Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
Makkah, Saudi Arabia -- Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have...Geostrategy
Erdogan proposes new Putin-Zelensky-Trump meeting in Turkey, Trump ready to attend
Trump, who wants a swift end to the three-year war, is "open" to a three-way summit "if it comes to...Geostrategy
Hamas chief says group seeks complete truce in Gaza
Palestinian Territories - Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday reiterated the group's demand of a complete ceasefire in Gaza, a...In a statement issued on Saturday, Qatar-based Haniyeh reiterated the group's several demands, including an end to fighting in Gaza.
Haniyeh insisted that those displaced from the north be returned to their areas in the territory and also called for the release of Hamas prisoners.
UNRWA chief says Israel wants to destroy agency
Geneva, Switzerland - Israel is waging a concerted campaign aimed at destroying UNRWA, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian..."Right now we are dealing with an expanded, concerted campaign by Israel aimed at destroying UNRWA," he told the Swiss newspaper group Tamedia
Israel has called for Lazzarini to step down following claims that a Hamas tunnel had been discovered under its evacuated Gaza City headquarters.
Pakistan official admits being part of election rigging
Islamabad, Pakistan - A senior bureaucrat said on Saturday he helped rig Pakistan's elections, a week after polls marred by allegations...Liaqat Ali Chattha, commissioner of the garrison city of Rawalpindi, said he would hand himself over to police.
"We converted the losers into winners, reversing margins of 70,000 votes in 13 national assembly seats," he said.
Fear pervades West Bank hospital after deadly Israeli raid
Jenin, Palestinian Territories - A climate of fear pervades a hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, where patients...At the rehabilitation ward at Jenin's Ibn Sina hospital, two patients recalled hearing the screams of a nurse as Israeli forces reached the third floor.
Such an attack "creates fear and is dangerous for health workers and patients", said Rik Peeperkorn, the UN agency's envoy for the Palestinian territories.
WTO chief insists global trade body still counts
WTO members' trade ministers have their biennial meeting in Abu Dhabi from February 26-29, at which they could put the...World Trade Organization is hoping for results from its 13th ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi, particularly on fishing, agriculture and electronic commerce
WTO chief said the meeting to be tough due to the "economic and political headwinds", from Ukraine war, the attacks in the Red Sea and economic difficulties in Europe and China
Coups, conflicts and crises confront African summit
Ahead of the gathering in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat voiced alarm at...Gabon and Niger will be absent from the summit following their suspension over coups last year -- joining Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso, which are also barred
Beyond Africa, the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza is a hot topic, with African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat describing it as a "war of extermination."
Missile attack targets ship off Yemen: security agencies
Friday's strike came as a US decision in January to redesignate the Houthis as "terrorists" formally came into force. The...US State Department spokesperson said a missile fired from Yemen "struck the port side of the India-bound, Panamanian-flagged MT Pollux, which was carrying crude oil
Security firm Ambrey said the Panama-flagged tanker "sustained minor damage" in the missile strike northwest of the Yemeni coastal city of Mokha
Gaza health ministry: 5 die in Israeli-raided hospital after oxygen cut
Five patients from the intensive care unit had died "as a result of the stopping of generators that caused a...The Israeli army said Thursday it had launched a "precise" operation in the hospital after receiving "credible intelligence" to suggest hostages had been held inside
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that shelling of the Nasser hospital had forced its staff to flee, leaving patients behind
Hizbollah chief says Israel to pay ‘with blood’ for Lebanon civilians killed
Nasrallah said the killing of civilians was aimed at "putting pressure" on Hizbollah to stop attacks on Israel, but stressed...He warned that his movement has "precision-guided missiles that can reach... Eilat", on Israel's Red Sea coast, beyond the northern towns it usually targets in retaliatory strike
Hamas ally Hizbollah and its arch-foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily fire across the border since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7
Recognizing Palestine state not a taboo for France, says Macron
"The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France," he said at a joint press conference in...His comments come after Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan for international recognition of such a state, following reports of such an initiative in The Washington Post.
Macron also repeated a warning against Israel attacking the city of Rafah, the southernmost point in the besieged and bombarded Palestinian territory of Gaza.
