The Turkish parliament will in January vote on a motion to send troops to Syria to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday. "We will present the motion to send troops (to Libya) as soon as parliament resumes" on January 7, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. "God willing, we will pass it in parliament on January 8-9 and thus respond to an invitation" from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), he said. Erdogan s comments come after the Turkish parliament on Saturday ratified a security and military cooperation deal with the government of Fayez al-Sarraj. But a separate motion is needed to send boots on the grounds. Erdogan on Wednesday paid an unannounced visit to Tunisia with his defence minister and spy chief to discuss ways of reaching a ceasefire in Libya. The conflict plunged Libya into violence and eight years later, pro-GNA militias and strongman Khalifa Haftar s self-styled Libyan National Army are vying for control of the North African country. Erdogan has in recent weeks vowed to increase military support to the GNA if needed as it battles Haftar, who launched an offensive in April to seize the capital. Turkey and Qatar back the GNA, while Haftar has received support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia -- all of whom have tense relations with Turkey. Moscow last month denied reports in the New York Times that it had sent had mercenaries to fight on Haftar s side, while the UN has also accused the strongman s forces of recruiting fighters from Sudan. "They are helping a warlord. We are responding to an invitation from the legitimate government of Libya," Erdogan said Thursday. "That is our difference."

Pilgrims from around the world gathered Tuesday in the biblical city of Bethlehem, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, to celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land. Palestinians and foreigners began converging on the "little town" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from early morning, with Christmas Eve festivities taking place in and around the Church of the Nativity. Tourists queued to visit the grotto inside the church, believed to be the exact site where Jesus was born, with Ola, a Nigerian visitor, saying it was a "special day." Outside in the winter sun, hundreds watched as Palestinian scouts paraded to the sound of drums. "I feel really emotional to be here today, it s wonderful," said Germana, an Italian travelling with her husband and two children. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the most senior Roman Catholic official in the Middle East, was due to travel from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Tuesday morning. He will lead midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expected to attend. Bethlehem is close to Jerusalem, but cut off from the holy city by Israel s separation barrier. The first church was built on the site in the fourth century, though it was replaced after a fire in the sixth century. This year celebrations were bolstered by the return of a wooden fragment believed to be from the manger of Jesus. Sent as a gift to Pope Theodore I in 640, the piece had been in Europe for more than 1,300 years before being returned last month, Francesco Patton, chief custodian for the Holy Land, said. "We venerate the relic because (it) reminds us of the mystery of incarnation, to the fact that the son of God was born of Mary in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago," Patton told AFP at the time.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu nationalist party has lost a key state legislature election, a setback for the party as it faces massive anti-government protests against a contentious new citizenship law. According to results announced by India s Election Commission late Monday, Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, yielded power to an alliance forged among the opposition Congress party and powerful regional groups in eastern Jharkhand state, where the voting took place this month. The election was held amid protests calling for the revocation of the citizenship law, which critics say is the latest effort by Modi s government to marginalize India s 200 million Muslims. Opposition and civil rights groups plan to hold more protests against the law later Tuesday. BJP leaders said Tuesday that the new citizenship law was not an issue in the Jharkhand election, but Congress party leader R.P.N. Singh said the results were a snub to Modi s party, which won only 25 of 81 state legislature seats. The Congress party and its allies won 47 seats, ending the BJP s five-year rule in the state. Since December 2018, the BJP has lost power in five states: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. But Modi won a major victory for his party in May national elections. The BJP came to power in 2014, defeating the Congress party. Modi has defended the new citizenship law and accused the opposition of pushing the country into a ``fear psychosis. The law allows Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to India s streets to call for the revocation of the law. Twenty-three people have been killed nationwide since the citizenship law was passed in Parliament earlier this month in protests that represent the first major roadblock for Modi s Hindu nationalist agenda since his party s landslide reelection earlier this year. Most of the deaths have occurred in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 20% of the state s 200 million people are Muslim. The state government is controlled by Modi s governing Bharatiya Janata Party. On Monday, nearly 2,000 people joined a silent protest by the Congress party at Raj Ghat, a memorial in New Delhi dedicated to India s independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, with the party demanding ``protection for the constitution and the rights of people enshrined in it.`` Authorities across India have taken a hard-line approach to quell the protests. They ve evoked a British colonial-era law banning public gatherings, and internet access has been blocked at times in some states. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has asked broadcasters across the country to refrain from using content that could inflame further violence. The communication shutdown has mostly affected New Delhi, the eastern state of West Bengal, the northern city of Aligarh and the entire northeastern state of Assam

Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October last year. Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan al-Shalaan, reading out the verdict in the trial, said the court dismissed charges against the remaining three of the 11 people that had been on trial, finding them not guilty. Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom s de facto ruler. He was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, where he had gone to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found. The killing caused a global uproar. The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe Prince Mohammed ordered the killing, but Saudi officials say he had no role. Eleven Saudi suspects were put on trial over his death in secretive proceedings in Riyadh. In the investigation into the murder, 21 were arrested and 10 were called in for questioning without arrest, Shalaan said. Riyadh s criminal court pronounced the death penalty on five individuals, whose names have not yet been released, "for committing and directly participating in the murder of the victim". The three sentenced to prison were given various sentences totalling 24 years "for their role in covering up this crime and violating the law". Shalaan added that the investigations proved there was no "prior enmity" between those convicted and Khashoggi. The verdicts can still be appealed. Last November the Saudi prosecutor said that Saud al-Qahtani, a former high-profile Saudi royal adviser, had discussed Khashoggi s activities before he entered the Saudi consulate with the team which went on to kill him. The prosecutor said Qahtani acted in coordination with deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri, who he said had ordered Khashoggi’s repatriation from Turkey and that the lead negotiator on the ground then decided to kill him. Both men were dismissed from their positions but while Asiri went on trial, Qahtani did not. On Monday Shalaan said Asiri has been released due to insufficient evidence, and Qahtani had been investigated but was not charged and had been released. *This story was edited by Ahram Online

