The Pentagon will withhold the remaining $50 million in military reimbursements to Pakistan for fiscal year 2016 after U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress that Islamabad had not taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network, a U.S. official said on Friday.

“The funds could not be released to the Government of Pakistan at this time because the secretary could not certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network per the requirement in the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act,” Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, told Reuters. Read the rest of this entry »

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Monday, strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Guterres’ deputy spokesman said in a statement that the secretary-general extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a full recovery. Read the rest of this entry »

A day before NSA Ajit Doval’s visit to Beijing, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi accused India of intrusion in Doklam, dimming prospects of an early resolution of the border stand-off.

“The rights and wrongs are very clear,” Wang said, claiming that senior Indian officials have “openly stated that Chinese troops did not enter Indian territory”. “In other words, the Indian side admitted to entering Chinese territory,” Wang further said in Bangkok on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »

Donald Trump labelled the juggernaut Lebanese militant group Hizbollah as “a menace to the entire region” as he stood next to Lebanon’s Prime Minister during their first official meeting.

The U.S. President made the damning comments during a joint press conference with Saad Hariri following an 85-minute meeting between the two leaders at the White House.

He said: “Hizbollah is a menace to the Lebanese state, the Lebanese people and the entire region.’ Read the rest of this entry »

Pro-government paramilitary forces killed two Islamic State members and seized their ammunition truck west of Anbar on Tuesday, a security source was quoted saying.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that a force from “Al-Jazeera Shield”, a regiment affiliated with the “Tribal Mobilization”, ambushed three IS militants at the Kilo 160 region, west of Ramadi. A third militant was arrested and a truck laden with light and medium weapons was also seized. Read the rest of this entry »

Clashes between two Arab tribes in Sudan’s war-torn state of East Darfur have killed up to 10 people, tribal leaders told AFP on Sunday.

The fighting that began on Saturday comes as the United Nations and African Union prepare to downsize their peacekeeping mission in Darfur, saying that overall violence there has diminished.

The clashes between the Arab Maaliya and Rizeigat tribes came months after a similar clash left at least nine dead. Read the rest of this entry »

Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj holds French-brokered talks Tuesday with Khalifa Haftar, the rival military commander who controls the east, to try to end the chaos in the conflict-ridden country.

French President Emmanuel Macron has organised the talks but his office has stressed that it has modest expectations of the meeting to be held in a chateau just outside Paris. Read the rest of this entry »

Egypt’s military said on Tuesday it has killed more than 40 extremists in a wide-ranging campaign in the Sinai Peninsula where the Islamic State group has been waging a deadly insurgency.

The announcement came a day after seven civilians were killed in a foiled attack on a checkpoint with an explosives-laden car. Read the rest of this entry »

Al-Wafa’ Media Organization Warns ISIS Supporters About Imposters Attempting To Spread False InformationOn July 17, 20127, the Al-Wafa’ media organization, which is identified with the Islamic State (ISIS), published an article by ISIS supporter Abi Amina titled “Methods Used By Rumormongers To Infiltrate [ISIS's] Support [System].”

Tech-Savvy Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Instructs Followers To Use TextPlus To Create Additional Telegram Accounts; Time Lock, ProtonMail And iShredder Pro 4 For Protecting Sensitive Information Read the rest of this entry »

All Palestinian Factions Call For Day Of Rage To Defend Al-AqsaPalestinian elements from all the organizations called for a day of rage for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa today, July 21, 2017. This call was in protest against the Israeli police’s installation of metal detectors at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, following the July 14 shooting attack there that was carried out by three Israeli Arabs, all members of the Jabarin family, from Umm Al-Fahm. Read the rest of this entry »

Premier Mihai Tudose said on Friday that his visit to Chisinau on the same day is a “symbolic visit”, pledging Romania’s firm commitment to supporting the pro-European track of the Republic of Moldova. (agerpres)

