Saudi Crown Prince says Israel must not attack Iran, expresses shock over war crimes in Gaza
Indicating improving ties between the two major powerhouses in the Middle East, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged international community...
Geostrategy
Arab, Muslim leaders fly to Saudi Arabia for talks on Gaza, Lebanon
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Arab and Muslim leaders have begun arriving in Saudi Arabia for a summit scheduled for Monday that...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Israeli strikes kill 5 Gaza municipal workers as fears grow of wider war
Palestinian Territories -- Israel bombed Gaza on Friday as exchanges of fire and threats over the Lebanon border raised fears of...
- Five municipal workers died "during an Israeli bombing" of a garage in Gaza City, said Mahmud Basal, spokesman for the civil defense agency in the territory.
- The World Health Organization, said "we did not see an impact on the humanitarian supplies coming in" after Israel announces daily 'tactical pauses' for aid delivery.
Geostrategy
Saudi official defends management of hajj after hundreds die
"The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgment on the part of people who did not appreciate the...
- He said the government had confirmed 577 deaths for the two busiest days of hajj: Saturday, when pilgrims gathered at Mount Arafat and Sunday in Mina for stoning ritual
- "This happened amid difficult weather conditions and a very harsh temperature," the official said, while acknowledging that the 577 figure was partial and did not cover all of hajj
Geostrategy
Hajj death toll tops 1,000 after extreme heat: AFP tally
The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that...
- The national meteorological center reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
- A Saudi study published last month said temperatures in the area are rising 0.4 degrees Celsius each decade.
Geostrategy
Israel-Hezbollah tensions drive fears of widening Gaza war
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's group and Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily fire since Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel...
- Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for a deadly air strike in south Lebanon
- Experts are divided on the prospect of wider war
Geostrategy
Hizbollah threatens Israel after military says Lebanon offensive ready
Hassan Nasrallah - whose powerful Iran-backed group has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel since its ally Hamas's October 7 attack...
- Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said "no place" in Israel would "be spared our rockets", in a televised address broadcast amid spiraling tensions across the Israel-Lebanon border
- Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas raged in Gaza, with Israeli air strikes and clashes between troops and Palestinian fighters
From fighting boys to Saudi Olympic history for female taekwondo star
Abha, Saudi Arabia - Saudi taekwondo standout Donia Abu Taleb had an unusual introduction to the sport: for years she trained...
- Donia Abu Taleb has become the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics and is dreaming of bringing home the Gulf kingdom's first gold medal when she competes in Paris
- Abu Taleb has taken advantage of the newfound state backing, bagging gold at the 2020 Arab Taekwondo Championship and bronze medals at the Asian and world championships in 2022
Geostrategy
Israel says Lebanon offensive plan ‘approved’ as tensions surge
Palestinian Territories - The Israeli army on Tuesday said plans for an offensive in Lebanon were "approved and validated" amid...
- The war in Gaza has heightened tensions across the region, with Israeli forces and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, exchanging fire on a near-daily basis
- Al-Awda hospital said it received the bodies of "six martyrs and 15 wounded as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip."
Diplomats say at least 550 pilgrims died during hajj, mostly Egyptians
"All of them (the Egyptians) died because of heat" except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd...
- At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries' responses told AFP
- Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt's foreign ministry said Cairo was collaborating with Saudi authorities on search operations for Egyptians who had gone missing during the hajj
Geostrategy
Gaza rescuers report deadly strikes although clashes slow on Eid
Witnesses reported gunfire and artillery shelling near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where the civil defence agency said at...
- United Nations rights chief Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council he was "appalled by the disregard for international human rights" and "unconscionable death and suffering".
- The UN has said aid access to Gaza has been severely hindered by factors including insecurity, the closing of crossing points to the territory, and Israeli procedural delays.
Arts & Culture
Unveiling Tunis: mural celebrates ‘invisible’ talents
Tunis, Tunisia - In the old medina of Tunis, a wall installation titled "1001 Bricks" showcases the talents of "invisible" creators,...
- Led by Swiss artist Anne Francey, the project took shape over a year through workshops that culminated in a large bas-relief made of carved and painted clay bricks
- The initiative follows Francey's 2019 project "1001 Hands", inspired by the "One Thousand and One Nights" fairytale, emphasising stories that intersect endlessly
Saudi Crown Prince says Israel must not attack Iran, expresses shock over war crimes in Gaza
Indicating improving ties between the two major powerhouses in the Middle East, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged international community...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Israeli airstrikes escalate in Lebanon as UN and Macron demand urgent ceasefire and de-escalation
As Israeli airstrikes rock Beirut, the UN demands peace and hostages’ release, and Macron criticizes Israel’s military actions, warning against...
Geostrategy
Iran FM threatens ‘even stronger’ retaliation to any attack
"Our reaction to any attack by the Zionist regime is completely clear," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in the...
Geostrategy
Trump says he thinks Israel should ‘hit’ Iran nuclear facilities
The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, referred to a question posed to Democratic President Joe...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Updates: Iran’s supreme leader says anti-Israel resistance will not back down
Ayatollah's rare address in Arabic follows Iran's second-ever direct attack on Israel; rallies held in Jordan and Bahrain in support...
- Speaking days ahead of Oct 7 attack anniversary, Khamenei defended the Palestinian group's "logical and legal" actions and hailed its "fierce defense" against Israeli forces.
- Beyond Tehran, crowds of protesters gathered in Jordan and in Bahrain, which both have ties with Israel, after Friday prayers in a show of support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Geostrategy
Israel’s hawkish Yoav Gallant driving war in Lebanon
Jerusalem, Undefined - Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a former general who has shaped Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, is a...
- The hawkish politician, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party has repeatedly stressed that Israel must take the fight to Lebanon
- Military action was "the only way to ensure the return of communities in northern Israel to their homes", Gallant told visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein last month
FIFA defers decision on Palestinian request to suspend Israel
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: "The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter...
- At FIFA's congress in Bangkok in May, the Palestinian Football Association called for its Israeli counterpart to be suspended and for Israeli teams to be banned from FIFA event
- FIFA was initially set to hold an extraordinary session of its ruling council before July 20 to review the independent legal analysis and decide how to proceed