MENA brief Jun 11: Umrah returns, ADGM surges, Abu Dhabi property market up
China has extended visa-free entry for up to 30 days to citizens of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain—boosting bilateral...Geostrategy
Trump warns of decision time as Iran prepares nuclear counter-proposal
In a key sticking point, Iran has insisted on the right to enrich uranium at low levels for civilian use...Geostrategy
Heavy battles in Gaza City on eve of new truce talks
Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately stepping up battles in Gaza City and far-southern Rafah to...Troops, tanks and aircraft were fighting in Gaza on the eve of new truce talks
Israeli forces on Monday intensified fighting and bombardment across the city
Erdogan says may invite Syria’s Assad to Turkey ‘at any moment’
Erdogan's comments come after tensions have mounted over the past week after a mob went on the rampage, vandalising businesses...Turkey originally aimed to topple Assad's regime when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011
But more recently, Ankara has shifted focus to preventing what Erdogan in 2019 dubbed a "terror corridor" from opening up in northern Syria
‘Enough’: Israeli protesters demand Gaza truce
Large protests, also demanding elections, have taken place across Israel's commercial hub every Saturday night, with smaller ones throughout the...The demonstrators want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a truce and hostage-release deal or else step down
The nationwide "disruption day" began at 6:29 am to correspond to the start of Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that started the war
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 16 killed in strike on school
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said two of its workers were killed in a strike at Al-Bureij in...The ministry, which condemned the strike as an "odious massacre", said another 50 injured were taken to hospital from Al-Jawni school at Nuseirat in central Gaza
Israel has carried out a military offensive that has killed at least 38,098 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza health ministry
Calling for better ties with West, Iran reformist wins presidency
In the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran, Pezeshkian gave a speech thanking his supporters, saying their votes have...Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes, around 54 percent, and Jalili more than 13 million, roughly 44 percent, out of about 30 million votes cast
The death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash necessitated the election, which was not due until 2025
Israel says negotiators to hold fresh Gaza truce talks next week
Jerusalem, Undefined - Israel said Friday that "gaps" remained with Hamas on how to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release...There has been no truce in the nine-month-old war in Gaza since a one-week pause in November saw 80 Israeli hostages freed in return for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons
The United States, which has worked alongside Qatar and Egypt in trying to broker a deal, had talked up the significance of Netanyahu's decision to send a delegation to Qatar
Early returns show reformist Pezeshkian leading Iran runoff vote: interior ministry
Iran held the first round of its snap presidential election last week which was marked by a record low turnout....Officials have so far counted more than 11 million ballots for Pezeshkian and around 9 million for Jalili, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami was quoted by IRNA
Only 40 percent of Iran's 61 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round - the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the Islamic Revolution of 1979
Reformist faces ultraconservative as Iran votes for president
In a contest between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the election comes amid heightened regional tensionThe election follows a first round marked by a historically low voter turnout last week
Regardless of the result, Iran's next president will be in charge of applying state policy outlined by the supreme leader
Lebanon’s Hezbollah rains rockets on Israel as Gaza war rages
Fire and smoke billows after rockets fired from southern Lebanon hit areas in northern Israel on July 4, 2024. (AFP).The Israeli military said its forces were "striking launch posts in southern Lebanon"
UN chief Antonio Guterres is "very worried about the escalation of the exchange of fire"
Iraqi armed groups say ready to fight Israel if Lebanon war breaks out
Baghdad, Iraq - As war rages in Gaza and threatens to spread to Lebanon, Iraqi militant groups warn they are ready...A field commander of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said there would be "escalation for escalation" in the event of a full-scale war in Lebanon
The commander, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Iran-backed group had already sent "experts and advisors" to Lebanon
