Jerusalem - The Israeli army has suspended leave for its combat units, it said on Thursday, amid the Gaza war and as tensions with Iran grew after a strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus. Israeli media reported that the military was also calling up more reservist soldiers "against the background...

OSLO, NORWAY – An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year has been arrested in Norway and now faces deportation back to Sweden, according to court documents viewed by AFP on Thursday. Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at a slew...

Paris, France -- Israel's almost six-months-old war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived calls for Palestinians to be given a state of their own. Spain's left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced plans to soon recognize a Palestinian state, breaking with other Western powers which have long argued...

In addition to access to humanitarian aid, the UN's report on children and armed conflict also lists the number of children killed and wounded, as well as attacks on hospitals and schools. The report draws up a "list of shame" of government forces and other armed groups responsible for the...

The Supreme leader said in a speech to officials in Tehran that the defeat of "the Zionist regime in Gaza will continue and this regime will be close to decline and dissolution." He said "desperate efforts" like the one committed in Syria will not save them and they will be...

Vatican City, Holy See - Pope Francis expressed his "deep sorrow" on Wednesday for the deaths of seven charity workers killed by an Israeli strike while they were delivering aid in Gaza. "I express my deep sorrow for the volunteers killed while they were distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza," the 87-year-old...

NEW TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN - Liu watched intently as rescuers carefully picked their way through the remains of a warehouse that crumbled like a house of cards Wednesday during Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years, telling AFP it "was like a mountain collapsed". Propping ladders against the debris, the rescue workers...

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday is set to consider a draft resolution calling for a cessation of arms sales to Israel, nearly six months into the war in Gaza. If the text is adopted, it would mark the first time that UN’s top rights body has taken a...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the country became the world’s fourth-biggest LNG producer last year. The Russian Prime Minister said this in an annual report at the State Duma (lower house of the parliament), TASS reported. “Energy is adjusting gradually as well. A serious adjustment of logistics...

Jerusalem, Undefined - Israel's military said Wednesday it had obtained information that indicated a Hizbollah explosive charge caused the blast that wounded UN peacekeepers in Lebanon last week. The UN peacekeeping force said three military observers and a translator were wounded in Saturday's blast in south Lebanon, where Israel and Hizbollah...

"If it is true that the convoy was deliberately attacked because it was supposed to contain a terrorist, and that civilian lives were therefore sacrificed, I do not know of any (political) system in which this would be justified," he told Polish public radio Trojka.

The Palestinians, who have had observer status at the world body since 2012, have lobbied for years to gain full membership, which would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood. In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, dated Tuesday UN envoy Riyad Mansour requested "upon instructions of the Palestinian...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had "unintentionally" killed the aid workers, calling it a "tragic case" that would be investigated. The aid workers' deaths come as relentless Israeli strikes continue to pound the territory, flattening critical infrastructure, all but collapsing the health system and pushing the population...

Jerusalem--Four Israeli police were injured in a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the centre of the country, police said Wednesday, adding that the assailant was killed after trying to stab other security forces. The 26-year-old attacker crashed into four police officers at a checkpoint in the town of Kochav...

The British-born official, who spent a week in the besieged Palestinian territory last month, said even when aid got through the border, there were still major problems getting it to those who need it most, particularly women and girls.

World Central Kitchen -- one of two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid by boat -- said a "targeted Israeli strike" on Monday killed Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian staff. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged a "swift, impartial investigation" into the airstrike and said Israel needed to...

"We have to think seriously about doing it this semester," Sanchez told a group of Spanish journalists accompanying him on a tour of three Middle East countries Sanchez had said on March 9 he would propose that parliament vote in favor of this recognition by the end of the current...

In power for the past decade, Sisi is set to remain president until 2030, after winning a December election with 89.6 percent of the vote against three relative unknowns. The six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old's last, unless he again ushers through a constitutional amendment prolonging his tenure.

Netanyahu was quick to single out Qatar-based channel Al Jazeera, with which his government has a long-running feud that predates Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. The broadcaster slammed the ban as "part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera", including the killing of one of...

In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned" the attack and said that Iran "reserves the right to carry out a reaction and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor." Iran's ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, said, "the five-storey consulate building...

According to the health ministry in Gaza, the bodies of four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver were brought to a hospital in the town of Deir el-Balah after an Israeli strike targeted their vehicle. Hamas said the aid workers included "British, Australian and Polish nationalities, with the fourth...

Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike on the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, the day before. Hizbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Gaza war erupted in...

The White House said in a statement that the two sides had a "constructive engagement on Rafah" during two hours of videoconference talks, attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sulliva. The US side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah.

Palestinian Territories - Israeli forces on Monday pulled out of Gaza's largest hospital complex after an intensive two-week military operation, leaving behind charred buildings and bodies strewn at the sprawling complex. Israel said it had battled Palestinian fighters hiding inside Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, killed at least 200 enemy fighters...

Jerusalem, Undefined - Israeli police said Monday they had arrested the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh "as part of a terror probe in southern Israel". Police told AFP that Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh, who is an Israeli citizen, was taken into custody in the town of Tel Sheva as part...

Palestinian Territories - The health ministry in Gaza said Monday that at least 32,845 people have been killed in the territory in the Israeli aerial and ground assault since Oct 7. The toll includes at least 63 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,392...

