Syria’s Assad set to recover Golan frontier as rebels surrender
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is set to recover control of the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after rebel fighters in the area agreed to surrender terms, sources on both sides said on Thursday.
Hungary’s Orban tells Israel that Jews in his country can feel safe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist whose policies have raised concerns among Jews in his country, said on a visit to Israel on Thursday they should feel safe under his government.
Eritrean troops withdraw from Ethiopia border: Eritrean Press
Eritrea has pulled troops back from the heavily militarized border with Ethiopia as a “gesture of reconciliation” with its giant neighbor and long-time foe, the pro-government Eritrean Press agency said on its Facebook page.
Fearful for decades, Pakistan’s main parties now openly campaign in Karachi
For over 25 years, maverick political leader Altaf Hussain had an iron grip on Karachi, able to bring Pakistan’s largest city to a standstill with a single phone call.
South Korea court holds government accountable for 2014 ferry sinking for the first time
A South Korean court on Thursday acknowledged for the first time the government’s liability for the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which killed 304 people, mainly school children, and ordered it to compensate victims’ families.
U.S. delegation to meet Turkish officials on Iran sanctions
A U.S. delegation of Treasury and State Department officials will meet Turkish authorities on Friday to discuss sanctions targeting Iran, an official from Turkey’s foreign ministry said.
Pro-Assad villages evacuated in deal with Syrian insurgents
Two pro-government villages in northwestern Syria were evacuated on Thursday, state television said, in an agreement between the Damascus government and insurgents who had laid siege to them for several years.
Syrian rebels agree surrender terms in al-Quneitra: Hezbollah-run news service
Syrian rebels in al-Quneitra province have agreed to accept a return of state rule or to leave to the rebel-held Idlib province in a surrender deal with the government, a military news outlet run by Lebanon’s Hezbollah reported on Thursday.
Turkish televangelist and followers jailed pending trial on sex abuse, fraud charges: Anadolu
Turkish authorities jailed a Turkish televangelist and more than 150 of his followers pending trial on Thursday, police said, on charges including sexual abuse of children, blackmail and forming a criminal gang.
Australian guard saw indigenous prisoner’s breathing difficulty as a ruse, inquest told
A mentally ill indigenous prisoner in Australia who died after being restrained appeared to be pretending to struggle for breath as a “diversionary tactic” to avoid moving cells, a guard who helped hold him down told an inquest on Thursday.
