10:52 P.M. 2022 World Cup in Qatar to reportedly take place in winter The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will reportedly take place in the winter, presumably due to the dangerously high temperatures during the summer months. According to a Sports Illustrated report, "a FIFA task force will meet in Doha next week" to recommend that the World Cup take place in November and December of 2022. The FIFA executive committee will reportedly make the decision final at its meeting in Zurich next month. (Haaretz) Read full story here 10:49 P.M. Libya calls on UN Security Council to lift arms embargo so it can fight ISIS Libya called on the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on the country and help it build its army so it can tackle Islamic State and other extremist groups. "Libya needs a decisive stance from the international community to help us build or national army's capacity and this would come through a lifting of the embargo on weapons so our army can receive materiel and weapons so as to deal with this rampant terrorism," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri told the council. The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and related materiel with the approval a U.N. Security Council committee that oversees and arms embargo imposed in 2011. (Reuters) 6:00 P.M. Sissi tours Egypt-Libya border after bombing ISIS targets President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi warned Egypt would strike back at any militant threats to its security as he toured the border area with Libya on Wednesday, two days after Cairo bombed Islamic State targets there. Sissi, accompanied by Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi, toured an air base near the borders with Libya to oversee measures aimed at securing his country's western frontier. Egypt directly intervened for the first time in the conflict in neighboring Libya on Monday after Islamic State released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. "He (Sissi) stressed that Egypt will continue to confront firmly any attempts aimed at compromising its national security," army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Samir said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page. Egypt said Monday's pre-dawn strike hit militant camps, training sites and weapons storage areas in the neighboring oil-producing country, where factional fighting has created chaos and havens for Islamist militants. (Reuters) 5:30 P.M. About 15,000 people march in Turkey in remembrance of female student murdered following attempted rape About 15,000 people marched in a southern Turkish city Wednesday in remembrance of a student whose murder last week after an attempted rape has galvanized public outrage about violence against women. Twenty-year-old Ozgecan Aslan's body was found Friday burned in a riverbed. She was last seen two days earlier on a minibus in Mersin, where the demonstrators gathered Wednesday. Turkish media has reported that the minibus driver, Suphi Altindoken, later confessed that he killed her and mutilated her body after she tried to fend off his sexual attack. He was arrested along with his father and one other man. The case has led to mass demonstrations, an outpouring of anger on social media and allegations that the ruling Justice and Development Party has not done enough to protect women. (AP) 4:46 P.M. Brawl breaks out in Turkey parliament over security bill aimed at clamping down dissent Chairs flew and lawmakers traded punches. A brawl in Parliament over a new security bill has forced the spotlight on mounting suspicions that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's real goal is to hand himself more tools to crush dissent. Five lawmakers were injured early Wednesday in the fight that broke out as opposition leaders tried to delay a debate on the legislation. The government says the measures to give police heightened powers to break up demonstrations are aimed at preventing violence such as the deadly clashes that broke out last year between Kurds, supporters of an Islamist group and police. Critics say that the new measures are part of a steady march toward preventing mass demonstrations that threaten Erdogan's iron grip over Turkish politics. The bill would expand police rights to use firearms, allow them to search people or vehicles without a court order and detain people for up to 48 hours without prosecutor authorization. Police would also be permitted to use firearms against demonstrators who hurl Molotov cocktails. Demonstrators who cover their faces with masks or scarves during violent demonstrations could face four years in prison. (AP) 3:45 P.M. Syrian rebels regain ground lost near Aleppo Syrian rebels regained much of the territory north of the city of Aleppo lost to government troops in fierce fighting the previous day that left more than 100 dead on both sides, activists said.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Turkey-based activist Bari Abdellatif said rebels regained control of the villages of Ratyan and Dweir Zeytoun early Wednesday. The violence came as U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he received a government commitment to suspend airstrikes on the city of Aleppo for six weeks, which would allow a proposed U.N. plan to "freeze" hostilities in the country's largest city to be tested. An activist in Aleppo, Bahaa Halaby, said Syrian troops were trying to besiege rebel-held areas before any freeze goes into effect. The Observatory and another activist said fighting is now concentrated in the village of Bashkoy, just north of Aleppo. (AP) 3:30 P.M. Tunisia militants kill four police in checkpoint attack Around 20 Al Qaida-linked Islamist militants attacked a checkpoint in Tunisia's central Kasserine region, killing four police officers and stealing their weapons, the government said. According to the interior ministry, Okba Ibn Nafaa, a small brigade of fighters operating in mountains along the Algerian border, were behind the attack, which occurred Tuesday night but became public on Wednesday. Tunisia is waging a campaign against Islamist militants, who mostly target security forces. Last year, Okba Ibn Nafaa killed least 14 soldiers in attacks on two checkpoints, the deadliest strike on Tunisia's armed forces . The group's name refers to an early Muslim who led the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb. (Reuters) 3:00 P.M. Suicide car bomber kills six Iraqi soldiers, Shiite militiamen Iraqi officials say a suicide car bomber has killed six troops and Shiite militiamen. According to the officials, the bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a checkpoint jointly manned by the Shiite militia and Iraqi army near Samarra, 60 miles from Baghdad. Hospital officials say four militiamen and two soldiers were killed and at least 16 people were wounded. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area has been under constant attacks by Islamic State militants. (AP) 12:00 P.M. Khamenei vows firm Iranian nuclear stand, warns on gas exports Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Wednesday that his country would resist global sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear program, saying that Iran might respond to international pressure by cutting back gas exports. "The enemy is using the lever of sanctions to the hilt and their goal is to stop our people's progress," Khamenei said in a public speech in Tehran carried by the official IRNA news agency. "If sanctions are to be the way, the Iranian nation can also do it. A big collection of the world's oil and gas is in Iran so Iran if necessary can hold back on the gas that Europe and the world is so dependent on", Khamenei was quoted. Iran produces 2.7 million barrels of oil per day, mainly for domestic consumption. It also produces 600 million cubic meters per day of gas, of which 500 million cubic meters is consumed domestically - although Iranian officials say they plan to double gas production in two years. (Reuters) 11:30 A.M. Aleppo battles kill scores on both sides - Syria monitor Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army started an offensive there, a monitoring group said. The Syrian army, backed by allied militia, had captured areas north of Aleppo on Tuesday in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was an attempt to cut off insurgent supply lines to Syria's second city. Aleppo is at the forefront of clashes between government forces and a range of insurgents, including Islamist brigades, Al Qaida's hardline Syria wing Nusra Front and Western-backed units. (Reuters) 10:40 A.M. Washington Post reporter jailed in Iran unable to meet lawyer The brother of detained Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian says a new lawyer chosen by the family has been unable to meet with the Iranian-American journalist to complete formalities that would allow him to represent him. Ali Rezaian told The Associated Press that defense attorney Masoud Shafiei has tried unsuccessfully three times in recent days to meet with the journalist, who must personally sign paperwork to allow the lawyer to handle his case. Rezaian was detained in Tehran on July 22. Authorities have not made public the charges he faces. (AP) 10:00 A.M. Fists fly as Turkish MPs debate bill on violent demonstrations Turkish parliamentarians threw punches and two were taken to hospital late on Tuesday during a debate over a bill aimed at cracking down on violent demonstrations, local media reported. Five people were injured in the evening session debate, Dogan news agency reported. Ertugrul Kurkcu of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) suffered a head wound. Four Republican People's Party (CHP) deputies were also hurt, and two of them were taken to hospital, after clashing with members of the ruling AK Party, Dogan added."Water glasses were flying through the air, people were rolling on the ground, someone was wielding a gavel," CHP deputy Melda Onur told Hayat TV. The legislation, which would bolster the powers of the authorities to control protests, has been widely condemned by the opposition, who accuse the AKP of trying to create a police state in the NATO member nation. (Reuters) 7:00 A.M. UN envoy: Syria willing to suspend Aleppo strikes 6 weeks The United Nations envoy to Syria said Tuesday he has received a commitment from the Syrian government to suspend airstrikes and artillery shelling on the city of Aleppo for six weeks to allow a proposed U.N. plan to "freeze" hostilities in the country's largest city to be tested. Staffan de Mistura was briefing the Security Council in closed session on his latest efforts to find a solution to the grinding civil war. There was no indication of when the suspension of airstrikes would begin, but the envoy said he will return to Syria "as soon as possible" to assess whether the government's commitment is possible and to announce a start date. He called the new development a glimmer of hope. And he continued to emphasize a political solution to the nearly four-year conflict. But questions remain. De Mistura now has to get the opposition's support for the plan, which includes a request for them to suspend rocket and mortar fire in the same period. And Syria's ambassador to the U.N. refused to comment after the council meeting. "Let's be frank. I have no illusions," de Mistura told reporters. "Based on past experiences, it is a difficult issue to achieve." This was de Mistura's first council briefing since he explained his freeze plan in October, and council members wanted to know what kind of support, if any, it received from President Bashar Assad in his meeting with de Mistura earlier this month. (AP) 3:30 A.M. Iraq envoy to UN: Islamic State might be harvesting organs Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations asked the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to look at allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a way to finance its operations. Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim told reporters that in the past few weeks, bodies with surgical incisions and missing kidneys or other body parts have been found in shallow mass graves.
eating of banana by mananaslam4009 "We have bodies. Come and examine them," he said. "It is clear they are missing certain parts." He also said a dozen doctors have been "executed" in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting. Alhakim briefed the council on the overall situation in Iraq and accused the Islamic State group of "crimes of genocide" in targeting certain ethnic groups. (AP) 12:23 A.M. UN says Syria willing to suspend Aleppo air strikes for six weeks
cutting of watermelon by mananaslam4009 The United Nations Syria mediator told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the Syrian government was willing to suspend its aerial bombardment of the northern city of Aleppo to allow a local ceasefire to be piloted, diplomats said. Staffan de Mistura told the council he would travel to Syria to discuss further and gave no indication of when the suspension of aerial bombardments might start, said diplomats attending the closed door meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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