Turkish president Erdogan declares Ankara ‘backs’ Hamas
Ankara, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara "firmly backs" Palestinian group Hamas."No-one can make us qualify...Geostrategy
Erdogan says March local elections will be his ‘last’
It was the first time that Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has spoken about leaving office. The...Geostrategy
Yemen rebels seize UAE-flagged ship as war escalates anew
The Iran-backed Huthis released images of what they said were military jeeps and weapons on board the vessel, named Rwabee,...The incident follows intensified fighting in recent weeks including multiplying Saudi airstrikes on rebel territory
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting for nearly seven years in support of Yemen's government against the Huthis
UAE, Vietnam sign agreement for cooperation in arts, culture
The two countries will seek to protect intellectual property rights, and also agreed to host cultural events, facilitate public participation...The MoU would also foster cooperation between libraries and participation in cultural and artistic activities and events in the two countries
The UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth signed the MoU with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Turkey’s President Erdogan to visit Saudi Arabia in February
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said he will visit Saudi Arabia next month, the Turkish leader's first since...Rocky relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia worsened significantly after the brutal killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
But Turkey has been seeking to repair ties with regional rivals including Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the past two years.
Israeli media outlets hacked on Soleimani killing anniversary
Two major Israeli media outlets were hacked early Monday with a threatening message that appeared linked to the killing of...The website of the English-language Jerusalem Post and the Twitter account of Hebrew-language Maariv were taken over with a picture of a fist firing a shell out of a ring.
Soleimani, who was often seen wearing a ring with a red stone, was planning imminent action against US personnel in Iraq, the US had said at the time.
Kuwaitis told to avoid European travel over Omicron surge
Kuwait has called on its citizens to avoid travel to several European countries hit hard by the Omicron coronavirus variant....The oil-rich Gulf state also urged Kuwaitis already there to return home because of the surge in cases on the continent.
Europe has in the past few months again become the pandemic's epicentre and is battling an upsurge of cases spurred on by the highly transmissible Omicron strain.
Sudan PM resigns as deadly crackdown on protests continue
Abdalla Hamdok, a former UN official and Prime minister of Sudan, resigned just six weeks after being reinstated.Sudan’s PM resigned two months after a coup following another deadly crackdown on pro democratic protestors
57 people demanding a civilian government have been killed in protests which were become regular since the coup
Several Gulf countries renew weather advisories after heavy rains
Authorities in several Gulf countries renewed weather warnings on Sunday as several days of heavy rains batter the usually arid...In Sharjah, pedestrians and vehicles were caught up in brown-colored water.
The Saudi civil defense warned that moderate to heavy rain was expected to continue in several regions.
UAE bans travel for unvaccinated citizens from Jan 10
Travel is permitted for non-vaccinated citizens, if the cases include medical exemption from taking the vaccine, humanitarian cases, and individuals...The announcement follows the UAE’s vision in the recovery phase of the pandemic and enhancing national efforts in all sectors
This is being done to ensure that health and safety are prioritized by the leadership and the country's proactive efforts to confront COVID-19
Grave violations surge against children in conflict: Unicef
Unicef Director Henrietta Fore said “parties to conflict” have continued to “demonstrate a dreadful disregard for the rights and wellbeing...In October, Unicef said around 10,000 children had been killed or maimed in Yemen since fighting escalated in March 2015
Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa, in the first 6 months of 2021, saw the highest number of verified attacks on schools and hospitals
Thousands rally in Iraq to mark 2020 killing of Iran general
Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hashed commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport...Iraq marks the second anniversary of General and his Iraqi lieutenant death in a US drone strike, rallied against US
Former US president Donald Trump ordered the strike that killed Soleimani, saying it was for attacks on US interests in Iraq
