In a controversial move last week, the Macedonian Parliament approved a group of amendments to the legislation on public law and order that slap violators with stiffer penalties. In some cases, the fines are twice the average salary.
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Six killed, over 100 wounded in Ankara bomb blast
Senior Turkish cabinet ministers and police officials held an emergency meeting on Wednesday (May 23rd) to discuss new measures against terrorism, less than 24 hours after a powerful bomb blast in Ankara left six people dead and more than 100 wounded.
Read More »US launches show of force off Iran’s coast
DUBAI (AP) — Ships packed with 17,000 sailors and US marines moved into the Persian Gulf Wednesday as the US navy staged another show of military force off Iran’s coast — just days before the US start of direct talks with Iran in Baghdad.
Read More »Sadr bides time as he harbours ambitious plans
BAGHDAD — From hiding, possibly in Iran, anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr is believed to be honing plans to sweep into the power vacuum made all the more intense by news that his chief Shiite rival has lung cancer. And he’s betting the US won’t keep its troops in Iraq …
Read More »Amnesty blasts Mideast human rights violations
LONDON (AFP) — Amnesty International said on Wednesday in its annual report that Iraq continued its descent into civil war in 2006 and that both Israel and Hizbollah committed war crimes during their 34-day conflict.
Read More »â€˜Suicide bomber carried out Ankara attack’
ANKARA (AP) — A suicide bomber carried out the attack that killed six people and injured dozens in Turkey’s capital, using methods similar to those of a Kurdish rebel group, a senior official said Wednesday.
Read More »Iraqi police say body of missing US soldier found
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police dragged a body from the Euphrates River on Wednesday and said it was one of three American soldiers abducted in an ambush claimed by Al Qaeda. The US military has yet to identify the victim and pressed ahead with its search through sweltering flatlands south …
Read More »Abbas holds truce talks in violence-scarred Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas convened talks on Wednesday hoping to consolidate a truce between rival factions in Gaza and revive a ceasefire with Israel after bloodshed that has cost 90 lives.
Read More »Surrender or else, Lebanon warns Islamists
NAHR BARED REFUGEE CAMP (AP) — Lebanon’s defence minister issued an ultimatum Wednesday to gunmen barricaded in this Palestinian refugee camp to surrender or face a military onslaught, as the army reinforced its positions, raising fears of what could be a bloody showdown.
Read More »Queen, UNICEF call for aid to Iraqi children
AMMAN (JT) — Queen Rania on Wednesday joined UNICEF in an international appeal for Iraqi children, urging the global community to act on their behalf and noting that those affected by violence and displacement have reached a critical point.Â
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