The deadly fire at Cairo’s main railway station on Wednesday happened because the train driver left the cabin without pulling the brakes, Egypt’s public prosecutors believe. They say a preliminary investigation indicates the driver stepped off the train to argue with a colleague. But the driver, who has been arrested, blames corroded brakes, reports say. The train hit a buffer… Read more »
A Saudi Arabian man accused of murder in the US is unlikely to face justice because he has fled the country, a US State Department official has said. Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah is believed to have fled the US state of Oregon with the help of Saudi officials and returned to his home country. In a condolence letter to Oregon Senator… Read more »
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has rejected the resignation of his Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. In a letter, Mr Rouhani praised Mr Zarif’s record and said: “I think your resignation is against the country’s interests and I do not accept it.” Mr Zarif offered to resign on Monday, saying he hoped to allow his ministry to reclaim its “proper statutory… Read more »
Israeli soldiers may have committed war crimes while responding to Palestinian protests on the Gaza border last year, UN human rights experts have said. A commission of inquiry investigated the killing of 189 Palestinians between 30 March and 31 December 2018. It found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at children, medics and journalists, even though they were… Read more »
Germany says it has arrested two former Syrian intelligence officers alleged to have been involved in torturing critics of President Bashar al-Assad. Both men seem to have sought asylum in Germany after leaving Syria a few years before the migrant influx in 2015. One them, Anwar R, is suspected of committing crimes against humanity. He was allegedly in charge of… Read more »
Iran’s president has warned its neighbours not to let “terrorists abuse their territory” after a suicide car bombing killed 27 Revolutionary Guards. Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and Israel for Wednesday’s attack in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, near the Pakistan border. But he said Iran reserved the right to take action if other countries in the region failed… Read more »
US-backed Syrian fighters are clearing Islamic State (IS) militants from the last two villages the jihadist group controls, military officials say. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance launched an assault at the weekend on Shajalah and Baghuz, near Syria’s border with Iraq. The last militants remaining there are reportedly retreating and hiding among the local population. Some have sought… Read more »
A British woman who fled to Syria as a schoolgirl to join the Islamic State group could be prevented from returning to the UK, the home secretary has said. “My message is clear,” Sajid Javid told the Times: “If you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return.” He added that if Shamima Begum, 19, did… Read more »
The Middle East like Sub-Saharan Africa is a shatter belt. This was very clearly shown when the first article I read was about the UAE providing weapons to Yemen. This inability for there to be stability in the region is apparent through almost every article in this collection of posts. From a president who was elected due to overthrowing a… Read more »
A British hostage who was captured by the Islamic State group more than six years ago is thought to still be alive, the UK’s security minister has said. John Cantlie, a photojournalist from Hampshire, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. He escaped, but was recaptured again several months later. He was seen in an IS video published in March 2016. BBC security… Read more »