INTERNATIONAL

Matiullah Jan, a senior Pakistani journalist, who was a vocal critic of the military and is a noted democracy supporter, was abducted and then released late Tuesday. Jan was abducted from Islamabad on Tuesday and released after 12 hours in a deserted area in Fateh Jang by unidentified persons and for unknown reasons. “My husband was abducted this morning outside the school (in the capital Islamabad) where I work,” Jan’s wife, Kaneez Sughra told Reuters. “There were more than five people — some in civilian clothes, others in black uniforms — who forcibly picked up my husband,” AFP quoted Sughra. Shibli Faraz, Pakistan’s Information Minister, had stated “It is clear that he has been abducted.” Faraz had further said that Pakistan’s government would put in all efforts to trace ...

Local officials in Afganistan’s Ghor province reported a teenage girl taking her family's AK-47 assault rifle, shooting dead two Taliban militants, and wounding several others, last week. The girl, believed to be aged between 14 and 16, has been appreciated on social media for her "heroism" after killing the Taliban militants who killed her parents. The Taliban came to the teenager’s house because the girl's father supported the Afgan government, the local officials stated. After the killings, more militants came to the girl’s house, in the village of Griwa, but they were beaten by villagers and pro-government militia. According to officials, the girl and her younger brother had been taken to a safer place. In February, the Taliban and US signed a peace deal but many of the ...

On Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will strike a reciprocal blow against America for the killing of Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, according to the Iranian Supreme Leader’s official website. This statement by the Supreme leader was said in a meeting with Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Soleimani's killing was ordered by the US President Donald Trump on January 3 via a drone strike near Baghdad international airport. The US had accused Qassem Soleimani of planning attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on US forces in the region. The US drone strike killed Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani as well as Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

On Monday, Syrian air defenses blocked an Israeli “aggression” above Damascus, reported Syrian state media. Western intelligence sources have claimed the recent wave of attacks on Syria were Israeli strikes targetting a major Iranian-backed ammunition depot on the edge of the capital in Jabal al Mane near the town of Kiswa. Syrian state television reported that Israeli missiles had flown over the Syrian Golan Heights where they made raids around the capital Damascus. The state television quoted a Syrian military spokesman saying Syria’s air defenses countered most of the missile strikes that were aimed at southern Damascus suburbs, areas that Israel has been reported to hit in the past. The Syrian military spokesman said the missiles were thwarted before reaching their targets ...

On Monday, around 200 protesters rallied at the Royal Thai Army headquarters blaming the Thai army of wasting taxpayers’ money on procurements and demanding the resignation of Thailand's Prime Minister and former army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha. The protests accused the government and the army of inappropriate defense spending and of interfering in politics by supporting Prayuth’s bloodless 2014 attempt of overthrowing the former government, which resulted in Prayuth becoming the current prime minister. Protesters held signs of detained or missing dissidents and carried placards that read “no coup” and reminded Thai soldiers of their duty to the people. The rally on Monday followed a protest in Bangkok on Saturday of about 2,500 people. The protest on Saturday was one of the bigge...

Egypt’s parliament permits President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi for possible military intervention in Libya by approving the deployment of troops to fight “terrorist groups” and “militias”. Last week Sisi had warned that Egypt would not stand idle if it faced any direct threats to Egyptian and Libyan security. All present MPs in the Egyptian parliament voted in favor of sending troops to Libya and stated it would be an act of defending national security on the “strategic western front against the work of armed criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements.” Egypt has taken part in airstrikes on suspected militants in Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Egypt, alongside its allies the United Arab Emirates and Russia, supports Haftar, an ex-Gaddafi general who asse...

Saudi Arabia’s King, Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to a hospital in Riyadh due to an inflammation of the gall bladder, reported state news agency SPA on Monday. The 84-year-old ruler is undergoing medical checks, the news agency added. The leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan were “reassured of his (King’s) health” over a phone call, the agency reported later on Monday. Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi postponed a visit scheduled to Saudi Arabia after the news about the King's health was reported.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for China’s embassy to the United Kingdom (UK) said China would resolutely respond to acts of interference in its internal affairs, reported Reuters. The statement comes after the UK announced it would suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong  "immediately and indefinitely" because of the recent national security law imposed by China in Hong Kong. Addressing lawmakers, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, "Given the role, China has now assumed for the internal security of Hong Kong and the authority it is exerting over law enforcement, the UK will extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo that we have applied to mainland China since 1999." "There will be no exports from the UK to Hong Kong of potentially lethal weapons, their components or ammunition. It...

Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia declared Friday, July 31, as the first day of Eid Al Adha. The deceleration comes after confirmation by the moonsighting committees that determine the beginning of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, the Saudi court announced that tomorrow (Tuesday) is the 30th of Dhu Al Qaeda, and Wednesday, July 22, will be the first of Dhu Al Hijah. Eid Al Adha falls on Friday, July 31 as it marks the 10th day of Dhu Al Hijja and one day after Arafat Day.

According to data released on Monday, two potential coronavirus vaccines showed early signs of efficacy with no serious adverse side effects. One vaccine is being developed by Oxford University and British drugmaker AstraZeneca. Another vaccine is from CanSino Biologics, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company. Both vaccines consist of a modified, harmless common cold virus,  adenovirus, that conveys genetic instructions to cells for activating the immune system to attack the COVID-19. The genetic components of the vaccines include a copy of a "spike" protein found on the surface of the coronavirus. The spike protein in the vaccines allows the production of antibodies and germ-fighting T cells that recognize and battle the coronavirus. The trials for the vaccines were used on healthy vol...