CAIRO: The Egyptian and American navies have carried out a joint exercise.

“The training comes within the framework of the plan of the General Command of the Armed Forces to raise the level of training and exchange experiences with the armed forces of brotherly and friendly countries,” said Egyptian military spokesman Gharib Abdel Hafez.

Last month, the Egyptian Navy carried out a joint training exercise with US and Spanish naval vessels.

CAIRO: Egypt has condemned Friday’s explosion at a mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat that killed 18 people and injured 23.

Cairo offered its condolences to the victims’ families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

“Egypt reiterates its condemnation and rejection of all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism,” the Foreign Ministry said.

BAGHDAD: When a pronouncement by a religious scholar in Iran drove Iraq to the brink of civil war last week, there was only one man who could stop it: A 92-year-old Iraqi Shiite cleric who proved once again he is the most powerful man in his country.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani said nothing in public about the unrest that erupted on Iraq’s streets. But government officials and Shiite insiders say it was only Al-Sistani’s stance behind the scenes that halted a meltdown.

DUBAI: Yasukazu Hamada, Japan’s defense minister, met with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz in Tokyo on Aug. 30 as part of an ongoing effort to boost defense cooperation between the two countries, including in military hardware and technology.

Hamada and Gantz signed a memorandum on defense exchanges and agreed to continue working together to achieve regional peace and stability. However, the development calls into question Tokyo’s ability to maintain its reputation for even-handedness vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities arrested four State Security officers on Saturday on suspicion of torturing a Syrian detainee to death.

The arrests came on the orders of the government’s commissioner to the military courts, Fadi Akiki, who ordered an investigation into last month’s death of Bashar Abdel-Saud in custody.

The killing in southern Lebanon provoked anger, and activists shared photos of his body, which showed signs of torture.