5.9 magnitude quake hits southern Mexico
Mexico City: A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the
southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Monday, days after a more powerful temblor hit the same area. State and national emergency officials said they had no immediate reports of damage from the latest shake, but schools were cancelled across the state on Monday.
Nepal to hold first Parliament session Kathmandu: Nepal’s new bicameral Parliament will begin work in March for the first time since its approval in the 2015 Constitution, ending a transition that began 10 years ago, President Bidya Devi Bhandari said on Monday.
Three Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai campaign
Cairo: Egypt said on Monday three of its soldiers had been killed in the Sinai Peninsula during a wide-ranging operation against the local branch of the Islamic State group. Four “extremists” were also killed, the military said in a statement. It was the first military death toll announced since the Army started its campaign on February 9.
Pakistan forces kill 2 Taliban suicide bombers
Peshawar: Pakistani security forces on Monday killed two Afghan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban suicide bombers who were planning to carry out an attack in the country’s restive Bajaur agency bordering Afghanistan, the Army said.
Syria bombardment kills 44 in rebel enclave
Hammuriyeh (Syria): Heavy Syrian bombardment killed 44 civilians in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Monday, as regime forces appeared to prepare for an imminent ground assault. The escalation came as pro-Gover-nment forces were expected to enter the northern Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, to take a stand against a month-old Turkish assault there. A barrage of airstrikes, rocket fire, and arti-llery slammed into several towns.