Pope expresses ‘deep sorrow’ over killing of Gaza aid workers
Vatican City, Holy See - Pope Francis expressed his "deep sorrow" on Wednesday for the deaths of seven charity workers killed...Geostrategy
Palestinians relaunch bid to become UN member state
The Palestinians, who have had observer status at the world body since 2012, have lobbied for years to gain full...Geostrategy
Jordan briefs Russia on Amman’s Syria meeting
AMMAN, JORDAN - Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Wednesday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov...In addition to Jordan, the meeting in Amman also brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria.
Jordanian foreign minister said the political solution must preserve Syria's unity, cohesion, sovereignty and meet the aspirations of the people.
258m people require food aid, says UN report
PARIS, FRANCE -  Some 258 million people needed emergency food aid last year because of conflict, economic shocks and climate disasters,...In 2022, 258 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 58 countries or territories, a UN report said.
Over 40 percent of those lived in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Yemen, the report added.
Iran seizes oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz, says US Navy
Iranian forces seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Navy said, the second such incident...A dozen Iranian Navy fast-attack craft swarmed the vessel in the middle of the strait, said a statement from the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet.
The troubled but commercially vital Gulf waters, which carry at least a third of the world's seaborne oil, have witnessed a spate of incidents since 2018.
Myanmar’s junta sets free over 2,000 political prisoners
The junta said in a statement that pardons were granted to 2,153 prisoners to mark the birth anniversary of the...The announcement of the prisoner release coincided with the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to Myanmar for talks with generals
According to a local monitoring group, some 21,000 people have been arrested since the ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi's government by the military
Iran’s president visits Syria for first trip since war
Preparations for Raisi's visit have been underway for days in the Damascus district housing Iran's embassy, with concrete barriers in...The visit comes just weeks after Iran's landmark agreement to restore ties with regional rival Saudi Arabia and amid a flurry of diplomacy in the Middle East
Raisi and Assad would discuss "bilateral ties, shared economic and political issues, and positive developments in the region", Syria's state news agency said
Sudan warring parties agree ‘in principle’ to 7-day truce: S. Sudan govt
Diplomatic efforts have intensified to end more than two weeks of war in Africa's third-largest country as warnings multiply about...The week-long truce came in a phone conversation South Sudan's President Salva Kiir had with the warring parties as part of IGAD's initiative for a pause in fighting
The repeated violations of truces sparked criticism earlier Tuesday at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the Extended Mechanism on the Sudan Crisis
7 killed in Israeli strikes on Syria; Aleppo airport damaged
Israeli strikes on north Syria's Aleppo province killed four Syrian officers and three Iran-backed fighters, putting the area's international airport...Strikes "completely destroyed" a munitions depot in the Nayrab airfield area, killing four Syrian army officers, says a war monitor
Israeli missiles also slammed into Syrian air force factories in Safireh, Aleppo province, "causing extensive material damage", it adds
Israeli  strikes kill soldier in Syria, damage Aleppo airport
Israeli strikes targeted north Syria's Aleppo province, killing a soldier, wounding seven people and putting the area's international airport out...Strikes "completely destroyed" a munitions depot in the Nayrab airfield area, killing a Syrian army officer, said a Britain-based war monitor.
Israeli missiles also fell on Syrian air force factories in the Safireh area of Aleppo province, the war monitor said, "causing extensive material damage".
Over 430,000 people have fled homes in Sudan, says UN
The fighting in Sudan has caused over 330,000 people to flee their homes within the country, with over 100,000 others...The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said an estimated 334,000 people had been internally displaced by the fighting.
The UN said its 2023 aid appeals for Sudan were $1.5 billion short and only 14 percent funded.
US exhorts Lebanese parliament to elect new president
Former president Michel Aoun's term expired in October, with no successor lined up. Countries including France, the United States and...A caretaker cabinet with limited powers has been at the helm since May last year after legislative polls gave no side a clear majority
Numerous parliamentary votes have been held since October 2022, but no candidate has garnered enough support to succeed Michel Aoun