NASIRIYAH: Iraqi authorities on Monday executed by hanging 11 people convicted of “terrorism”, security and health sources said, the second such group put to death since late April. A security official said that the executions took place at Al-Hut prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province, where 11 other people likewise convicted of “terrorism” were executed last …

WASHINGTON: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving independent senator in American history, said on Monday he will seek a fourth term in an announcement touting his record over 16 years and taking aim at US military funding for Israel. The 82-year-old son of Jewish immigrants — who describes himself as a “democratic socialist” and votes with the Democrats — …

MOSCOW: Seven people were killed and at least 35 injured in an air attack on Russia’s Belgorod region, on the border with Ukraine, on Monday. A Ukrainian drone attack hit vehicles carrying workers in Russia’s frontier region, killing six people and injuring 35, the governor said. “Unfortunately, as a result of an explosion, six people died at the scene from …

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Monday reopened a mosque converted from an ancient Orthodox church in Istanbul for Muslim worship, four years after the president ordered its transformation. The Kariye Mosque was formerly a Byzantine church, then a mosque and then a museum. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the building to be reconverted into a Muslim place of worship in 2020. His …

TEHRAN: UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran on Monday, where he is expected to speak at a conference and meet officials for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tensions and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticising Iran for lack of cooperation on inspections and other outstanding issues. News agencies …

NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM: In view of the Israeli military offensive unleashed on civilians in Gaza over the last few months, students at institutes of higher education across the globe have been demonstrating in a bid to force their universities to divest and disassociate with groups ‘enabling’ the Israeli military occupation and assault on Palestine. The wave of protests began with an encampment set …

WASHINGTON: Kam­ran Faridi, a former high-profile agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has been released from a Florida prison after serving nearly four years of his 84-month sentence. On Dec 9, 2022, Faridi was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment on his convictions for “transmitting threats in interstate commerce, threatening to assault a federal officer, and obstruction …

RAFAH: Hamas on Monday said it had accepted a proposal for a truce in the seven-month-old war in Gaza, after Israel told Palestinians in Rafah to evacuate ahead of a long-threatened invasion of the city. The Hamas announcement brought cheering crowds onto the street amid tears of happiness, chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and celebratory shooting in the …

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his ballot Tuesday in India’s ongoing general election after giving several inflammatory campaign speeches accused of targeting minority Muslims. Turnout so far has dropped significantly compared with the last national poll in 2019, with analysts blaming widespread expectations that Modi will easily win a third term and hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the summer. Modi …

Al Jazeera will look to pursue all possible legal action “until the end” to challenge Israel’s ban on its operations there, the TV network’s news director told AFP in an interview. The Qatar-based station was taken off air in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government voted on Sunday to shut it down over its coverage of the Gaza conflict. Speaking on Monday, Al Jazeera English news …