The Info Zone XIANGYANG, China, Aug 11 – Typhoon Dolphin pushed deeper into central China on Tuesday, bringing torrential rain, widespread flooding and renewed warnings of dangerous weather across several provinces. Streets were inundated in parts of Hubei, tourist attractions were closed and authorities suspended dozens of high-risk construction projects as the weakening storm continued to carry large … Read more
DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug 11 – A Syrian criminal court on Tuesday sentenced former President Bashar Assad and his younger brother, Maher Assad, to death in absentia over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s 14-year conflict, a landmark judgment against the family that ruled the country for decades. The ruling marks the first … Read more
BOGOTA, Aug 11 – Rescue teams across western Colombia worked through a second day on Tuesday, searching collapsed buildings and damaged homes for survivors as authorities warned that the death toll from the country’s strongest earthquake in decades could increase. The 7.4-magnitude quake struck Colombia’s coffee-growing heartland early Monday, leaving at least 164 people dead … Read more
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, Aug 10 – Iran has tied any full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to a series of demands it wants the United States to address, even as Tehran says negotiations with Oman over a framework for restoring commercial shipping through the vital waterway are close to completion. Iranian officials said discussions with Oman … Read more
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 9 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected key parts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest plan for ending the Gaza war, exposing a widening disagreement between Israel and Hamas over how and when the proposed ceasefire arrangements should be implemented. Speaking to his right-wing cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would … Read more
DUBAI/WASHINGTON/CAIRO, Aug 9 – Iran said Sunday that an agreement with Oman to establish new shipping arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz had reached its final stages, but Tehran made clear that reaching the deal alone would not be enough to reopen the strategically important waterway. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the proposed agreement … Read more
WASHINGTON, Aug 8 – The U.S. Senate has narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general, giving President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer permanent control of the Justice Department after an unusually difficult confirmation battle that exposed divisions within the Republican Party over the department’s independence. The Senate voted 50-49 in the early hours of Saturday … Read more
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 – A federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot proceed with aboveground construction of a proposed $400 million ballroom at the White House without authorization from Congress, delivering a significant setback to one of the president’s most ambitious changes to the historic presidential complex. The 2-1 decision by … Read more
ANKARA/KARACHI/RIYADH, Aug 7 – Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye have signed a new joint defense agreement that commits the three countries to treating an armed attack against any one of them as an attack against all three, marking a significant step toward closer security coordination at a time of deepening instability across the Middle East. … Read more
NEW YORK, Aug 6 – US stocks moved modestly lower Thursday as investors weighed rising oil prices, uneven corporate earnings and continuing uncertainty surrounding the conflict involving the United States and Iran. The retreat came after Wall Street began the week with a powerful rally that pushed major indexes to record levels, but the momentum … Read more