Trump says no Iran talks as Israeli strikes on Syria draw condemnation
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was seeking an end to the war and rejected the idea of a...
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Israel bombs southern Lebanon again hours after killing 11 in deadly strikes
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister says Tehran has not decided whether to resume negotiations with Washington, accusing the United States of...
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Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize ‘window of opportunity’ for Gaza truce
US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and...
- US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and Hamas could come as early as next week
- Mediators have been engaged in months of back-and-forth negotiations with the warring parties aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza
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Putin says Russia, Ukraine peace proposals “absolute contradictory”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia and Ukraine's demands for peace were "absolutely contradictory", after two rounds of...
- Russian and Ukrainian negotiators swapped memorandums outlining their visions for how to end the three-year conflict at peace talks in Istanbul this month
- But other than large-scale prisoner exchanges, the talks have failed to result in any progress toward ending the fighting, triggered by Russian military offensive in February 2022
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Doctors’ aid group slams US-backed Gaza relief scheme over deadly roll-out
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began operating last month and has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations, "is degrading Palestinians by...
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began operating last month and has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations
- Starting in March, Israel blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of famine across a territory
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Israel FM says world has ‘obligation’ to stop Iran getting nuclear bomb
Israel's foreign minister said Friday the world was obliged to stop Iran developing an atomic bomb, days after Israel claimed...
- "Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat against it, the region and the international community," Gideon Saar wrote on X
- The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign that it said aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon - an ambition Iran has consistently denied
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Iran says IAEA chief request to visit bombed sites suggests ‘malign intent’
Iran on Friday rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit facilities bombed by Israel and...
- IAEA director general "Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless, Iranian foreign minister said
- Araghchi again hit out at Grossi personally for not speaking out against the Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, describing it as " betrayal of his duties."
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Conflicts and related fatalities triple since 2000, fueling extreme poverty: WB
Washington, United States -- Conflicts and related fatalities have more than tripled since the early 2000s, fueling extreme poverty, the...
- This year, 421m people get by on less than $3 a day in places hit by conflict or instability -- a situation of extreme poverty -- and the number is poised to hit 435m by 2030.
- Global attention has been focused on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East for the past three years, said World Bank Group chief economist Indermit Gill.
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US Supreme Court curbs power of individual judges to block Trump
In a 6-3 ruling stemming from Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, the court said nationwide injunctions issued by district...
- But the broader decision on the scope of judicial rulings will remove a big roadblock to Trump's often highly controversial orders and reaffirm the White House's power.
- rump's birthright citizenship order has been deemed unconstitutional by courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state, leading him to make an emergency appeal to the SC.
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UAE top court upholds life terms for 24 convicted in mass trial
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The UAE supreme court has jailed 24 people for life after upholding their convictions for...
- The 24 were originally convicted in a mass trial of 84 people in July last year, most of whom had been behind bars since a similar mass trial of 94 people in 2013.
- "Following yesterday's ruling... the total number of convicted individuals in this case has risen to 83 out of 84 referred to trial," WAM said.
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Spain PM Sanchez says Gaza in ‘catastrophic situation of genocide’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said Gaza was in a "catastrophic situation of genocide" and urged the European...
- The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by the Socialist leader, an outspoken critic of the Israeli offensive in Gaza sparked by Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel
- Sanchez mentioned a recent human rights review by the bloc's diplomatic service which, he said, addressed "the catastrophic situation of genocide unfolding in Gaza".
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WHO delivers its first medical aid to Gaza since March 2
The shipment of supplies, plasma and blood will be distributed among hospitals in the Palestinian territory in the coming days,...
- Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2. More than two months later, it began allowing some food in, but no other aid items until now.
- Last week the WHO said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were minimally to partially functional, with the rest unable to function at all.
Trump says no Iran talks as Israeli strikes on Syria draw condemnation
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was seeking an end to the war and rejected the idea of a...
Geostrategy
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Iran vows fast trials over protests after Trump threatened “very strong action”
Iran on Wednesday vowed fast-track trials for people arrested over a massive wave of protests, after US President Donald Trump...
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Trump to Iranians on his Truth Social platform: ‘Keep protesting’, ‘help on its way’
USÂ President Donald Trump urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting against the country's theocratic leadership, telling them "help is on...
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Starlink services disrupted in Iran amid expanding protests and broader measures affecting internet access
Widespread jamming of the Starlink satellite internet service used by some Iranian opposition members is a likely first in peacetime but...
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Palestinian VP meets diplomat expected to serve on Trump’s Gaza peace board
Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh met on Friday with former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who is expected to...
- The meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah comes a day after Mladenov held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
- Bulgarian diplomat Mladenov served as the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until the end of 2020
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Russia joins Chinese, Iran warships for military drills off South Africa
AÂ Russian warship arrived off South Africa's main naval base Friday to join Chinese and Iranian vessels for military exercises that...
- A Chinese destroyer and replenishment ship, as well as an Iranian forward base vessel, sailed into South African waters earlier this week
- The UAE was also expected to send ships, South Africa's Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa told Newzroom Afrika television
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Defiant Khamenei insists ‘won’t back down’ in face of growing Iran protests
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday insisted the Islamic republic would "not back down" in the face of...
- The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges yet to the Islamic republic in its over four-and-a-half decades of existence
- But Khamenei struck a defiant tone in his first comments on the escalating protests since January 3, calling the demonstrators "vandals"