than 92 percent of voters, officials said Wednesday, as Iraq’s prime minister vowed to keep his country united without resorting to the use of force. Even with the strong support, the non-binding vote is unlikely to lead to formal independence, … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli banks are contributing to the proliferation of West Bank settlements by providing loans and mortgages for construction there, violating their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday. The report said that Israeli law does not require banks to provide such services to the settlements, and urged them … Continue reading
UKHIYA, Bangladesh (AP) — The Latest on violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and the flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh (all times local): 9:30 a.m. Four Hercules planes carrying 34 tons of aid for Rohinyga refugees have departed for Bangladesh from an air force base in the Indonesian capital. Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo … Continue reading
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Authorities say a suicide bomber has attacked a cricket stadium in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing at least two people and wounding at least seven. Basir Mujahid, spokesman for Kabul police, said the attack just outside the gates of the stadium happened Wednesday as hundreds of people were inside enjoying … Continue reading
Indian journalist’s killing provokes outrage, anguish By NIRMALA GEORGE, Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — The killing of an Indian journalist provoked outrage and anguish across the country on Wednesday, with thousands protesting what they saw as an effort to silence a critic of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party. Even as police promise to hunt down … Continue reading
UN probe says Syrian government launched April sarin attack By JAMEY KEATEN and ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-mandated investigators said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s air force conducted a sarin-gas attack in the spring that killed at least 83 civilians and sparked a retaliatory U.S. strike. The investigators also appealed to the … Continue reading
HOUSTON (AP) — The gymnasium at the Champions Islamic Center is covered with mats and blankets, donated clothes and boxes of food lining its walls. On the eve of the Eid al-Adha festival, one of Islam’s holiest days, it’s become the temporary home for 15 of the thousands of Harvey evacuees, Muslim and non-Muslim. And … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 