US President Trump ‘caught off guard’ by Israeli strikes in Syria
US President Donald Trump was "caught off guard" by Israeli strikes in Syria last week, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt...Geostrategy
Malnutrition reaches new heights in Gaza, children most affected, require urgent treatment
As malnutrition surges in war-torn Gaza, tens of thousands of children and women require urgent treatment, according to the UN,...Geostrategy
Iraq’s water reserves lowest in 80 years after a dry rainy season
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's water reserves are at their lowest in 80 years after a dry rainy season, a government...Water is a major issue in the country of 46 million people undergoing a serious environmental crisis because of climate change, drought, rising temperatures and declining rainfall.
Authorities also blame upstream dams built in neighboring Iran and Turkey for dramatically lowering the flow of the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates.
22 killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza
The Israeli military has stepped up its Gaza offensive in recent days in what it has described as a renewed...Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said seven people were killed in a strike on a home in Jabalia, in the north.
Fatal strikes were also recorded around Deir el-Balah in the center of the territory, Beit Lahia in the north, and the main southern city of Khan Yunis.
Syria revamps interior ministry to reassure West
The interior ministry restructure includes reforms and creating "a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human...The move was formalized Friday after being announced by President Donald Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
It includes setting up a citizens' complaints department and incorporating the police and General Security agency into an Internal Security command, he told a press conference.
Kuwait strips tens of thousands of citizenship since August 2024
The latest campaign abolishes naturalization by marriage, which only applied to women, and revokes citizenship granted to wives since 1987....The mass revocations have been cast as part of a reformist agenda spearheaded by Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Kuwait already has a big stateless community: the Bidoon, estimated at around 100,000 people, who were denied citizenship on independence from British protectorship in 1961.
Syria hails US lifting of Assad-era sanctions
The move was formalised Friday after being announced by Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook...Keen to reboot and rebuild after 14 years of devastating civil war, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed Washington's lifting of US sanctions
The move was formalised Friday after being announced by Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa
Iran-US nuclear talks: key points of contention hampering progress
Tehran, Iran - Long-time adversaries Iran and the United States held a fifth round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks on Friday...The United States and Western countries suspect Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but Iran denies having such ambitions
American officials including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington's delegation at the talks, have spoken out against Iran's enrichment programme
Syrian leader meets Turkish president in Istanbul
Syria's interim leader met with Turkey's president in Istanbul on Saturday, in an unannounced visit amid efforts by the new...Ankara is a firm supporter of Syria's new Islamist authorities, who toppled longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December
The Syrian delegation included its foreign and defence ministers and would "discuss a number of common issues" with the Turkish side
Palestinian faction chiefs quit Damascus amid pressure
The leaders of pro-Iran Palestinian factions close to former ruler Bashar al-Assad have left Syria under pressure from the new...In the Yarmuk Palestinian camp in the Damascus suburbs which was devastated during the war, factional banners usually at the entrance were gone
Many Palestinians fled to Syria in 1948 following the creation of Israel, and from the mid-1960s Syria began hosting the leadership of Palestinian factions
Antonio Guterres denounces ‘cruelest phase’ of Gaza conflict
"For nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid," Guterres said. "The entire population of Gaza is..."The Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction.
"Today, 80 percent of Gaza has been either designated an Israeli-militarized zone or an area where people have been ordered to leave."
Global anti-malware crackdown leads to 20 arrest warrants, Europol says
Authorities took down more than 300 servers worldwide, neutralized 650 domains and seized 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) in cryptocurrency,...The software taken down, known as "initial access malware", is used "for initial infection, helping cybercriminals to enter victims' systems unnoticed.
In total, "3.5 million euros in cryptocurrency" were seized, the agencies added, bringing the total amount of cryptocurrency seized during Endgame to 21.2 million euros.
