LISBON -- Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday announced snap parliamentary elections for March 10, 2024, following Tuesday's resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa who is under corruption investigation.
In a televised national address after a meeting with the Council of State, Rebelo de Sousa said the call for early elections comes from the need for "clarity and direction to overcome an unexpected void that surprised the Portuguese." (Portugal-President-Early Elections)
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BAGHDAD -- Two military airbases housing the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and western Iraq were attacked by drones on Thursday.
A statement by Kurdistan's regional Counter-Terrorism Service said that a booby-trapped drone hit the Harir Airbase outside the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, at 7:15 p.m. local time (1615 GMT), setting fire to a fuel warehouse in the airbase. (Iraq-U.S. Bases-Attacks)
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GAZA -- A high-ranking delegation of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip with Egyptian leaders, the movement said in a statement on Thursday.
Members of the delegation, headed by Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, met with head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel, read the statement. (Egypt-Hamas Leader-Gaza Conflict)
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RIYADH -- The Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference kicked off Thursday in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh to discuss relations and cooperation opportunities.
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said in opening remarks that Saudi Arabia and the African continent "are partners and share a common history and destiny," and the partnership between the two sides is strong and growing at all levels. (Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference) ■