Lebanon s new prime minister held consultations Saturday with parliamentary blocs in which they discussed the shape of the future government and said afterward that legislators all had one concern: To get the country out of its ``strangling`` economic crisis. Hassan Diab, a university professor and former education minister, will have to steer Lebanon out of its worst economic and financial crisis in decades. He s also taking office against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide protests against the country s ruling elite. ``Lebanon is in the intensive care unit and needs efforts by all sides, from political groups to protesters, Diab said. Consultations began a day after scuffles broke out in Beirut and other areas between supporters of outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese troops and riot police. The ex-premier s supporters were protesting Diab s nomination. At least seven soldiers were injured. Diab told reporters later that all members of parliament encouraged him to form a Cabinet ``as soon as possible.`` Cabinets usually take months to form in Lebanon because of bargaining between rival groups. Diab said he hopes to form a government of about 20 ministers made up of independents and technocrats within few weeks. ``It s time to work and we ask God to make us successful. He added that the situation in Lebanon cannot stand any delays amid its worst economic and financial crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Lebanese banks have imposed unprecedented capital controls in recent weeks. Thousands have lost their jobs and the economy is expected to contract in 2020. Diab began his meetings Saturday at Parliament with Speaker Nabih Berri, then held talks with former prime ministers, including caretaker premier Hariri. He later met with blocs at the legislature. Militant Hezbollah and its allies had previously insisted that a new government consist of politicians and experts but on Saturday, Diab said ``all parties agree with me regarding a government made up of independents and experts, including Hezbollah. Legislator Paula Yacoubian, who backs the protest movement, said Diab told her ``the government will be fully made up of independents and that he will step down if there is going to be members of the state s political parties. She added: ``I heard very nice talk similar to what the people have been demanding. The protesters have been demanding a government that does not include members of political parties whom they blame for widespread corruption. Diab said he will meet with the protesters in the coming days without elaborating. Earlier on Saturday, Hariri cautioned supporters after meeting Diab against violent protests, saying: ``The army is ours and police forces are for all Lebanese. Shortly before sunset Saturday, scores of protesters including Hariri supporters, closed two major intersections in Beirut demanding that Diab step aside, saying he failed to win wide support from Sunni legislators. Saturday s protests were peaceful unlike those of the night before when stones and firecrackers were hurled at security forces. The new prime minister won a majority of lawmakers votes after receiving backing from powerful Hezbollah and its allies, which have a majority of seats in parliament. However, he lacks the support of major Sunni figures, including the largest Sunni party headed by Hariri. That s particularly problematic for Diab, who, as a Sunni, doesn t have the backing of his own community. And under Lebanon s sectarian power-sharing agreement, the prime minister must be Sunni. The head of Hezbollah s 12-member bloc, Mohammad Raad, said the group wants a government that preserves what the Lebanese have achieved in ``victories during the confrontation with the Israeli enemy and to maintain our national sovereignty, our maritime (oil and gas) wealth and land and to prevent the enemy from undermining its sovereignty and the national dignity. A lawmaker from the bloc led by the Shiite Amal group _ headed by parliament speaker Berri _ said the incoming government should focus on fighting corruption. ``It should be an emergency government that works on solving the economic, financial, social and banking crisis,`` said Anwar al-Khalil after the meeting with Diab. Samir al-Jisr of Hariri s bloc said they will not take part in Diab s government. Hezbollah s ally, Gebran Bassil, who heads the largest bloc in parliament, said the future government ``is not Hezbollah s Cabinet but of all Lebanese and it is not against anyone. Michel Moawad, a harsh critic of the militant group, said Diab told him the new government will not be controlled by ``Hezbollah and will not be confrontational. Hezbollah had backed Hariri for prime minister from the start, but the group differed with him over the shape of the new government. Lebanon s sustained, leaderless protests erupted in mid-October, and forced Hariri s resignation within days. But politicians were later unable to agree on a new prime minister. The ongoing protests and paralysis have worsened the economic crisis.

Former education minister Hassan Diab looks set to be named Lebanon s new prime minister on Thursday, senior political sources said, a move that would thrust a little-known engineer to the forefront of efforts to tackle an acute economic crisis. President Michel Aoun is due to hold formal consultations with Lebanon s 128 lawmakers on their choice for prime minister throughout the day, and must designate the candidate with the greatest support. Diab emerged as a candidate for the position at the last minute when Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri withdrew his candidacy for a job that must be filled by a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon s sectarian system. As things stood on Thursday morning, Shi ite groups Hezbollah and Amal, in addition to Hezbollah s biggest Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), will all nominate Diab, three senior sources familiar with each group s position said. With the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its political allies holding more than 70 of the seats in parliament, Diab should emerge with the largest amount of support. Hariri, resigned on Oct. 29, prompted by protests against a ruling elite accused of overseeing rampant state corruption. *This story was edited by Ahram Online

Donald Trump is expected to become only the third US president in history to be impeached later by the House of Representatives. Democratic lawmakers are ready to approve two impeachment charges against the Republican president on Wednesday. Mr Trump would then face a Senate trial next month, but members of his party control that chamber and it is unlikely to remove him from office.

