"I have stood hundreds of times before at this podium, but never for a more significant vote than the one about to take place, an historic one," Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said before the vote, his voice full of emotion. He added, "The day will come where...

The Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that "four Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle" in south Lebanon's Bafliyeh village, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the frontier. Lebanon's civil defense reported "four martyrs"...

Despite international objections, Israel sent tanks into the overcrowded southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and seized the nearby crossing into Egypt that is the main conduit for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.

Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News reported that mediators from Qatar, the United States and Egypt were meeting with a Hamas delegation.

The evacuation call followed disagreement between Israel and Hamas over the Palestinian group's demands to end the seven-month war, during weekend negotiations in Cairo. Egyptian state-linked media said the talks stalled after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

"The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented... This is a mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II," UN assistant secretary-general Abdallah al-Dardari said. He added that if Gaza's reconstruction were to be carried out through the normal process, "it could take decades,...

Hamas is considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners. Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP the group would "deliver its response clearly within a very short period".

And the danger for clearance work is restricted not just to unexploded ordnance but includes possible exposure to toxic substances such as asbestos. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated the amount of debris in Gaza at 37 million tons in mid-April, or 300 kgs per square meter.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia has called for a "real commitment to a two-state solution that is a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state". At the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development aimed at dialogues to tackle the most pressing geopolitical, social...

Demonstrators vowed to remain at the hall until their demands are met, including that Columbia divest all financial holdings linked to Israel. The school has rejected the demand, with university president Minouche Shafik saying talks with students had collapsed.

The two-day World Economic Forum special meeting, scheduled to begin in Riyadh on Sunday, includes in its official program appearances by the Saudi, Jordanian, Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers. A Gaza-focused session is set to feature newly appointed Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa among others.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions "most likely" exacerbated the intense rains that lashed the UAE and Oman last week, causing deaths and widespread flooding, an expert group of scientists said Thursday. Extreme rainfall in El Nino years has become 10-40 percent heavier in the...

US-Israeli relations been strained by Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's determination to send troops into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering, many in makeshift encampments. Fears are rising that Israel will soon launch an assault on...

At just seven months pregnant, her mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, reached the emergency unit in critical condition after she was fatally wounded in the head and abdomen at the weekend. An Israeli air strike hit her family's house in Rafah

The Turkish leader met with Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid in Baghdad. He told Rashid that Turkey "had expectations of Iraq regarding the fight against the terrorist organization PKK, and that Iraq must be rid of all forms of terrorism", according to his office.

Erdogan called on Palestinians to unite following the talks at the Dolmabahce palace, on the banks of the Bosphorus strait, that Turkish media reports said lasted more than two and a half hours. "It is vital that Palestinians act with unity in this process. The strongest response to Israel and...

Ministers from Italy, the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan and Canada also slammed the "unacceptable number of civilians" killed in Gaza during Israel's military offensive.

But slashing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible remains crucial to avoid even more devastating economic impacts after mid-century, researchers reported in the journal Nature. The study projects that -- absent climate impacts after 2020 -- global GDP would double by 2050 from $100 trillion in 2022.

Athens, Greece -- An international summit on saving the oceans netted $10 billion in pledges, the prime minister of host country Greece said on Tuesday. The "Our Oceans" summit was launched in 2014 as the first international event of its kind to address all issues related to oceans, with some 122.3...

Saturday's bombardment of more than 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones -- which were mostly repelled by air defenses -- compounded worries about the outlook for US interest rates following more forecast-beating inflation and jobs data.

Fears of regional escalation grew after a strike on Iran's consular annex at its embassy in Damascus. Tehran blames the attack on Israel. Airlines said they are avoiding Iranian airspace, nearly two weeks after a strike.

It means that Georgieva, who was the sole candidate in the running to lead the International Monetary Fund, will continue in office when her current term ends on September 30, 2024. The decision was taken by consensus, the IMF said in a statement confirming the executive board's decision.

London, United Kingdom -- Wall Street stocks slid on Friday despite banks beating expectations at the start of earnings season as oil and gold prices shot up amid worries about the conflict in the Middle East widening. "Geopolitical worries have triggered some risk aversion, but worries about a growth slowdown have...

According to the IEA, oil demand growth in Q1 2024 was lower than expected at 1.6 mln bpd, and the smallest since Q1 2023, due to unusually warm weather at the end of winter, which led to a greater decline in heating fuel consumption in OECD countries.

The new measures come a day after Turkey said Israel had blocked its attempt to airdrop aid to Gaza. "This decision will remain in place until Israel declares a ceasefire immediately and allows adequate and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza," the trade ministry announced on social media.

At the start of Israel's war with Hamas in October, Donald Trump loudly presented himself as the key US ally's ultimate champion. But six months and more than 33,000 deaths in Gaza later, he has become increasingly vague on the intensity of that support. Trump has halfheartedly commented on the...

