Prayers and concern in Iran as President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter remains missing
Search and rescue teams are looking for the crash site in the remote mountain area, says Iranian state media, adding...Geostrategy
Israel says more troops to ‘enter Rafah’ as operations intensify
Israeli forces took control earlier in May of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, in a push...Geostrategy
Tunisia President moves to dissolve elected municipal councils
The councils were seen as a key democratic gain after the 2011 revolt that sparked the Arab Spring. Saied sacked...The councils were the product of a 2018 election won by independent lists and the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha
Over 20 political figures have been arrested in the North African country in recent weeks, mainly outspoken opponents of Saied
Violence, Israel reform protests overshadow Pentagon chief’s visit
A planned mass rally in Tel Aviv by Israeli protesters opposed to the government's controversial legal reform plans forced an...Three suspected Palestinian militants were killed by Israel's forces in the occupied West Bank, hours before the arrival of Pentagon chief.
In Tel Aviv, protesters on foot blocked a major thoroughfare near the defense ministry.
Jordan Senate, Arab Parliament speakers discuss regional issues
AMMAN, JORDAN - The Speaker of Jordan's Senate Faisal Fayez met with Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Abdulrahman Al-Asoomi and discussed...The Speaker of Jordan's Senate is heading a delegation to Cairo at the invitation of the Egyptian Senate Speaker.
The Jordan Senate Speaker stressed the need for Arab parliaments to play a more effective role in addressing the region's challenges.
UN election plan triggers backlash in split Libya
The pushback was "predictable", said Khaled al-Montasser, a professor of international relations at the University of Tripoli, as elections would...Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily told the UN Security Council last month he planned to create a panel tasked with delivering presidential and legislative elections
But his blunt criticism of the North African country's two houses of parliament for failing to agree on elections has sparked a backlash that threatens to derail Bathily's plans
In UAE, Syria child quake victims unaware of heartbreak to come
Sham Sheikh Mohammed, who suffered severe crush injuries in a 40-hour ordeal under the rubble, has not yet been told...Sham's survival encapsulated the tragedy, hope and heartbreak of the 7.8-magnitude quake that levelled buildings across Turkey and parts of Syria last month
After rescue of Sham, in Idlib province, captured global attention, the UAE dispatched a medical aircraft to fly her and Omar to Abu Dhabi from Istanbul
Livelihoods destroyed as Lebanon fails to uphold right to electricity, says Human Rights Watch
Decades of unsustainable policies and fundamental neglect, capture of state resources by elites, alleged corruption, and vested interests cripple the...Lebanese people receive electricity for only one to three hours a day on average, while people who can afford it supplement that supply with private generators.
The electricity crisis has exacerbated inequality in the country, severely limited people’s ability to realize their most basic rights and pushed them further into poverty.
After widespread outcry, Tunisia’s president denies racism
Reacting to howls of condemnation his controversial comments have ignited, Tunisia's President Kais Saied on Wednesday denied racism. Last month,...The president claimed that migrants were behind most crime in the North African country
Fearing attacks since Saied's remarks, hundreds of migrants have flown home from Tunisia
Francafrique a thing of past: Congo president gives Macron a reality check
Dubai, UAE – French President Emmanuel Macron faced embarrassing moments during a joint press conference with the Congolese President Felix...During a press conference, Macron lost cool, blaming Congo for its political crisis, but Tshishekedi reminds him of a former French minister's intrusive remarks.
Congo has criticized France for its support to Rwanda which has been accused of supporting the Congolese rebel group M23 in the eastern part.
Iran threat, China-Russia influence prime focus of Pentagon chief’s Middle East visit
US Defense Secretary Austin also visits Baghdad to assure US support for Iraqi security, stability, and sovereignty ahead of the...Austin wrote on Twitter that he would meet key leaders and reaffirm the US commitment to regional stability and advancing the shared interests of our allies."
Some areas for collaboration sought to be pursued are “integrated air and missile defense, maritime security, intelligence sharing and early warning systems”
Israeli operation in Jenin kills six Palestinians including militant
The Palestinian health ministry said six men had been killed, one aged 49 and the rest in their 20s, in...At least 26 Palestinians were wounded during Tuesday's raid, the Palestinian health ministry said, three of them with serious injuries
Hamas condemned the killing of the six Palestinians, which it said would only make Palestinians "more determined to confront the Israeli occupation
