Dubai / AFP Bahrain’s appeals court on Monday upheld a nine-year jail sentence against opposition chief Sheikh Ali Salman, a judicial source said. The sentence against Salman, for inciting hatred and calling for regime change by force, had been overturned by the court of cassation in October. Salman, 51, is considered a moderate who has pushed for a constitutional monarchy …

  Khartoumi / AFP Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir vowed on Monday to brutally crush anti-regime protests, warning the authorities will crack down on demonstrators as they did in 2013 when dozens were killed during clashes. Bashir’s warning came as opposition activists issued a new call to hold a two-day nationwide strike next week against a government decision to cut fuel subsidies …

  Ankara / AFP Turkey arrested nearly 200 officials from a pro-Kurdish party and struck Kurdish militants in Iraq on Monday in response to this weekend’s twin bombings claimed by a radical Kurd separatist group. The toll from Saturday’s attacks, which struck an Istanbul football stadium and a nearby park, rose to 44 on Monday, Health Minister Recep Akdag said. Turkish …