Prime Minister Mihai Tudose says the government deficit of 3.2 percent of the of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in mid-2017 means one below 3 percent at the end of the year, noting that opposition voices claiming there is no money to pay the pensions and wages show irresponsibility as far as the national interest is concerned.(agerpres)

Romania’s trade balance posted a deficit of EUR4.46 billion in January-May, EUR680 million higher than in the same period in 2016, the country’s statistics board said Monday. (mediafax)

Romania posted the third lowest annual inflation rate in the European Union in June, of 0.7%, after Denmark (0.4%), according to data published Monday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. (mediafax)

Japanese companies in Great Britain want to move their businesses to Romania, in the context of Brexit and due to the economic growth registered by Romania, but are calling on the government to ensure a predictable economic environment, government sources told MEDIAFAX on Wednesday. (mediafax)

The head of the U.S. military’s special operations confirmed Friday that the Central Intelligence Agency is shutting down its program to support rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Gen. Tony Thomas denied that the 4-year-old operation was brought to an end as a way to placate Russia and earn its support for a cease-fire in southwestern Syria.

It was a “tough, tough decision” but “absolutely not a sop to the Russians,” Thomas said at a forum in Aspen, Colorado. Read the rest of this entry »

Up to 11 Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters were killed during recent air attacks in eastern Nangarhar province.

The ISIS fighters targeted in their hideouts this morning in Acheen, Roudat and Koot districts of the province. Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Army announced Thursday that 2,100 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) will deploy to Iraq this fall.

The soldiers from 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in at Fort Polk in Louisiana will replace the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in a regular rotation of forces in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to an Army press release. Read the rest of this entry »

India is likely to seek from Baghdad the latest information on the fate of 39 Indians missing in Iraq for the last three years when Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari pays his first official visit to India from 24 July.

These Indians, mostly from Punjab, were abducted by ISIS militants in June 2014 when they were leaving the strife-torn Iraqi city. The Iraqi authorities had recently claimed that they had retaken the city from ISIS, raising hopes in New Delhi that the missing Indians might now return home safely. Read the rest of this entry »

Three senior Islamic State leaders were killed in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, the Shia-led paramilitary troops said on Friday.

A statement by Saraya al-Jihad militia, affiliated to al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said troops “identified the bodies of IS members, who were killed on Thursday while infiltrating behind the troops in Tal al-Zalat region, west of Mosul.” Read the rest of this entry »

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the largest military base of the Middle East in the coastal city of Alexandria.

The president raised the Armed Forces flag on the new base in el Hammam city, west of Alexandria.

The military base was named after late president Mohamed Naguib, who orchestrated 1952 revolution which ended the royal regime in Egypt. Read the rest of this entry »

The United States warned on Thursday that a new regional plan to shore up South Sudan’s failing peace agreement was the last chance for Juba’s leaders to end the war, now in its fourth year.

US Deputy Ambassador Michele Sison told the UN Security Council that Washington will reconsider its support for the deal signed two years ago by President Salva Kiir and rival Riek Machar, if the latest effort fails. Read the rest of this entry »

Egyptian forces have killed 30 extremists during several days of security operations in the Sinai Peninsula involving the army, air force and police, the military said on Saturday.

The Egyptian authorities are battling an insurgency by the Islamic State (ISIS) group in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of members of the security forces. Read the rest of this entry »

Ram Nath Kovind, the son of a modest farmer, secured two-thirds of the votes from nearly 5,000 legislators.

India’s legislators have elected Ram Nath Kovind, a member of Hinduism’s most oppressed caste, as the country’s 14th president—a triumph for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which nominated him.

A total of 4,895 legislators—4,119 members of state assemblies and 776 members of parliament—cast their votes in the presidential election on Monday. The votes were counted on Thursday, and Mr Kovind won 65.65 per cent of the votes. Read the rest of this entry »

The US State Department on Wednesday released the Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, where it highlighted the UAE’s increased counterterrorism efforts.