Indian student protests that turned into violent clashes with police galvanized nationwide opposition on Tuesday to a new law that provides a path to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants who entered the country illegally from several neighboring countries. Police fired tear gas in the Seelampur area of New Delhi to push back protesters who burned a police booth and two motorbikes after throwing stones and swarming barricades.

The Lebanese presidency said it had delayed consultations to designate a new prime minister until Thursday in response to a request from caretaker leader Saad al-Hariri, who had been expected to be named premier again. Hariri had requested the delay to the consultations, which had been scheduled for Monday, in a phone call with President Michel Aoun to allow "more consultation on the subject of the government formation", the presidency said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Hariri s office. Lebanon is in urgent need of a new government to tackle the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, who is aligned with Western and Gulf Arab states, resigned as prime minister on Oct. 29 in response to mass protests against the ruling elite over decades of state corruption and bad governance. He has said he would only return as prime minister of a cabinet of specialist ministers, believing this would satisfy protesters and allow the government to address the crisis and attract foreign aid. His political adversaries, including Aoun and the powerful, Iran-backed Shi ite group Hezbollah, say the new cabinet should include politicians alongside technocrats. Lebanon s prime minister, who must be a Sunni Muslim, is appointed in binding consultations convened by the head of state with lawmakers. The president must designate the candidate with the greatest support among the 128 lawmakers. Hariri has been seen as the only candidate for the position since the failure of efforts to form a consensus on several other Sunni figures, and he enjoys the backing of the Sunni religious establishment.

Lebanese security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons to disperse anti-government protesters from central Beirut in clashes that lasted for hours into early Sunday. The violence around the epicenter of the protest in Beirut was some of the worst since the demonstrations began two months ago. More than 40 protesters were injured, including some beaten repeatedly with batons by security forces. The clashes brought the downtown area to a standstill for over eight hours as security forces fired a stream of tear gas canisters at the hundreds of protesters, who set fires in trash cans on the main streets, in part to mitigate the effects of tear gas. The protesters chanted slogans against security forces and government officials, and pelted police with stones in scenes not seen in the capital since the demonstrations began on Oct. 17. At one point, the scuffles reached the headquarters of one of the main Lebanese political parties, the Kataeb, where many protesters were taking cover. The head of the party, Samy Gemayel, appeared on local TV stations as he tried to separate the protesters from advancing security forces. Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for three decades of mismanagement and corruption. The violence comes just two days before the president is due to hold talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. The government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned Oct. 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began. Political groups have been unable to agree on a new candidate while protesters have been calling for a government unaffiliated with established political parties. Local TV station LBC showed dozens chanting against Hariri, who is emerging as the favorite candidate despite all the political bickering. The protesters also shouted ``The people want to bring down the regime and accused government forces of excessive force. The Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense said at least 46 people were injured and transported to hospitals. More protests are expected later Sunday. The trouble started Saturday when dozens of men, some wearing masks, threw stones and firecrackers at security forces on one edge of the protest camp in central Beirut. They were supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups, angered by some of the criticism of their leaders by anti-government protesters. It was the second time this week the groups tried to attack the protest camp. The National News Agency said one member of security forces was injured. Local leaders, including a mosque preacher, appealed to calm. Hours later, hundreds of anti-government protesters, including women, gathered outside parliament, hundreds of meters (yards) away from the protest camp. Chaos ensued with reports of an attack on the anti-government rally, leading to a confrontation with security forces who tried to disperse the protesters. For the first time since the protests erupted in Beirut, anti-riot police fired rubber bullets as they chased the demonstrators away from the area. It was not clear what caused the crackdown. The parliament speaker is the head of the Shiite Amal group. The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area in thick white smoke and the odor of tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing rubber bullets and several volleys of tear gas from armored vehicles. Dozens of protesters had traveled to Beirut from the northern city of Tripoli to take part in the rally outside the parliament building. The National News Agency reported that some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. One officer was injured in the eye when a protester hit him with a stone, according to an Associated Press reporter. Early Sunday, nearly a dozen riot police stood over two protesters and beat them with batons, according to an AP reporter on the scene. The two were later taken away to be treated by medics. Tension has been building up in the protest camp. Some accused activists who organize discussions in the camp under the name ``the Hub of hosting critics of Hezbollah and calling for normalization of ties with Israel. The tent was attacked earlier in the week with firecrackers, burning it down. On Saturday, a rally to support the Hub was canceled shortly before the attempted attack on the protest camp.