Observers called it Erdogan's worst election defeat since his party took power in 2002. Many blamed inflations running at 67 percent and a crashing devaluation of the lira currency over the past year.

The Hamas government media office said the Israeli air strikes had provided cover for the withdrawing vehicles. The army launched its operation on March 18 and has described it as a "precise" one targeting Hamas fighters it accused of operating from the complex. Hamas has denied operating from Al-Shifa and...

The art of hand-weaving braided shiny ribbons to adorn traditional clothing and bags is called Al Talli, and is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. But with the relentless pace of change in the United Arab Emirates, its days may be numbered.

The prime minister's office said in a statement that Benjamin Netanyahu was in "good shape and beginning to recover after the operation on Sunday evening." His doctors discovered the hernia on Saturday during a routine checkup, and after consultations the decision was made for the premier to undergo surgery.

RAFAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES – Meters away from the concrete and steel fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, 11-year-old Malak Ayad flies a paper kite high in the sky -- a welcome distraction from the horrors of war. "Every day I play with my brothers and cousins with kites next to the Egyptian...

The official said the gap between the two sides' negotiating positions was too wide. "I doubt that there will be any progress in these negotiations because the positions are too far apart," said the official.

LONDON, UK – Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in London on Saturday, in the latest demonstration in the British capital demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and more aid for the war-ravaged territory. The event, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at Russell Square in the city center before attendees marched...

The military observers, from Australia, Chile and Norway, and a Lebanese language assistant had been on foot patrol around the so-called Blue Line -- the UN-demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon. The four "were injured when an explosion occurred near their location", according to Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for the...

Reports of the new talks in Cairo came as protesters in Israel's biggest city blocked a major road Saturday following demonstrations calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza. A key element of the ceasefire negotiations has been an agreement on releasing the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners...

"Around 9,000 patients urgently need to be evacuated abroad for lifesaving health services, including treatment for cancer, injuries from bombardments, kidney dialysis and other chronic conditions," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. It is is up from 8,000 in the WHO's previous assessment at the beginning of...

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories - The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens wounded by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery Saturday in northern Gaza, where famine looms. AFP video footage shows a convoy of trucks moving past burning debris near the distribution point in pre-dawn...

Beirut, Lebanon - The death toll in Israeli air strikes on Syria has risen to 52, including 38 government soldiers and seven members of Lebanon's Hizbollah movement, a war monitor said on Saturday. Friday's strikes fueled concerns of a wider regional conflagration. They targeted "a rocket depot belonging to Lebanon's Hizbollah"...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago upended European leaders' sense of unshakeable post-war peace, prompting many countries to gear up weapons production to supply both Kiev and their own militaries. Former European Council president Tusk, whose country has been one of the staunchest supporters of neighbouring Ukraine,...

Washington, US--The US Treasury Department pushed back on Friday against claims it had eased sanctions against West Bank settlers after pressure from Israel's finance minister. The US recently sanctioned seven Israeli settlers and two farming outposts in the West Bank in response to a surge in violence, freezing their assets...

The go-ahead for a new round of talks on a Gaza ceasefire came a day after the world's top court ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches desperate civilians. But despite a binding UN Security Council resolution earlier this week demanding an "immediate ceasefire", fighting raged on unabated in Gaza.

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with US counterpart Joe Biden at the White House on May 9, a Turkish official told AFP on Friday. It would be the first White House meeting between the two leaders. The Biden administration in January approved $23 billion in F-16...

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey's flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines, has resumed flights to Libya's capital, almost 10 years after they were suspended over security concerns in the conflict-torn country. The airlines's chief executive, Bilal Eksi, attended a ceremony at Mitiga International Airport on Thursday to mark its first flight to Libya since...

The next US census and federal government forms will include new options for race and ethnicity including a category for people of Middle Eastern or North African origin, officials said. The changes, the first in nearly three decades, were announced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and published...

WASHINGTON, US – The US central bank's favored measure of inflation edged higher last month on the back of rising fuel prices, according to government data published on Friday, but another gauge stripping out volatile food and energy prices continued to ease. US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told a conference...

Brussels, Belgium -- One of Belgium's most-wanted suspected drug smugglers was extradited from Dubai on Friday, the Belgian justice ministry said. Nordin El Hajjioui, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is believed to be one of the main drug barons in Antwerp and is wanted in at least three cocaine-trafficking cases. Emirati...

In Syria, "Israeli strikes" targeted a Hizbollah "rockets depot" in Aleppo province, killing 36 Syrian soldiers, seven Hezbollah members and another pro-Iran fighter, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said. It was the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.

Istanbul, Turkey--Recapturing Istanbul, the "jewel" of Turkey, in Sunday's local elections has become President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's obsession ever since losing the country's economic capital to the opposition in 2019. Erdogan's route to Turkey's presidency was launched in Istanbul, where he was elected mayor in 1994, and his allies held the...

Tokyo, Japan--Japan is preparing to resume funding to the UN's crisis-hit Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, the government said. Once the sixth-largest contributor to the agency, Japan joined more than a dozen countries in pausing funding after Israel claimed that 12 of UNRWA's 13,000...

The International Court of Justice said in its order that Israel should "take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay... the unhindered provision... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" in Gaza. This included food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements.