Rubio hopeful for new Gaza truce
MIAMI, Dec 20 (AFP): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday urged the disarmament of Hamas but voiced hope for headway on reaching the next stage of a Gaza ceasefire as regional officials met.Top officials of Qatar and Egypt -- key mediators of the ceasefire -- and regional power...
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At least 3 members killed
DAMASCUS, Dec 20 (AFP): A Syria monitor said Saturday that at least five Islamic State jihadist group members including a cell leader were killed in US strikes overnight after a deadly attack on American troops last weekend.US forces said they struck more than 70 IS targets in what President Donald...
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Australian state plans to ban intifada chants after Bondi shooting
SYDNEY, Dec 20 (BBC): The Australian state where the Bondi shooting occurred plans to ban the phrase "globalise the intifada" as part of a crackdown on "hateful" slogans.New South Wales (NSW) premier Chris Minns has also called for a Royal Commission into the Bondi attack, marking the deadliest shooting in...
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Imran Khan, wife given 17-year jail terms
ISLAMABAD, Dec 20 (BBC): Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced for 17-year jail terms following a fraud case involving state gifts.They were convicted of breaking Pakistan's rules on gifts after Bibi was given a luxury jewellery set by Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin...
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Three persons killed, nine injured
TAIPEI, Dec 20 (BBC): At least three people have been killed and nine others injured as a knife-wielding attacker on a rampage in the Taiwanese capital Taipei.The 27-year-old suspect set off smoke bombs at Taipei's main metro station, before running to another station in a busy shopping district, stabbing people...
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Trump doesn't rule out war with Venezuela
WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (AFP): US President Donald Trump left open the possibility of war with Venezuela, as his top diplomat Marco Rubio vowed Friday to enforce a blockade on the country's oil wealth.Asked in an interview with NBC News conducted Thursday about a war with Venezuela, Trump said, "I don't...
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US Afghans in limbo after Washington soldier attack
ANAHEIM, Dec 20 (AFP): Afghans who worked alongside US troops during almost two decades of war were once promised a home in the United States to shelter them from the extremist intolerance of the Taliban.But after two National Guard soldiers were shot -- one of them fatally -- in Washington...
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Bill Clinton appears in first batch of Epstein files
WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (AP): Former U.S. President Bill Clinton featured prominently in the first set of documents released Friday by the Justice Department from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The files include several photos of Clinton, some showing him on a private plane with a woman whose face...
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