Trump says Hamas ‘didn’t want’ Gaza ceasefire deal as talks break down
The US president argued that the Palestinian militant group was not ready to hand over the remaining captives in Gaza...Geostrategy
Syrian, Israeli ministers meet US envoy in Paris: senior diplomat
The US special envoy for Syria said he held talks with Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris on Thursday on...Geostrategy
US warship shoots down drone, missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis
Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of...USS Mason (DDG 87) shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis," US Central Command said in a statement
US Treasury sanctioned chief of Currency Exchangers Association in Sanaa, along with three exchanges in Yemen and Turkey for "facilitating the flow of Iranian funds to Houthis
United Nations urges Israel to stop ‘unlawful’ killings in West Bank
A report released Thursday demanded an immediate end to the use of military weapons and means during law enforcement operations,...The UN body said it had verified the deaths of 300 Palestinians from October 7 to December 27 in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during an overnight raid on Ramallah and raided money exchange shops in the area.
India says Qatar reduced death sentence of 8 navy personnel
Indian media have reported that the eight Indian nationals -- among them former high-ranking and decorated officers, including captains who...The eight men were employees of Al Dahra, a Gulf-based company that offers "complete support solutions" to the aerospace, security and defense sectors
The Hindu newspaper reported the men were spying for a "third country", while the Times of India has said that "various reports claimed they were accused of spying for Israel"
India targets leading journalists with Pegasus spyware: Amnesty
"Our latest findings show that increasingly, journalists in India face the threat of unlawful surveillance simply for doing their jobs,...Amnesty said journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Anand Mangnale had been targeted with the Pegasus spyware
India's government did not immediately respond, but it denied similar accusations in 2021 that it used Pegasus spyware
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez supports Iraq’s sovereignty, stability
"My country, always at the request of the Iraqi authorities, will support the unity, sovereignty and stability of Iraq," said..."My country, always at the request of the Iraqi authorities, will support the unity, sovereignty and stability of Iraq," said Sanchez in Baghdad
Sanchez, who was accompanied to Baghdad by a delegation of business leaders, said he is dedicated to the development of trade between Spain and Iraq
Israel bombs Gaza as UN warns civilians face ‘grave peril’
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza, reported more than 200 deaths "including entire families" over the past...More than 80 percents of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been driven from their homes, the UN says, and many now live in cramped shelters or makeshift tents in the far south.
UN World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for "urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril" facing Gaza's people.
Norway fund drops Aramco, 11 other Gulf firms over ’rights concerns’
KLP, which manages over 700 billion kroner ($70 billion), said the exclusion amounted to $15 million. The fund dropped 11...Saudi Aramco was blacklisted due to its ties to the Saudi state and for "contravening expectations over climate and energy transition plans", the fund said.
In 2021, the fund excluded 16 companies with links to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered to be in violation of international law.
Palestinian Monetary Authority condemns Israeli raids on exchange firms
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories -- The Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) said Thursday that the Israeli occupation army’s storming of six exchange...The occupation forces raided six exchange companies in different cities in the West Bank, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
They also arrested several of their owners and seized money from their safes after blowing them open.
Donkey head used to desecrate Jerusalem Muslim cemetery
Describing the 35-year-old as "unbalanced", police said he was arrested after they were alerted that a man had "broken the...Police said the man was carrying an axe at the time of his arrest, adding that another suspect who allegedly had helped in taking him there was also in custody
The cemetery is near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews and is at the heart of tensions between Palestinians and Israelis
‘Alone’: Afghan women fault West for lack of support
Since 2021, France says it has handed over 15,000 visa to Afghans, "mostly women, rights defenders, journalists and magistrates". But...Safi herself has made it to France where she is seeking asylum, but her sister Frozan died in a hail of bullets back home
Speaking in a shelter outside Paris, the 29-year-old Rita Safi said her sister would still be alive had the promised help been forthcoming