After almost 10 months of political turmoil, Algeria on Thursday holds a presidential vote bitterly opposed by a protest movement that sees it as a regime ploy to cling on to power. Five candidates are in the running, all of them widely rejected as "children of the regime" of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whom people power ousted in April after two decades in office. Turnout was expected to be extremely low after demonstrators shouting "no vote" again pressed their demand for a boycott on the eve of the polls, facing off with truncheon-wielding riot police in Algiers. "How can we trust those who betrayed the country and helped Bouteflika?" read one placard at the rally, which saw scores arrested and many wounded in clashes with security forces. Polls open at 0700 GMT and close at 1800 GMT but the result may not be announced until the following day, as it was after previous elections already marked by high abstention rates. Whoever wins will struggle to be accepted by the electorate in the north African country, where many citizens rail against a military-backed regime they see as inept, corrupt and unable to manage the flagging economy. "None of the five candidates can hope to be considered legitimate" in the eyes of the protesters, said Anthony Skinner, Middle East and North Africa director at risk analysis company Verisk Maplecroft. He predicted that "the vote will be boycotted on a large scale". No to the system In an early indication of mass abstentions, polling stations at Algerian embassies abroad stayed almost empty since they opened Saturday, with the few expatriates who did show up weathering insults by protesters. The "Hirak" street movement kicked off when Bouteflika, 82, announced in February he would seek a fifth term in office. Since then protesters have stayed on the streets for more than 40 weeks, demanding the total dismantling of the system that has ruled Algeria since independence from France in 1962. The military high command, which long wielded power from the shadows, has been forced to take a more visible role and has pushed for the election as a way to resolve the political crisis. Demonstrators have also directed their ire at the powerful army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has emerged as Algeria s de facto strongman. A previous poll set for July was scrapped for lack of viable candidates and interim president Abdelkader Bensalah s term technically ended five months ago. Given the broad opposition, the five candidates have run low-key campaigns, usually under heavy police protection and often being drowned out by hecklers. All of them in the past either supported Bouteflika or participated in his government -- two as prime ministers and one as a minister. This week saw Algerian courts hand down heavy jail sentences in high-profile corruption trials for two other former prime ministers, Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal. But even those verdicts did little to win over the protesters, who see the trials as little more than a high-level purge in a struggle between still-powerful regime insiders. Protests have been illegal in Algiers since 2001 and police have only tolerated weekly Hirak protests on Fridays and student marches on Tuesdays. Wednesday marked the anniversary of the outbreak of major demonstrations against French colonial power in Algeria in 1960, and calls online urged protesters to converge on the Algiers square commemorating it. Meriem, a 62-year-old Algiers resident, marched with her daughter and daughter-in-law brandishing red cards to oppose the election. "I m marching to say no to the vote," she said, "no to the Bouteflika system without Bouteflika."

Suicide blasts in Afghanistan killed one person and injured more than 60 in an attack on Wednesday on the United States main military base of Bagram that was repulsed after a 30-minute clash, Afghan and NATO officials said. The attack comes as the United States looks to revive stalled peace talks with Taliban militants who control more territory than at any point since being ousted from power by coalition forces in 2001. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday s blast, but a provincial official said the casualties were all Afghans. "A 30-minute clash also happened between the attackers, who obviously wanted to enter the base, and foreign forces," Wahida Shahkar, a spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, where the base is located, told Reuters. Two attackers detonated vehicles laden with explosives at the southern entrance to the base, while five opened fire. It was not immediately clear how many of the five gunmen were killed, Shahkar said. The attack was "quickly contained and repelled" and there were no U.S. or coalition casualties, but a medical base being built for locals was badly damaged, Resolute Support, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Qatar s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, will not attend the Gulf summit in Riyadh, state media reported Tuesday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017 over allegations it backs radical Islamists and seeks closer ties with Saudi arch rival Tehran. Qatar vehemently denies the allegations. Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani will, however, head Qatar s delegation _ its highest level of representation at the annual meeting in two years and the most concrete sign yet of a potential thaw in a regional dispute. *This story was edited by Ahram Online

Russian forces have entered Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State caliphate, in one of the starkest examples yet of how Moscow has filled the vacuum created by President Donald Trump s decision to pull U.S. forces from northern Syria. Russian troops were shown in footage on the defence ministry s Zvezda TV channel shaking hands with Syrian children and unloading humanitarian aid bundles with the slogan "Russia is with you" from the back of trucks. Raqqa was captured two years ago by U.S. troops and their Kurdish-led Syrian allies in the biggest victory of Washington s campaign against Islamic State in Syria. But since Trump abruptly ordered a pull-out in October, Moscow has swiftly advanced into territory where U.S. troops had operated. Russia is a close battlefield ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad s government, which was invited by the Kurds into territory they controlled after Trump pulled his forces out of the way of a Turkish assault against Kurdish-held areas. Russian troops in Raqqa were handing out humanitarian aid and its military doctors were offering residents medical attention, Vladimir Varnavsky, a defence ministry officer, was quoted as saying by RIA news agency. "Work in the city to get rid of the rubble and clear the area (of bombs or mines) is not yet complete and there is a shortage of clean water, medicine and food," he said. Russia last month set up a helicopter base an airport in a northeastern Syrian city and also landed forces at a sprawling air base in the region that had been vacated by U.S. forces. Russia and Turkey are carrying out joint patrols along Syria s northern border with Turkey as part of a deal struck between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. After saying all U.S. troops would leave northern Syria, Washington has left some behind for now at some bases but rolled back most of their operations.

