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Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah discussed, in a phone call today, the dangerous developments in the Middle East region.The two sides reiterated their rejection and condemnation of the Iranian attacks that targeted their countries and several other Arab countries. They stressed that the current situation requires stronger diplomatic engagement to calm tensions and avoid a broader confrontation that could threaten regional security and stability. Source link
Former Irish republican leader Gerry Adams arrives at the High Court in central London Monday, ahead of a civil claims trial. (AFP) Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams appeared at London’s High Court Monday for a civil lawsuit which aims to hold him liable for Irish Republican Army bombings in Britain, a case which could affect the prominent republican leader’s legacy.Adams became Sinn Fein leader in 1983 when it was the IRA’s political wing, establishing himself as the best-known face of the movement seeking to end British rule in Northern Ireland.He later reinvented himself as a peacemaker after helping secure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended three decades of sectarian conflict, known as the Troubles, in which some 3,600 people were killed.Adams has always denied being a member of the Provisional IRA (PIRA), though he has long faced accusations — including from members of the paramilitary group — that he was involved in its campaign of killings.The 77-year-old is now being sued by some of those injured in three bombings: one at London’s Old Bailey court in 1973, the PIRA’s first on the British mainland, and two 1996 blasts, targeting London’s Docklands and Manchester.The three claimants are seeking a nominal 1 pound ($1.33) in damages and a finding that, on the balance of probabilities, Adams was a senior member of the IRA.Adams’ lawyers argued in court documents that there was “no credible evidence to support the claimants’ allegation that (Adams) was a senior member of the PIRA”.ADAMS SAYS PIRA SUPPORT IS NOT MEMBERSHIPThe claimants’ lawyer Anne Studd said Monday that Adams was “so intrinsically involved in the PIRA organisation that he is as culpable for the assaults… as the individuals who planted and detonated the bombs”.She cited Adams’ attendance at high-level meetings with the British government in the early 1970s as supporting evidence, though Adams says he was there as a Sinn Fein representative.Studd also said Dolours Price, one of nine people convicted over the Old Bailey bombing, previously accused Adams of involvement in the bombing campaign in Britain.But Adams’ lawyers said Price, who died in 2013, was motivated by a desire for revenge against Adams, whom she believed had betrayed the republican cause through his involvement in the peace process.They added that Adams had expressed support for supporters or members of the PIRA and its campaign, but that did not mean he was a member or “come close to constituting evidence that (Adams) was responsible for the three bombings”.Adams, who sat in court wearing a Palestinian flag pin, is expected to give evidence later this week.After helping to swing the IRA and the province’s Roman Catholic minority behind the Good Friday Agreement, Adams became a member of the Northern Irish Assembly and then the Irish parliament, standing down as head of Sinn Fein in 2018.The case could prove an unwelcome distraction for Sinn Fein, currently the largest party in the Northern Irish Assembly and the main opposition south of the border as it pursues its goal of a united Ireland. Source link
Bangladesh has tightened security at filling stations, sent students home and even scrapped light displays for independence and Ramadan celebrations, officials said Monday, as the Middle East war worsens the country's energy crunch.The South Asian nation of 170 million people imports 95 percent of its oil and gas needs.Following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Tehran's retaliatory strikes throughout the Gulf, the national oil company, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), restricted fuel sales for most vehicles on Sunday.The BPC said in a statement that if fuel consumption can be cut by 25 percent, Bangladesh will have 14 days of diesel left. The government has requested people to stop panic buying.The government has ordered mobile courts to begin operating in the capital Dhaka, to charge and fine those accused of breaching rules on fuel hoarding, smuggling or selling fuel on the open market.Long traffic queues backed out far from filling stations for a second day Monday.Ministry of Energy spokesman Mohammad Arif Sadek said that the police and army had been ‘sent letters’ to ensure security at filling stations and major depots.Bangladesh has also shut universities and brought forward the Eid holidays, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Many educational institutions were already closed for Ramadan.Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced cuts to the decorative lighting that usually festoons government buildings, for both Independence Day on March 26 and Eid.’Traditionally we have decorative lighting and illuminations on Independence Day and other national days, but this time we will refrain from that, as part of the austerity measures,’ Ahmed told reporters.Shopping malls, usually also draped in dazzling displays, were asked to stop the lighting.Nazmul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners Association, said he had halved the amount of fuel he sells per day, warning of a string of fights as anger rose among consumers.’I can't sell enough fuel to make a profit,’ he said. Source link
