Politics

  HARARE / AP The often nasty battle to succeed Zimbabwe’s aging president has turned into a tempest in a tea cup — literally. On the face of it, nothing was wrong with Facebook photos of one of the country’s vice presidents holding a mug with friends during the recent holidays. Problem is, the mug featured the words “I Am the ...

  ISTANBUL / AP Turkish police are closing in on the gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub, a senior official said on Thursday, insisting his possible whereabouts and contacts had been established. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak told A Haber news channel in an interview that gunman who attacked Istanbul’s upscale Reina nightclub during New Year’s ...

  JERUSALEM / AP Israel’s attorney general says he’s decided to indict an Arab lawmaker for smuggling cellphones to Palestinians serving prison sentences for security offenses. Avichai Mendelblit’s office said on Thursday that he will charge Basel Ghattas with prohibited use of property for terrorist purposes as well as fraud and breach of trust. Ghattas was caught last month smuggling phones ...

  BEIRUT / AP An al-Qaida-linked group in Syria says a nearly week-old cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey is “humiliating” and that those who agreed to it made a “big mistake.” The cease-fire, which excludes the Al-Qaida-linked Fatah al-Sham Front as well as the IS group, has largely held, except for intense fighting in the Barada Valley outside Damascus, ...

  BEIRUT / AP A leader of suspected sympathizers of the IS group was killed on Thursday in a clash with Philippine police in the south, raising fears that his brutal group may retaliate by attacking a huge Catholic procession in Manila next week. Senior Supt. Leonardo Suan and other officials said Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, leader of a small but ...

BAGHDAD / AFP A car bomb tore through a Baghdad market on Thursday, killing at least nine people in what appeared to be the latest in a series of deadly attacks by the IS group. Elsewhere, four attacks in and around Baghdad killed at least seven people, bringing the day’s overall death toll to at least 16. Those attacks, mostly by ...

  BEIRUT / AP A large explosion hit a Syrian government-held coastal town on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, according to Syria’s state TV. The attack was a major blow to the nearly week-old and already shaky cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey. First videos that emerged from the scene in the town of Jableh show charred ...

  SEOUL / AP Prosecuting lawmakers accused South Korean President Park Geun-hye of “broadly and gravely” violating the constitution as the Constitutional Court began hearing oral arguments on Thursday in her impeachment trial. While the lawmakers, functioning as prosecutors in the trial, argued Park should be removed from the presidency, her lawyers said the accusations lacked evidence. Park is accused of ...

  WASHINGTON / AP Senior US intelligence officials face questions at a Senate hearing that will be dominated by the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the presidential election to help Donald Trump win. The Armed Services Committee’s cyber threats hearing on Thursday comes a day before the president-elect is to be briefed by the CIA and FBI directors ...

  QUANTICO / AP A Marine Corps staff sergeant accused of cruelty and mistreatment following an investigation of hazing at the Parris Island training center is facing a preliminary hearing. The staff sergeant is one of four Marines facing military judicial proceedings this week related to the hazing investigation. The Marine Corps launched a probe after the March 18 death of ...