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West Asia
ISIS destroys Palmyra’s Temple of Bel
A satellite image confirms that a temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra has been destroyed, the United Nations says. There had been earlier reports of an explosion at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which is held by militants from Islamic State (ISIS). As UN satellite analysts Unosat say…
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West Asia
Social media saves Syrian refugee
When Gissur Simonarson, an activist from Oslo, Norway, posted a photo on his twitter of a father selling pens on the streets of Beirut as he cradled his sleeping daughter, he struck a chord with more than 6,000 followers. Requests came offering to help the man, but Simonarson didn’t know the…
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Politics
The Aftermath of Russia-Georgia War
Russian aggression against Georgia started in early 1990s, when Moscow responded to Georgia’s move to its independence with open military and economic support to the separatist forces in two regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On early August 2008 it began its assault on Georgia. Moscow justified the…
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West Asia
41 ‘caliphate’ plotters arrested in UAE
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say 41 people will go on trial for trying to “seize power and establish a caliphate” in the Gulf nation. Attorney General Salem Saeed Kubaish said the suspects planned to “carry out terrorist acts on UAE territories”, the group of suspects included UAE nationals…
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South Asia
Pakistan releases 183 Indian fishermen
On Sunday, August 2, Pakistan released 138 Indian fishermen from a Karachi prison as a goodwill gesture and in pursuance of Ufa talks. According to reports, the released fishermen will reach Lahore where they will be handed over to the Indian officials at the Wagah border. The Indian fishermen…
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South Asia
Former Indian president Dr. Abdul Kalam passes away
Former Indian President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam passed away at a private hospital in Meghalaya on Monday evening, Press Trust of India reported. According to NDTV, India’s 11th president had been admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Shillong, Meghalaya in critical condition. He…
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Politics
Attack on Turkey leads to a series of protests
Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu has promised to boost security along the country’s border with Syria, after 30 people were killed by a bomb in the town of Suruc, reports BBC Investigators think the blast was caused by a female suicide bomber from the Islamic State group. Correspondents say Turkey is…
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West Asia
Explosion in Saudi Capital Riyadh
A car exploded at a checkpoint in Riyadh near Saudi Arabia’s highest security prison at sunset on Thursday, killing the driver and wounding two security officials, the interior ministry said. According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is a target for militant groups including Islamic State, which has called on supporters to…
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West Asia
Syria and Libya among countries banned for South Koreans
South Korea’s foreign ministry announced it has decided to extend its travel restrictions on six countries for another six-month period, citing high safety risks, according to Yonhap news agency. South Korea will maintain entry restrictions on Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya. The order will be effective through Jan.…
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West Asia
Bahrain rights campaigner freed from jail
Bahraini human rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab has been pardoned by King Hamad after serving three months of a six-month jail sentence, the official BNA news agency has reported. The king made the order because of fears over Mr Rajab’s health, it said. An appeals court in May upheld the six-month…
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