Anti-government protesters wielding a blood-drenched flag returned to Baghdad s central plaza on Saturday after a night of bloody attacks that left 25 people dead and more than 130 wounded. Storm clouds gathered over Khilani Square as the protesters surveyed the blackened facade of a parking garage that had served as their de facto command post before unknown assailants torched it Friday night. Buildings surrounding the square were pockmarked with bullet holes. One demonstrator collected as many as a dozen spent cartridges. The attack, which took place in darkness moments after the power was cut, marked a major escalation in assaults against protesters that have been taking place in recent weeks. It was among the deadliest since Oct. 1, when thousands of Iraqis first took to the streets calling for sweeping political reforms and the end of Iran s influence in Iraqi affairs. At least 400 have died at the hands of security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse the demonstrations. Friday s attacks also came hours after Washington slapped sanctions on the leader of Asaib al-Haq, a powerful Iran-backed militia accused of being behind deadly sniping attacks on protesters. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned leader Qais al-Khazali, his brother Laith al-Khazali, a commander in the group, and Husain Falih Aziz al-Lami. Demonstrators feared the attacks would be followed by armed street fighting and more violence that would undermine the peaceful tone of their mass rallies. ``Everyone is terrified, said Noor, a protester who provided only her first name for fear of reprisal. ``We don t want this to become a street war. That is why we are trying to stay peaceful. But day after day we find that we are alone. Anti-government activists blame the attacks on Iran-backed militias, which have staged similar assaults against protester sit-ins in the capital and the country s southern cities. On Thursday, the militias attempted to hold their own demonstration in the square to counter anti-government protesters, many of whom were attacked with knives by unknown assailants. They later withdrew. Two Iraqi officials, who requested anonymity in line with regulations, said it was widely suspected that militiamen were involved in Friday night s attacks. Members of the Popular Mobilization Units, an official umbrella organization comprising an array of militia groups, have said the attacks during the protests have been aimed at infiltrators of the anti-government movement who were looking to cause disturbances. Falah Fayadh, chairman of the paramilitary PMUs, the program that oversees an array of Shiite militia groups, directed the PMU forces to stay away from squares occupied by protesters, according to an internal statement issued Saturday and seen by The Associated Press. Those who disobeyed the order would be fired, Fayadh said in the statement. Protesters said the government s failure to protect them at the height of the hostilities on Friday forced them to rely on a militia linked to influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, also the leader of the Sairoon bloc, which holds the most seats in Parliament. Al-Sadr has supported the protests by sending Saraya Salam (Peace Brigades), a militia group under his control, to block roads and prevent anti-protest gunmen from entering during Friday s clashes. Iraqi officials said they believed al-Sadr would use his popularity on the street as political leverage in talks over the selection of a new premier. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned last week in response to the protests. Abdul-Mahdi s ascension to prime minister was the result of an uneasy alliance between the Sairoon bloc and parliament s other main bloc, the Fatah, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units headed by Hadi al-Amiri. Even protesters who are wary of al-Sadr s politics _ they consider him part of the establishment they are protesting _ said the presence of Saraya Salam members, who were unarmed, was key to their safety. ``I wish the ... army had come and fought for us so that other people don t feel that Sadr is protecting the protesters _ because they are also a militia at the end of the day, Noor said. For Iraqi officials inside the fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq s government, the presence of al-Sadr s militia on the street serves only to reinforce perceptions that the majority of anti-government protesters are in fact supporters of al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, meanwhile, said his home in the holy city of Najaf was hit by a drone strike on Saturday. He did not elaborate. Nassar al-Rubaie, head of Sairoon s political committee, decried the attack in televised remarks and called for an emergency parliamentary session to discuss the violence in Khilani Square. Friday s attacks had many protesters on edge. Mohamed, a protester who only provided his first name for fear of reprisal, said when he arrived at the square Friday night after receiving a call from distressed protesters, he saw groups of masked men wielding knives near the protesters command post at the parking garage. Twenty minutes later, he said, four white pickup trucks arrived from the direction of Abdul-Qadir Gilani mosque, adjacent to Khilani square, without license plates and car rying armed men wearing ski masks. ``They fired at us, and we ran,`` he said, noting that the electricity went off moments before. The armed men positioned themselves on the top floor of the parking garage and started shooting at the demonstrators below, said Mohamed, whose version of events was corroborated by a half-dozen other protesters. The shooting lasted for at least three hours, he said. The attacks claimed the lives of 22 protesters and three policemen, officials said. Iraqi security forces were deployed to streets leading to the square early Saturday. Some protesters accused the government of colluding with the masked gunmen, pointing to the power outage that happened around the same time as the attacks. But a senior Electricity Ministry official, who requested anonymity in line with regulations, denied the allegation. The official said it would have been easy for anyone to cut the power lines.

