JERUSALEM — A liquor store has opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 70 years, a diplomat reported Wednesday, a further socially liberalizing step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom that is home to the holiest sites in Islam. While restricted to non-Muslim diplomats, the store in Riyadh comes as Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown … Read more
ABUJA, Nigeria — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday pitched the United States as a better security partner for Africa in place of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which he accused of exploiting coup-hit and conflict-hit nations in the continent’s Sahel region. Blinken, who is visiting Nigeria as part of an Africa tour to … Read more
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish legislators on Tuesday began debating a long-delayed bill to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO, in a step that could remove a major hurdle for the previously nonaligned Nordic country’s entry into the military alliance. Turkey, a NATO member, has been dragging its feet on ratifying Sweden’s accession for more than … Read more
NEW DELHI — Three decades after Hindu mobs tore down a historical mosque, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the consecration of a grand Hindu temple at the same site on Monday in a political move to boost his party ahead of a crucial national vote. Experts say the temple, dedicated to Hinduism’s most … Read more
JERSUALEM — Iran launched attacks Tuesday in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, state media reported, potentially further raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Confusion followed the announcements as some of the reports soon disappeared. However, any … Read more
IRBIL, Iraq — Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Baghdad on Tuesday in protest over Iranian strikes on northern Iraq that killed several civilians overnight, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said. The Iranian attack was “a blatant violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty and “strongly contradicts the principles of good … Read more
IRBIL, Iraq — Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it claimed were Israeli “spy headquarters” near the U.S. consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, and at targets linked to the extremist group Islamic State in northern Syria. Four civilians were killed and six injured after missiles hit an upscale area near the … Read more
BEIRUT — Turkish shelling and airstrikes have targeted dozens of infrastructure facilities in northeast Syria over the past days, wounding at least 10 people and cutting out electricity and water supplies in wide areas held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the war-torn country, Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria said Monday. The statement by … Read more
KABUL, Afghanistan — A grenade explosion in Afghanistan’s capital killed two people and wounded 12 in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul on Thursday, a police spokesman said. It was the second deadly blast in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in less than a week. The explosion occurred outside a commercial center in mid-afternoon. No one immediately claimed … Read more
ISLAMABAD — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital late Saturday that killed at least five people. The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom they called disbelievers, in a statement released shortly after the explosion Saturday. It … Read more