TEHRAN, IRAN – Iran and Iraq will launch the first maritime passenger transport line within the next two months, an official at Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) said. The chief executive of the organization noted that an expert-level meeting was held by the Iraqi side with a focus on...

STRASBOURG, FRANCE – Europe's top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of...

The British government on Friday called for "utmost transparency" and a "wholly independent review" into the killing of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip. The deaths have also heaped pressure on the UK government to suspend arms export licenses to Israel.

Organizers said about 100,000 people converged at a Tel Aviv crossroads renamed "Democracy Square" since mass protests against controversial judicial reforms last year. Chanting "elections now", protesters called for his resignation as the war in Gaza enters its seventh month on Sunday, AFP correspondents reported.

Moscow, Russia - A NASA astronaut, a Russian cosmonaut and Belarus's first ever space traveler on Saturday returned to Earth safely after a fortnight aboard the International Space Station, Russia's Roscosmos agency reported. "Today, at 10:17am Moscow time (0717 GMT), the descent vehicle of Sozuz MS-24 manned spacecraft landed near the...

Damascus, Syria - Seven children were killed in southern Syria's Daraa province on Saturday when an "explosive device" detonated, state media reported. "Seven children" were killed "and two other people were injured, one of them a woman, when an explosive device planted by terrorists" went off in the city of Sanamayn,...

United Nations - Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has escalated into a "betrayal of humanity", the United Nations' humanitarian chief said on Saturday. In a statement on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the war, Martin Griffiths, the outgoing under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, called for...

"The demands ... are complete ceasefire, withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their residential areas, freedom of movement of the people, offering them aid, shelter, and a serious hostage exchange deal," Hamas said. Its insistence came as US President Joe Biden urged an...

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief saying his country's enemies will "regret" the killings. Tehran has vowed to avenge Monday's air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on its arch-enemy Israel,...

US-based World Central Kitchen -- founded by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres -- said a "targeted attack" by Israeli forces on Monday had killed seven aid workers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later admitted that his military had "unintentionally" killed the group -- who had helped feed communities affected by...

US, Egypt and Qatar have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip. Biden, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, "made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including...

According to a report in magazine +972, Israel has used AI to identify targets in Gaza -- in some cases with as little as 20 seconds of human oversight. Guterres said that he was "deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military's bombing campaign includes Artificial Intelligence as a tool...

According to reports in US media, Burns would meet in the Egyptian capital with Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. The talks in Cairo would focus on freeing hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters.

Israel said it was targeting a "Hamas gunman" when it killed in Gaza seven aid workers whose deaths caused an international outcry, with its military admitting violations of its own rules of engagement. The drone team who killed them made an "operational misjudgement of the situation", an internal Israeli military...

Moscow, Russia - The Kremlin on Friday blasted as "unacceptable" French President Emmanuel Macron's claims that Russia was trying to undermine the Paris Olympics through a disinformation campaign. Macron had said Thursday that Moscow was trying to promote the narrative that France was unable to host the Games and that the...

Brussels, Belgium - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday Washington wanted to see "results" showing more aid was reaching Gazans after Israel announced it would open routes into the territory. Israel announced on Friday that it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the...

Kuwait City, Kuwait - Opposition lawmakers maintained a majority in Kuwait's parliament, results showed Friday, after the Gulf state's third parliamentary vote in as many years held just months into the new emir's reign. Opposition candidates won 29 seats in the 50-member assembly, according to results carried by the official KUNA...

According to statistics cited by Al Jazeera television, about four children die every hour because of the actions of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Women and minors account for at least 70 percent of the total number of missing persons, which has reached 7,000.

The resolution -- which passed with 28 of the council's 47 member states voting in favour, six opposed and 13 abstaining -- marked the first time the United Nations top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever war to beset the besieged Palestinian territory.

Washington, United States--The father of US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, one of seven aid workers killed in an Israeli strike earlier this week, said Thursday his son was hesitant to go to Gaza but had felt a need to help. Flickinger, 33, was among a group of World Central Kitchen staff who...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mourned Thursday the seven Revolutionary Guards killed in a strike in Syria, which he has blamed on Israel and has vowed to "punish", state media reported. The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian...

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said deadly attacks on humanitarian staff showed either deliberate intent or reckless incompetence, and called for a change in how the war is being conducted. The medical charity added that children were turning up in hospitals with gunshot wounds from drones.

Brussels, Belgium - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged the United States to stick together with Europe as the Western military alliance turned 75 on Thursday menaced by an aggressive Russia and the specter of Donald Trump's return to power. The Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 re-invigorated NATO as it...

Tehran, Iran - Iran has repatriated the bodies of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike on the country's consular annex in Damascus, which Tehran blamed on Israel, local media reported. The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian embassy's...