The United States has completed its military pullback in northeastern Syria, settling into a more stable posture of about 600 troops in the rest of the country after repositioning and reducing forces, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. Esper s remarks in an interview with Reuters could signal the end of a period of turbulence and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. military presence in Syria after President Donald Trump s initial withdrawal order in October. Since then, troop levels in Syria have fallen about 40 percent from around 1,000. Esper stressed he retained the ability to move in and out smaller numbers of forces as needed into Syria. But he suggested the number of troops will fluctuate around the 600-level for the foreseeable future. "It will be relatively static around that number. But if we see things happen ... I can dial up a little bit," Esper said late on Wednesday during a flight back from the NATO summit on the outskirts of London. Esper also didn t rule out being able to reduce U.S. troop levels in Syria further if European allies contributed to the Syria mission. "The coalition is talking a lot again. We could see some allies want to volunteer troops," Esper said, without suggesting any new contribution was imminent. "If an allied country, a NATO country, decided to give us 50 people, I might be able to turn off 50 people." The U.S. military says it is focused on preventing a resurgence of Islamic State in Syria and carried out a raid last month that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Trump, in London, said he wanted remaining U.S. forces to ensure Syria s oil reserves don t fall back into the militant group s hands. "We kept the oil. And the oil is what fueled ISIS," Trump said, using an acronym for Islamic State. NO MOVEMENT ON TURKEY S-400S Trump softened his pullout plans for Syria after backlash from Congress, including among key Republicans, who say he cleared the way for a long-threatened Turkish incursion against Kurdish forces in Syria who had been America s top allies in the battle against Islamic State. NATO diplomats worry that Turkey, a NATO member since 1952 and a critical ally in the Middle East, has increasingly acted unilaterally, launching its incursion in Syria against U.S.-backed forces and buying advanced Russian S-400 air defenses. Washington says the S-400 system is incompatible with NATO air defenses, poses a threat to Lockheed Martin Corp s F-35 stealth fighter jets and announced in July it was removing Turkey from the F-35 program. It has also warned of possible U.S. sanctions. After summit talks between Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Esper suggested Ankara had not budged yet on the S-400 issue. "There s no movement at this point," Esper said. Still, after lobbying by NATO allies, including the United States, Erdogan backed off from a threat to block defense plans for the Baltic states and Poland unless allies declared Kurdish fighters in Syria terrorists. "I think it was a positive move forward," Esper said, of the change in position by Turkey. "They ve been a valuable part of NATO for decades, from the earliest days. So we got to keep them in the fold."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Portugal for a meeting with his close ally, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It will be their first encounter since Pompeo announced last month that the U.S. does not consider Israeli West Bank settlements illegal under international law. It also the latest in a string of diplomatic gifts to Netanyahu by the Trump administration as the Israeli leader fights for his political survival in the wake of two inconclusive elections and a damning corruption indictment. Netanyahu s back is against the wall in Israel but abroad, he will be seeking to project a stately image of business as usual and secure further American commitments for whatever time he has left in office. Netanyahu was to leave Israel around midday on Wednesday.

