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Saving lives 1 day at a time ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, April 17, (AP): As usual, it started with a call on a satellite phone from Italian rescue officials in Rome. They were relaying a distress call they’d received from a migrant smuggling ship adrift somewhere off the coast of …

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, April 17, (Agencies): Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails launched a hunger strike Monday following a call from leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a movement that could mark a serious challenge to Israeli authorities if sustained. The hunger strike was called for in connection with Palestinian …

Japan planning for refugees in event of crisis: Abe SEOUL, April 17, (Agencies): US Vice-President Mike Pence put North Korea on notice on Monday, warning that recent US strikes in Syria and Afghanistan showed that the resolve of President Donald Trump should not be tested. Pence and South Korean acting …

VATICAN CITY, April 16, (Agencies): Pope Francis urged an end to “horror and death” in Syria on Sunday as he celebrated the traditional Easter Day Holy Mass in Rome. The Easter Holy Mass, the highlight of the Christian calendar began under a cloudy sky where worshippers had gathered since the …

Protesters press Trump to release taxes CHICAGO, April 16, (AP): Thousands of sign-waving, chanting protesters marched through streets across America demanding that President Donald Trump release his tax returns so the public can examine his business ties and determine whether he has links to foreign powers. The tax day protests …

JERUSALEM, April 16, (Agencies): Christians are celebrating Easter across the Middle East, where many are struggling to maintain their embattled communities in the face of war, terrorism and discrimination. Thousands of worshippers flocked to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified …

Output set to surpass levels of Qatar TEHRAN, April 16, (AFP): Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated five new phases of the South Pars gas field on Sunday, the result of some $20 billion in investment, local media reported. The ribbon-cutting of phases 17- 21 pave the way for Iran to …

State of Kuwait won the GCC’s 16th athletics championship Saturday, bagging seven gold medals, four silver and two bronze. Kuwait national athletics team won the trophy of the championship after they led the general standing, Bader Al-Rshoud, the team’s head, told KUNA. Kuwait’s Majed Al-Zaid, in the last day of …

No winners if war breaks out: Chinese FM PYONGYANG, North Korea, April 15: (AP): North Korea paraded its intercontinental ballistic missiles in a massive military display in central Pyongyang on Saturday, with ruler Kim Jong Un looking on with delight as his nation flaunted its increasingly sophisticated military hardware amid …

US-backed forces reach edge of IS-held town BEIRUT, April 15, (Agencies): A bomb blast hit a bus convoy waiting to cross into government-held Aleppo in Syria on Saturday, killing and wounding dozens of people evacuated from two Shi’ite villages the day before in a deal between warring sides. The agreement …