Turkey will keep directing its banks to withhold lira liquidity from a key foreign market at least until after local elections on Sunday, sources have told the Reuters news agency, as the government intensifies efforts to defend the currency, which plunged last week. The government’s stop-gap measure to restore confidence in the lira, which remains unsteady after a crisis last… Read more »
Algiers, Algeria – A breakaway faction within Algeria’s ruling party has backed the army chief’s call for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit to rule the country, even as several opposition parties and protesters denounced the powerful general’s remarks as an attempt to stifle their movement. Following weeks of youth-led anti-Bouteflika protests, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah on Tuesday… Read more »
Nearly a dozen Saudi women’s rights activists have appeared before a three-judge panel to face charges related to their human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists and diplomats, in a case that has drawn international attention. The women, including rights campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul, university professor Hatoon al-Fassi and blogger Eman al-Nafjan, were expected to respond to charges on Wednesday,… Read more »
An aid group has warned of a “desperate and dangerous situation” in the Mediterranean Sea after authorities in Italy vowed to close their ports to a ship reportedly hijacked by rescued refugees and migrants. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s far-right interior minister, identified the ship as Elhiblu 1 and said the crew had rescued some 120 people… Read more »
Michel Bacos is regarded as hero for his courage when Palestinian and German hijackers overtook the plane Bacos was the captain of. This event took place in 1976. The aircraft carrying 260 passengers, was redirected multiple times. The hijackers sought to free 54 militants and be awarded $5 million by the leader of Uganda. The passengers were split up, non-Israeli… Read more »
Algeria’s army chief of staff has demanded President Abdelaziz Bouteflika be declared unfit to rule after weeks of protests against him. Speaking on television, Lt Gen Ahmed Gaed Salah said: “We must find a way out of this crisis immediately, within the constitutional framework.” The president has already agreed not to stand for a fifth term in upcoming elections, which… Read more »
Special forces have arrested an alleged Islamic State (IS) group supporter in the Austrian capital Vienna, who is believed to have tried to derail trains in neighbouring Germany. The 42-year-old Iraqi national is thought to have twice put obstacles on rail tracks last year. Flags for the IS group and writings in Arabic were found nearby, prosecutors said. German and… Read more »
Michel Bacos, the Air France captain hailed as a hero for refusing to abandon his passengers when Palestinian and German hijackers seized the plane in 1976, has died in France aged 95. The plane, carrying some 260 people from Tel Aviv to Paris, had stopped off in Athens, where the hijackers got on board and demanded it change course. The… Read more »
A charity has condemned an air strike near a hospital in rebel-held north-western Yemen that killed at least seven people, four of them children. A missile hit a petrol station 50m (164ft) from the entrance of the Kitaf rural hospital on Tuesday morning, according to Save the Children. The blast also injured eight people. It was not clear who was behind… Read more »
After government officials urged citizens to stay indoors and refrain from travelling due to impending inclement weather, 19 people were left dead and dozens more injured. This dangerous weather could not have come at a worse time, as Iranian New Year, Nowruz, is welcomed, large quantities of people are travelling, increasing the chances of injuries and deaths. According to sources… Read more »