Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual Dies

 Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual casts his vote in the 1997 parliamentary elections. (AFP)
Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual casts his vote in the 1997 parliamentary elections. (AFP)
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Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual Dies

 Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual casts his vote in the 1997 parliamentary elections. (AFP)
Former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual casts his vote in the 1997 parliamentary elections. (AFP)

Algeria announced three days of national mourning on Sunday after the death of 84-year-old Liamine Zeroual, the former soldier who served as the country's president from 1994 to 1999.

Born on July 3, 1941 in the eastern city of Batna, Zeroual served in Algeria's National Liberation Army (FLN), which fought for independence from French rule.

After leading a transitional administration during a later civil war, Zeroual organized the country's first multi-party presidential election in 1995, winning by a wide margin.

In 1998, however, he unexpectedly cut short his five-year term, making way for Abdelaziz Bouteflika to succeed him and run the country for 20 years.

Zeroual remained respected in retirement. Algeria's presidency said he had died at a military hospital in Algiers after a serious illness and that flags would fly at half-mast across the country.



CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sunday in a rare visit to Cairo, as the United States warned of rapid escalation in the Middle East war.

Sisi's office said the meeting, attended by Egypt's spy chief Hassan Rashad, discussed the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sisi stressed "the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks," according to a presidency statement.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," it warned.

Sisi's office said Ratcliffe on Sunday "lauded Egypt's pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises".

 

 

 

 

 


Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh
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Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

Arab Parliament Condemns Houthi Militia Attack Targeting Riyadh

The Arab Parliament has strongly denounced the terrorist Houthi militia's continued attacks, including the attack targeting Riyadh, stressing that it constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to Arab national security and regional stability.

In a statement on Sunday, Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yamahi expressed the parliament's full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its support for the measures it takes to defend itself against any attacks targeting its security and territorial integrity, SPA reported.

Al-Yamahi called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to assume its legal and political responsibilities to stop these blatant attacks, ensure that they are not repeated, and hold those responsible accountable.


French ISIS Suspects Stand Trial in Iraq

During the nearly three-hour session, the judge read the investigation findings, which were also shown on a screen, including the suspects' testimonies (INA)
During the nearly three-hour session, the judge read the investigation findings, which were also shown on a screen, including the suspects' testimonies (INA)
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French ISIS Suspects Stand Trial in Iraq

During the nearly three-hour session, the judge read the investigation findings, which were also shown on a screen, including the suspects' testimonies (INA)
During the nearly three-hour session, the judge read the investigation findings, which were also shown on a screen, including the suspects' testimonies (INA)

Six French nationals went on trial on Sunday, as Iraq moves to prosecute thousands of suspected ISIS members.

Iraq's prisons, already packed with ISIS suspects, have received thousands more detainees transferred since last year from Syria.

The trial of the six French nationals began on Sunday morning.

An AFP correspondent in the courtroom reported that the judge set the next hearing for October 5.

During the nearly three-hour session, the judge read the investigation findings, which were also shown on a screen, including the suspects' testimonies.

The investigation found that they joined ISIS after travelling first to Turkey and then Syria.

The judge then inquired about their legal representation before setting the new hearing date.

The suspects include Charlie Sun, Kamel Ben Mbarak, Najib Megherbi, Mehdi Ismael and Ibrahim Azahaf, who arrived in Syria when he was 14 years old, according to their French lawyers.

Among them was also Noureddine El Mansouri, who was stripped of his French nationality in June 2026, though the decision is still under appeal.

The suspects are part of a group of 47 French citizens transferred from Syria last year.

The larger group includes Adrien Guihal, who claimed responsibility for the 2016 Nice attack for ISIS.

The group swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.

French lawyers on Thursday urged the repatriation of the French nationals detained in Iraq, warning that they could face the death penalty.

In February, over 5,700 ISIS detainees from more than 60 countries were transferred to Iraq by the United States, after years held in Syrian prisons overseen by Kurdish-led forces.

Among them were at least five French nationals, some of whom were minors when their parents joined ISIS.

Earlier this month, Iraq's judiciary said it had completed their interrogation and that the cases would proceed to trial.

It added that more than 450 Syrians would be released after investigations found no evidence warranting legal action against them.

In April, Iraq handed over two detained foreigners, from Finland and the United States, to their countries after they were cleared of suspicion.