Iran media declares President Raisi dead, no official confirmation yet
"The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty...Geostrategy
Israel calls for immediate release of hostages, reports two Thai people held in Gaza killed
The Israeli army said Thursday that two Thai hostages earlier believed to be alive in Gaza were killed in the...Geostrategy
Ready for prisoner swap with US, says Iranian foreign minister
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran's top diplomat on Sunday said "everything is ready" to implement a stalled prisoner exchange deal with the...At least 16 Western passport holders, most of them dual nationals - which Iran does not generally recognize - are detained in the country.
At least three US citizens are held in the country's prisons, according to Iran's judiciary and the US State Department.
Iran serves death penalty to a Swedish-Iranian dissident over ‘terrorism’
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran's judiciary on Sunday confirmed a death sentence for a Swedish-Iranian dissident for "terrorism" over two years since...Habib Chaab was convicted on charges of "corruption on earth" and for creating a rebel group.
Before the dissident Chaab, six persons were awarded death sentence on the same charges by Iran.
Will plant 5m trees in country, says Iraqi Prime Minister
BASRA, IRAQ -  Iraq's prime minister on Sunday announced a campaign to combat the severe impacts of climate change on the...Oil-rich but war-battered Iraq suffers from extreme summer heat, frequent droughts, desertification and regular dust storms.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told a climate conference that more than seven million Iraqis had already been affected by climate change.
Over 100 arrested over school poisonings in Iran
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran has announced more than 100 arrests nationwide over the mystery poisonings of thousands of schoolgirls, charging that...Iran's interior ministry had announced the arrests over the suspected poison attacks in over 200 schools.
In the wave of cases since late November, schoolgirls have suffered fainting, nausea, shortness of breath and other symptoms.
Israeli strikes kill two pro-Iran fighters in Syria, says war monitor
Israeli airstrikes targeting a weapons depot in Syria killed two pro-Iran fighters and wounded three soldiers, a war monitor said....Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against its northern neighbor.
Israel has targeted government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters in Syria.
UAE FM welcomes China-brokered Saudi-Iran pact to resume ties
Abu Dhabi, UAE--Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has made a phone call...Al Nahyan highlighted the importance of the agreement and its role in achieving stability in the region and meeting the aspirations of their peoples for development and prosperity
The UAE minister applauded the role of China in bringing about the resumption of Saudi-Iranian diplomatic relations that had remained broken for about seven years
Syria facility attempts to rehabilitate IS-scarred foreign children
More than 50 boys aged 11-17, some with parents hailing from Britain, France, Germany or the United States, live at the...The boys at the Orkesh rehabilitation center were transferred from Al-Hol and Roj, authorities said, as well as from the Ghwayran prison
Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens, but foreign governments have allowed only a trickle to return home
UN envoy calls on Libyan factions to agree terms for polls by mid-June
TRIPOLI, LIBYA - UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily called on rival administrations in conflict-torn Libya Saturday to agree terms for elections "by...The UN envoy defended his proposal in a news conference in Tripoli, stressing it was "not a foreign-imposed solution".
Libya remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east.
Iran to buy Russian Sukhoi jets to replace old fleet
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran has finalized a deal to buy Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, state media reported, as...Iranian air force has an old fleet of fighter jets and have had issues to find its spare parts
Most of the planes of Iranian air force dates back to Soviet era including MiG and Sukhoi
UAE minister meets UN Secretary-General on global climate action
NEW YORK, US - Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber met...The minister outlined the UAE’s key COP28 priorities across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance and process innovation.
The UAE and UN discussed the urgent need to close the financing gap and to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC.