“The nation increased its counter-terrorism prosecutions in the last year, with the Federal Supreme Court’s State Security Court hearing more than three dozen separate terrorism-related cases,” it said. Read the rest of this entry »

Iraqi forces on Thursday regained control over Imam Gharbi, a village south of Mosul, from Daesh militants who had seized it as their defence of their stronghold in the city crumbled, Iraqi police said.

The action formed part of the next phase of the US-backed government’s campaign to drive Daesh from Iraq and dismantle their self-proclaimed caliphate. Read the rest of this entry »

The Czech Republic’s foreign minister has suggested that the European Union consider a military engagement in Libya to reduce the flow of migrants arriving by boat from there to Europe.

Lubomir Zaoralek says that “we must speak very openly what the real instruments are to stabilize Libya.” He told the Austrian Press Agency while in Vienna on Thursday that Europe needs to find a way “to consolidate the country” instead of just waiting for it to happen. Read the rest of this entry »

Five UN peacekeepers’ bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are to close at the end of July, the UN mission there announced on Wednesday, describing it as a change in operational style.

But the closures come against the background of cuts to the overall peacekeeping budget pushed through under pressure from the United States.

The bases, all in the restive eastern province of Nord Kivu, on the border with Rwanda and Uganda, will close by July 31, according to a statement from MONUSCO, the peacekeeping mission. Read the rest of this entry »

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini met with the Lebanese foreign minister Affairs Gebran Bassil Tuesday and discussed the Syrian crisis and its consequences on Lebanon.

“We discussed in particular the Syrian crisis, the impact in Lebanon; We continue to be on the same side here agreeing that only a political solution can bring an end to the conflict in Syria,” Mogherini told a press conference after the 8th EU-Lebanon Association Council meeting. Read the rest of this entry »

The European Union (EU) announced on Wednesday that it will provide 1.5 million euro (USD 1.7 mn) to support the International Independent Mechanism to Facilitate Investigations into the Most Serious Violations of International Law committed in Syria since March 2011.

“Achieving justice for the victims is essential for a genuine and inclusive reconciliation process in Syria, and therefore the perpetrators of war crimes must be held accountable as soon as possible,” declared EU High Representative Federica Mogherini in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »

A total of 47 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Monday in Iraqi airstrikes in and near the IS-held town of Tal Afar in west of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.

Iraqi jets conducted airstrikes on an IS post in the IS-held town of Mahalabiyah near the IS stronghold in Tal Afar, which itself located some 70 km west of Mosul, the Iraqi federal intelligence agency said in a statement.

The airstrikes resulted in the killing of 18 IS militants and the destruction of five vehicles, the statement said. Read the rest of this entry »

Egypt is ready to help Iraq restore its security and stability as well as reconstruct Iraqi cities after the country’s recent victories over the militant group Daesh, Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi during Shoukry’s first visit to Mosul following its liberation from Daesh. Read the rest of this entry »

Representatives of gas companies Bulgartransgaz EAD (Bulgaria), ICBG AD (Bulgaria), DESFA S.A. (Greece), FGSZ Ltd. (Hungary) and SNTGN TRANSGAZ S.A. (Romania) signed a memorandum of understanding about a project for implementation of the Vertical Gas Corridor. The document was signed Wednesday at a joint meeting in Bucharest, the Energy Ministry told BTA. Read the rest of this entry »

Egyptian police have killed two leaders of the Hasam militia in a shootout after intercepting them as they relocated to a new hideout on Cairo’s outskirts, the government said Tuesday.

The interior ministry said the two militants were “prominent leaders” of the Hasam group – an extremist movement the government accuses of having links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Read the rest of this entry »

The foreign ministers of China and Tunisia are calling for new efforts to reach a negotiated peace in Libya and prevent the unstable North African nation from dissolving into a humanitarian disaster on a level with Syria. Read the rest of this entry »