Iranian state television on Tuesday acknowledged security forces shot and killed what it described as ``rioters in multiple cities amid recent protests over the spike in government-set gasoline prices _ the first time that authorities have offered any sort of accounting for the violence they used to put down the demonstrations. The acknowledgment came in a television package that criticized international Farsi-language channels for their reporting on the crisis, which began on Nov. 15. Amnesty International said Monday it believes at least 208 people were killed in the protests and the crackdown that followed. Iran s mission to the United Nations disputed Amnesty s findings early Tuesday, though it offered no evidence to support its claim. Iran has yet to release any nationwide statistics over the unrest that gripped the Islamic Republic with minimum prices for government-subsidized gasoline rising by 50%. Iran shut down internet access amid the unrest, blocking those inside the country from sharing their videos and information, as well as limiting the outside world from knowing the scale of the protests and violence. The restoration of the internet in recent days across much of the country has seen other videos surface. ``We ve seen over 200 people killed in a very swift time, in under a week, said Mansoureh Mills, an Iran researcher at Amnesty. ``It s something pretty unprecedented event in the history of the human rights violations in the Islamic Republic. While not drawing as many Iranians into the streets as those protesting the disputed 2009 presidential election, the gasoline price demonstrations rapidly turned violent faster than any previous rallies. That shows the widespread economic discontent gripping the country since May 2018, when President Donald Trump imposed crushing sanctions after unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers. The state TV report sought to describe killings in four categories, alleging some of those killed were ``rioters who have attacked sensitive or military centers with firearms or knives, or have taken hostages in some areas. The report described others killed as passers-by, security forces and peaceful protesters, without assigning blame for their deaths. In one case, the report said security forces confronted a separatist group in the city of Mahshahr armed with ``semi-heavy weapons. ``For hours, armed rioters had waged an armed struggle, the report alleged. ``In such circumstances, security forces took action to save the lives of Mahshahr s people. Mahshahr in Iran s southwestern Khuzestan province was believed to be hard-hit in the crackdown. The surrounding oil-rich province s Arab population long has complained of discrimination by Iran s central government and insurgent groups have attacked area oil pipelines in the past there. Online videos purportedly from the area showed peaceful protests, as well as clashes between demonstrators and security forces. State TV separately acknowledged confronting ``rioters in Tehran, as well as in the cities of Shiraz and Sirjan. It also mentioned Shahriar, a suburb of Tehran where Amnesty on Monday said there had been ``dozens of deaths. It described the suburb as likely one of the areas with the highest toll of those killed in the unrest. Shahriar has seen heavy protests. Amnesty offered no breakdown for the deaths elsewhere in the country, though it said ``the real figure is likely to be higher. Mills said there was a ``general environment of fear inside of Iran at the moment. ``The authorities have been threatening families, some have been forced to sign undertakings that they won t speak to the media, she said. ``Families have been forced to bury their loved ones at night under heavy security presence. Authorities also have been visiting hospitals, looking for patients with gunshot wounds or other injuries from the unrest, Mills said. She alleged that authorities then immediately detain those with the suspicious wounds. Iran s U.N. mission in New York called Amnesty s findings ``unsubstantiated, without elaborating. ``A number of exile groups (and media networks) have either taken credit for instigating both ordinary people to protest and riots, or have encouraged lawlessness and vandalism, or both, said Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman at the mission. The demonstrations began after authorities raised minimum gasoline prices by 50% to 15,000 Iranian rials per liter. That s 12 cents a liter, or about 50 cents a gallon. After a monthly 60-liter quota, it costs 30,000 rials a liter. That s nearly 24 cents a liter or 90 cents a gallon. An average gallon of regular gas in the U.S. costs $2.58 by comparison, according to AAA. Cheap gasoline is practically considered a birthright in Iran, home to the world s fourth-largest crude oil reserves despite decades of economic woes since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Gasoline there remains among the cheapest in the world, in part to help keep costs low for its underemployed, who often drive taxis to make ends meet. Iran s per capita gross domestic product, often used as a rough sense of a nation s standard of living, is just over $6,000, compared with over $62,000 in the U.S., according to the World Bank. That disparity, especially given Iran s oil wealth, fueled the anger felt by demonstrators. Already, Iranians have seen their savings chewed away by the rial s collapse from 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear accord to 126,000 to $1 today. Daily staples also have risen in price. The scale of the demonstrations also remains unclear. One Iranian lawmaker said he thought that over 7,000 people had been arrested, although Iran s top prosecutor disputed the figure without offering his own. Meanwhile, Mir Hossein Mousavi, a long-detained opposition leader in Iran, compared the recent crackdown by security forces on protesters to soldiers who in the time of Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi gunned down demonstrators in an event that led to the Islamic Revolution. His comparison raised the rhetorical stakes surrounding the latest unrest.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries Monday not to give up in the fight against climate change, as representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Madrid for a two-week meeting on tackling global warming. In his opening speech to delegates, Guterres cited recent scientific data showing that levels of heat-trapping gases have hit a record high, reaching levels not seen for at least 3 million years when sea levels were 10-20 meters (33-66 feet) higher than today. Unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are sharply cut, temperatures could rise to twice the threshold set in the 2015 Paris accord by the end of the century, he warned. "Do we really want to be remembered as the generation that buried its head in the sand, that fiddled while the planet burned? Guterres asked. His appeal came after Chile s environment minister, Carolina Schmidt, said the Dec. 2-13 meeting needs to lay the groundwork for moving toward carbon-neutral economies while being sensitive to the poorest and those most vulnerable to rising temperatures - something that policymakers have termed "just transition. "Those who don t want to see it will be on the wrong side of history, said Schmidt, who is chairing the meeting. She called on governments to make more ambitious pledges to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases ahead of a deadline to do so next year. The summit, which moved to the Spanish capital after Chile had to pull out amid anti-government protests, aims to put the finishing touches to the rules governing the 2015 Paris accord. That involves creating a functioning international emissions-trading system and compensating poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change. "We have a common challenge but with differentiated needs and urgencies, which we can only overcome if we work together, said Schmidt. Countries agreed in Paris four years ago to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C (2.7F) by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times. Already, average temperatures have increased by about 1C, leaving little room for the more ambitious target to be met. Guterres called out big greenhouse gas emitters that are still building coal-fired power plants, saying that unless the world stops burning coal "all our efforts to tackle climate change will be doomed." He noted that had countries started cutting their emissions drastically a decade ago, reaching the Paris goal would have been much easier. "Ten years ago, if countries had acted on the science, they would have needed to reduce emissions by 3.3% each year, he said. "Today, we need to reduce emissions by 7.6% each year. "The impact on all life on the planet - including ours - would be catastrophic, he added. "The only solution is rapid, ambitious, transformative action by all - governments, regions, cities, businesses and civil society, all working toward a common goal. Organizers expect around 29,000 visitors at the meeting, including around 50 heads of state and government for Monday s opening session. Except for the European Union s newly sworn-in leadership, which was due to begin a five-year term by paying a visit to the summit, the rest of the world s largest carbon emitters - the United States, China and India - are sending ministerial or lower-level officials to the meeting. The U.S. delegation is led by Ambassador Marcia Bernicat, a senior Department official. That s because the procedures to quit the Paris accord initiated last month by the administration of President Donald Trump won t be technically completed until Nov. 4, 2020. But Democratic members of Congress led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the nation remains committed to the 2015 agreement s goals. "We re still in it, said Pelosi, adding that climate change poses a threat to public health, the economy and national security.