Israeli occupation authorities continued to close Al-Aqsa Mosque for the tenth consecutive day.Local sources reported that the closure coincides with stringent military measures imposed by occupation forces in the occupied city of Jerusalem, aimed at preventing thousands of worshippers from reaching the mosque to perform prayers within its compounds.Occupation forces have kept Al-Aqsa Mosque closed since the beginning of last week, forcing worshippers to leave and preventing the performance of Isha and Tarawih prayers. This comes amidst a heavy deployment of occupation forces across Jerusalem, where worshippers were forced to perform the third Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan in the vicinity of Damascus Gate (Bab al-Amud). Source link
The Bahraini Civil Defence announced that a fire broke out at a facility in the Ma’ameer area following a blatant Iranian attack.According to Bahrain’s news agency, emergency teams successfully brought the blaze under control, and no injuries or loss of life were recorded during the incident.The General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force announced today that its air defense systems have intercepted and destroyed 102 missiles and 171 drones since the start of the Iranian attacks on the country. Source link
While this year’s International Women’s Day, marked annually on 8 March, focuses on justice, the systems meant to protect women and girls are failing, with millions exposed…
Nepal's centrist RSP party of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah had secured a majority in the direct parliamentary elections, partial official results showed Sunday, and was heading for a landslide according to official trends.The 35-year-old's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was also leading in the proportional representation vote, according to results declared and election commission trends.The vote was the first since deadly September 2025 youth anti-corruption protests toppled the government.Shah himself had on Saturday defeated the veteran four-time prime minister K P Sharma Oli — whose Marxist-led government was ousted in the violence last year — in his own seat.His victory over the 74-year-old Oli, and his rise from the capital's mayor to potential prime minister, marks one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics.The September 2025 youth-led demonstrations, under a loose Gen Z banner, began over a brief social media ban but quickly tapped into broader grievances over corruption and a struggling economy.Elections on Thursday chose a new 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, with 185 seats chosen directly, and 110 by a proportional representation vote.Poll monitors the Asian Network for Free Elections said Sunday that voting had been ‘peaceful and orderly and reflected continued public engagement with democratic processes despite recent political instability’.Sunday afternoon, 157 of the direct elections had been declared: RSP dominating with 121, Nepali Congress 17, and the Marxists of now-defeated Oli trailing with seven.Former Maoist guerrilla commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a three-time prime minister, won his seat, with his party holding seven in total.Trends showed Shah's RSP was also leading in half of the remaining eight constituencies in the direct elections.In the proportional representation vote, RSP was leading with nearly half of the counted votes — but final results could take several more days.Nepali Congress, the largest party in the past coalition government, also saw its new leader, Gagan Thapa, defeated by RSP.’Counting is moving forward smoothly in all remaining constituencies,’ Election Commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said, adding that final results will take a ‘few days’.The first-time parliamentary lawmaker Shah toured the streets of his new constituency on Saturday evening, wearing his signature dark sunglasses and waving from the sunroof of a car in a victory parade through cheering crowds who chanted ‘Balen’ — as he is better known.Shah, who did not make a speech, won more than three times more votes than Oli, who congratulated the winner, wishing him ‘a smooth and successful five-year tenure’.Nepal's government-formed investigation commission to probe the deadly September 2025 violence also submitted its report Sunday.No one has been held accountable for the deaths as yet.The report was handed to Sushila Karki, the interim prime minister.Karki said it would be up to the new government taking power to act — but that she hoped its key findings would be made public before she steps down.’We will not be here for its implementation, because we have to handover to the new government and go,’ she said.’But, I believe, that the next government will study and implement this.’Oli has denied ordering security forces to open fire on protesters, and has told AFP that he blames ‘infiltrators’ for the violence. Source link
The Lebanese Parliament today approved a two-year extension of its term due to the current circumstances in the country.A statement issued by the Parliament indicated that the General Assembly approved the extension with a majority of 76 votes, 41 against, and 4 abstentions.Parliamentary elections, a constitutional requirement held every four years to elect 128 members of parliament, were originally scheduled for May.Since Monday, Lebanon has been under Israeli offensive which so far resulted in the deaths of 394 people, including 83 children, and injuries to 1,130 others. Source link
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A woman buys dates near the Sunan Ampel Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Surabaya, Indonesia’s East Java province on March 8, 2026.…