BAGHDAD: United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Baghdad on Saturday to mark the end of the political mission set up in 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. The UN Security Council, at Iraq’s request, voted last year to wind down the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in […]
Read MoreISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an “area of confrontation” between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks. “The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in […]
Read MoreLONDON: The footage, secretly filmed by an onlooker and released by Reuters with a “graphic content” warning, is shocking. On Nov. 27, Israeli border police raiding a building in the West Bank camp of Jenin summarily executed two men who had surrendered. The Palestinian health ministry later named the dead men as Montasir Abdullah, 26, […]
Read MoreBEIRUT: A series of Israeli strikes hit south and east Lebanon on Friday, state media reported, as Israel’s army said it was targeting Hezbollah sites, the latest such raids despite a year-old ceasefire. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes in around a dozen locations, including up to around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from […]
Read MoreGENEVA: Barham Salih, a former Iraqi president who fled persecution under Saddam Hussein, has been appointed the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees, breaking the tradition of selecting leaders mainly from major European donor nations. A letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated Dec. 11, confirmed Salih’s five-year term starting Jan. 1, pending UNHCR committee […]
Read MoreAmnesty International today (11 December) accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for the first time of crimes against humanity, including extermination, during and after the 7 October 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza. “Palestinian armed groups committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attacks in […]
Read MoreSTOCKHOLM: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on Wednesday awarded American Saudi scientist Omar Yaghi the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his breakthrough development of metal-organic frameworks, a sponge-like structure that could store CO2 or harvest water from the air, alongside the British Australian and Japanese scientists Richard Robson and Susumu Kitagawa. Yaghi, Robson and […]
Read MoreDOHA: Israel said on Thursday that Hamas “will be disarmed” as part of the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top leader from the Islamist movement suggested a weapons freeze. “There will be no future for Hamas under the 20-point plan. The terror group will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised,” the Israeli […]
Read MoreMADRID: Spain’s PM on Thursday called on the international community to “raise its voice” to prevent the plight of Palestinians from being forgotten, during a meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also repeated Madrid’s support for a two-state solution, describing it as “the only possible solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. […]
Read MoreRIYADH: Saudi Arabia called for the withdrawal of Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces from Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, as a high-level delegation visiting the region on Tuesday announced a new arrangement to secure uninterrupted oil production in the PetroMasila fields. Major General Mohammed Al-Qahtani, heading the Saudi delegation, said the Kingdom remains committed to de-escalation in […]
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