Iraqis across the country marched Sunday to mourn protesters killed in anti-government rallies, even turning out in Sunni areas where people were previously too afraid to join in. Demonstrators have hit the streets since early October in Baghdad and the Shia-majority south to demand the ouster of a government they accuse of being corrupt, inefficient and beholden to foreign powers. After a spike in deaths this week raised the toll to more than 420 killed, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament. The chamber was due to convene later Sunday, but no agenda had yet been published. In recent weeks, most Sunni-majority areas refrained from protesting, fearing that opposing the central government would earn them the labels of being "terrorists" or supporters of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein. But after a spike in violence days ago left nearly 70 people dead across three cities, Iraqis in nearly all provinces turned out in solidarity. In Sunday s marches, hundreds of students dressed in black organised a mourning march in the northern city of Mosul, on the city s university campus. "It s the least Mosul can give to the martyrs of Dhi Qar and Najaf," said Zahraa Ahmed, a dentistry student, naming the two provinces where most recent victims were from. "The protesters are asking for their basic rights so the government should have answered from the beginning." Another student, Hussein Kheder, carrying an Iraqi flag, said the whole country was now on the same page politically. "Now the government needs to answer to the protesters demands," he told AFP. For three years, Mosul was the heart of the Islamic State group s ultra-conservative "caliphate", and much of it still lies in ruins today. In Salahaddin, another northern Sunni province where no rallies had taken place so far, authorities had already declared on Friday three days of mourning for the victims. And eight other Shia-majority provinces have announced on Sunday a mourning day during which government offices would remain shut. More than 20 people were killed in the shrine city of Najaf, 40 people in the hotspot of Nasiriyah and three in the capital Baghdad. AFP s correspondent reported calm in Nasiriyah on Sunday after three consecutive days of violence. The protest hotspot is the birthplace of Abdel Mahdi, the embattled premier, who came to power just a year ago based on a shaky alliance between rival parties. He had resisted protesters calls for him to step down over the past two months. But the crackdown turned the tide this week, as it prompted Iraq s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to call on parliament to drop its support for Abdel Mahdi. In quick succession, political factions indicated they would support a no-confidence vote. It was however not certain whether that vote would take place Sunday afternoon as no agenda had yet been published.

Iraqi security forces shot dead 16 protesters in the southern city of Nassiriya on Thursday, medical sources said, and authorities imposed a curfew in Najaf after demonstrators burned its Iranian consulate. Authorities set up joint military-civilian "crisis cells" to try to stem unrest and a paramilitary commander vowed to use force to stop any attack against Shi ite Muslim religious authorities. The torching of the consulate in Najaf, the southern holy city, escalated violence in Iraq after weeks of mass demonstrations that aim to bring down a government seen as corrupt and backed by Tehran. It was the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment of Iraqi demonstrators as the gulf widens between a largely Iran-aligned ruling elite and an increasingly desperate Iraqi majority with few opportunities and minimal state support. The inability of Iraq s government and political class to deal with the unrest and answer protesters demands has fuelled public anger. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has promised electoral and anti-corruption reform but barely begun delivering while security forces have shot dead hundreds of mostly peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Baghdad and southern cities. The protests, which began in Baghdad on Oct. 1 and have spread through southern cities, are the most complex challenge facing the Shi ite-dominated ruling class that has controlled state institutions and patronage networks since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled long-time Sunni ruler Saddam Hussein. Young, mostly Shi ite protesters say politicians are corrupt, beholden to foreign powers - especially Iran - and they blame them for a failure to recover from years of conflict despite relative calm since the defeat of Islamic State in 2017. Security forces opened fire on protesters who had gathered on a bridge in Nassiriya before dawn, medical sources said. Sixteen were killed and dozens wounded, they said. A curfew was imposed in Najaf after protesters stormed and set fire to the Iranian consulate late on Wednesday. Businesses and government offices remained closed in the city, state media reported. "The burning of the consulate last night was a brave act and a reaction from the Iraqi people - we don t want the Iranians," said Ali, a protester in Najaf. "There will be revenge from Iran I m sure, they re still here and the security forces are going to keep shooting us." A protester who witnessed the burning of the consulate said security forces had opened fire to try to stop it. "All the riot police in Najaf and the security forces started shooting at us, as if we were burning Iraq as a whole," he said, declining to give his name. Infiltrators and saboteurs The military commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups whose most powerful factions are close to Tehran, said the groups would use full force against anyone trying to attack Iraq s most powerful Shi ite cleric, who is based in Najaf. "We will cut the hand of anyone trying to get near (Grand Ayatollah Ali) al-Sistani," commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis said in a statement on the PMF website. Observers said the events in Najaf would likely bring a tough response, rather than pushing the government into enacting reforms. "Apart from casual statements ... the government has not announced any plan (or) given any clear account of what measures it will take," said Dhiaa al-Asadi, advisor to powerful populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "Initiatives are going to be scarce." Fanar Haddad, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, said the government might use the burning of the Iranian consulate as a pretext for an even more heavy-handed crackdown. "The downside from the protesters point of view is this might reinforce the government s narrative that protesters are infiltrators, saboteurs and up to no good," he said. "It sends a message to Iran but also works to the advantage of people like Muhandis ... (giving) a pretext to clamp down and framing what happened as a threat against Sistani." Sistani rarely speaks on political issues but traditionally wields enormous influence over public opinion, especially in Iraq s southern Shi ite heartland. He has used Friday sermons in recent weeks to urge the government to enact real reform and stop killing demonstrators. Security forces have used live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades against mostly unarmed protesters. Some demonstrators have lobbed petrol bombs, bricks and fired slingshots at police. Authorities set up "crisis cells" in several provinces to try to restore order, a military statement said on Thursday. They would be led by provincial governors but include military leaders who would take charge of local security forces. The violence has killed more than 350 people, according to police and medics.