Hamas armed wing releases video showing hostage alive
Hamas's armed wing released a video on Saturday showing a hostage alive in Gaza, whom Israeli media widely identified as...Geostrategy
Bridges in the Gulf: wealthy states mediate crisis after crisis
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - When US and Iranian negotiators meet in Oman on Saturday they will be just the...Geostrategy
Iran-Saudi relations ‘are based on mutual respect’
"Efforts are underway to reopen diplomatic and consular missions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, including the reopening of Iran's embassy...Efforts are being made to reopen diplomatic missions, including embassies and consulates, between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Resumption of normal relations is set to foster joint cooperation and positively impact both countries, says Saudi minister
Kuwait forms new government led by Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah
Kuwait - Kuwait on Sunday formed a new government led by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.The...Saad Al Barrak was named as oil minister, replacing Bader Al-Mulla and Manaf Abdulaziz Al Hajri was reappointed as Finance Minister.
The outgoing government had resigned following parliamentary elections held earlier this month in the Gulf OPEC oil producer
Netanyahu vows to continue with controversial judicial reforms
JERUSALEM- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to advance the government's controversial judicial reforms, which have seen his...The reform package unveiled in January has been waylaid in recent months by demonstrators who have gathered weekly in their tens of thousands.
Speaking Sunday, Netanyahu pledged to press forward with the judicial reforms "in a measured and responsible way" without giving further details.
Iraq displays Italy returned ancient stone tablet
The tablet- whose text is written in cuneiform, the Babylonian alphabet- bears the insignia of Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian king...The tablet arrived in the 1980s in Italy, where the police seized it, said LM Hussein, director of Baghdad's council of antiquities and heritage.
The Italian authorities handed it over to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid during a visit to Bologna over the past week.
Algeria court increases prison term for media leader
An Algerian court of appeal increased to seven years the prison term issued to a prominent media boss, but suspended...Ihsane El Kadi did not receive any money from "foreigners or a foreign" group as claimed by authorities, the defense attorney said.
The verdict adds two years to an initial sentence handed down to El Kadi in April by a lower court for "foreign financing of his business".
Macron special envoy heads to Lebanon in bid to end crisis
Paris, France -- President Emmanuel Macron's new special envoy for Lebanon heads to Beirut in the coming week as France seeks...Former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, appointed by Macron to the role earlier this month, is to fly to Beirut on Wednesday, the source told AFP, asking not to be named.
Another source close to the issue also said Le Drian would leave on Wednesday but it was not clear how long he would stay in Beirut or who he would meet.
Rivals in Yemen discuss possible prisoner swap in Jordan, says Red Cross
DUBAI, UAE - Yemen's government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels are locked in talks in Jordan to set the ground for a...The fighting has since killed hundreds of thousands of people directly or indirectly.
A six-month truce brokered by the UN expired in October last year, but fighting has largely remained on hold.
Israelis keep up protests against halted judicial reforms
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government's proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers...Opposition leaders suspended their participation in the talks, after parliament failed to elect a member of the coalition to committee to select judges
In Tel Aviv, where the largest rally took place, Ami Bluzer said that Prime Minister Netanyahu was stalling to wear down opposition, but "we'll stop him"
Blinken begins high-level talks in China to ease bilateral tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Beijing for key discussions, marking the first top-level US visit in five...Both sides express cautious optimism about improving communication and avoiding conflict
The two powers are at odds over a range of issues from trade and technology to regional security.
New 72-hour ceasefire takes effect in Sudan after spurt in fighting
Several truces have been agreed and broken during the two-month war, including after the United States slapped sanctions on both...Air strikes killed 17 civilians, including five children, in Khartoum Saturday, a citizens' group said, as medics in Chad reported hundreds of wounded from Darfur seeking treatment
Medics in Chad said Saturday they were overwhelmed by the hundreds of wounded fleeing Sudan's Darfur region, which has become an increasing focus of global concern
