A referendum closed last Monday in Egypt that is expected to give power to Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi until 2030. Results from the poll will determine some of the extended presidential powers given to Egypt’s leader, which will be announced on April 27th. Pro-Sisi activists were chanting near polling stations and chanting nationalist songs. Egyptian TV stations urged citizens to vote… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-shooting-bus-attack-balochistan-gwadar-karachi-death-toll-a8875581.html Gunmen killed 14 people after ambushing a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan, local authorities have said. Around 35 people are thought to have been travelling from Karachi to Gwadarwhen armed men stopped the vehicle, checked the identities of those on board and then began shooting people selectively. It is not yet clear why specific passengers were targeted, said officials in Balochistan province, where the attack took place…. Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kabul-explosion-gunmen-telecommunications-ministry-afghanistan-a8878956.html At least seven people were killed during an attack on Afghanistan’s Ministry of Communications on Saturday. An explosion hit the centre of Kabul as attackers tried to storm the multi-storey building which houses the government department. The blast was from a suicide bomb, which was detonated at the building’s entrance, shortly after midday. Television images showed people fleeing after gunfire and explosions were… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egypt-referendum-sisi-voting-bribes-military-president-power-a8882606.html Polls closed on Monday night after Egyptians voted in a referendum expected to allow President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to stay in power until 2030 – amid allegations of widespread vote-buying and bribery. The proposed constitutional amendments would extend presidential term limits from four to six years, increase the role of the Egyptian military, and grant the president more control over… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-death-penalty-mass-executions-terrorism-capital-punishment-human-rights-a8882891.html Saudi Arabia executed 37 people for terror offences on Tuesday, the country’s interior minister said, in one of the largest mass executions in recent years. Human Rights Watch described the punishment as “grotesque,” and said the news represented a “day we have feared.” The country’s state news agency said the Saudi nationals were guilty of “adopting extremist terrorist ideologies and… Read more »
The United States government has just agreed to sell Saudi Arabia Nuclear Power plant technology according to a leaked document. The document included several signatures by Energy Department secretary Rick Perry. There is also word that the Saudi Arabia will be constructing two power plants as part of this nuclear deal. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/yemen-war-ceasefire-stockholm-agreement-death-toll-a8828866.html The much publicised Stockholm agreement, which was supposed to pave the way to end the carnage of the Yemen war, has had such little effect that the number of civilian casualties has actually gone up significantly in some parts of the country since the deal was signed three months ago. The much publicised Stockholm agreement, which was supposed to pave the way… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/saudi-arabia-uk-arms-deals-ban-westminster-opposition-snp-labour-lib-dems-plaid-cymru-greens-a8839156.html Five opposition parties published a letter on Monday condemning the UK’s continued arms trade with the “murderous regime” of Saudi Arabia and calling the government complicit in Yemen’s devastation. The letter, published in full by The Independent, is signed by leaders of the Labour Party, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party’s lone MP. The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is expected in London this week to discuss the redeployment of forces and… Read more »
Four children have been killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a remote hospital in Yemen, according to Save the Children. Three others were killed during the attack on Tuesday, and at least eight others were wounded after the missile struck a petrol station near the entrance of the rural hospital, around 100km from Saada in the country’s northwest, the charity said. Two adults remain… Read more »
The Trump administration has approved a series of secret agreements allowing US companies to explore selling nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia, according to a leaked document. US energy secretary Rick Perry gave the approvals, known as Part 810 authorisations, to six firms to do preliminary work on nuclear power ahead of any deal but not ship equipment that would go into a plant, a source with… Read more »