Oil prices surge as Trump hits Russian crude with sanctions
The international benchmark contract, Brent North Sea crude, jumped 4.8 percent while West Texas Intermediate was up 5.1 percent. Trump on Wednesday announced...Economy Geostrategy
ICJ says Israel obliged to allow aid into Gaza as Turkey, Qatar move to protect truce
The ICJ ruling came as aid groups scrambled to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile...Geostrategy
Ceasefire order fails to halt fighting in Syria’s Druze heartland
Sweida, Syria - Syrian Bedouin and their allies fought Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland for a seventh day...AFP correspondents reported clashes in the west of the provincial capital as Druze fighters battled armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria
The interior ministry announced that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida province and AFP correspondents saw them manning checkpoints
Israeli fire kills 39 and wounds more than 100 Gazans near two aid centers
UN has said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 in the...The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and "thousands" were "on the verge of catastrophic hunger".
Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the deaths happened near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and another center northwest of Rafah
New clashes rock Syria’s Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin
Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day...The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since Sunday
It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out, saying that mediation by the United States and others had helped avert a "large-scale escalation" with Israel
Hamas armed wing says Israel blocking ceasefire and hostage release talks
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday accused Israel of blocking a deal in talks for...Negotiators from both sides have been in indirect talks in Qatar since July 6 to try to agree on a 60-day truce in the conflict, which would see 10 captives freed.
But after nearly two weeks, there has been no breakthrough and each side has blamed the other for refusing to budge on their key demands
Iraq says drones that struck military radar are foreign-made, doesn’t identify perpetrators
Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the prime minister, said that Iraq identified "the origin of the drones used in...On June 24, the Iraqi government said that several small suicide drones targeted multiple Iraqi military sites and bases, including the radar systems at Camp Taji
Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the prime minister, said that Iraq identified "the origin of drones used in the attacks," adding that they were "equipped with warheads
Trump threatens to sue WSJ over story on alleged 2003 letter to Epstein
Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal Thursday over a story about...The Journal story says the letter featuring a sketch of a naked woman and Trump's signature was part of a collection of notes for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003
Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker "was told directly by (White House press secretary) Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE."
Europeans tell Iran will reimpose sanctions if no progress on nuclear deal: France
Top European diplomats told their Iranian counterpart on Thursday they were determined to reactivate UN sanctions if Tehran does not...The diplomats, from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union, told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of "their determination to use the 'snapback' mechanism
They are applying pressure to convince Iran of "the urgency of returning to the diplomatic path without delay, in order to reach a robust, verifiable, and durable agreement."
Erdogan accuses Israel of using Druze as pretext to expand into Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for..."I want to state this once again, clearly and directly: Israel is a lawless, unruly, unprincipled, spoiled, pampered, and greedy terrorist state," Erdogan said
"At this stage, the biggest problem in our region is Israel's aggression... If the monster is not stopped immediately, it will not hesitate to throw first our region," he added
Baghdad and Arbil agree to resume Kurdish oil exports: government
Baghdad, Iraq -- The Iraqi government announced Thursday an agreement to resume crude exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region after...Lucrative oil exports have been a major point of tension between Baghdad and Arbil, with a key pipeline through Turkey shut since 2023 over legal disputes and technical issues.
Oil exports were previously independently sold by the Kurdistan region, without the approval or oversight of the central administration in Baghdad, through the port of Ceyhan.
Israeli tank shell strikes Gaza’s only Catholic church, killing three
Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life, which a witness said was the result...The site was sheltering around 600 displaced people, the majority of them children and 54 with special needs.
"The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary," the Patriarchate said.
