With Benjamin Netanyahu building up a huge force ahead of an expected land incursion into Gaza, Iran has warned of a possible pre-emptive strike and called for an oil embargo against Tel Aviv. President Joe Biden was due to make a television address on the crisis later in the day,...

Following Hezbollah's call, hundreds of demonstrators scuffled Tuesday night with Lebanese security forces outside the US embassy in the Beirut suburb of Awkar, where protesters hurled stones and set a building on fire, according to AFP correspondents. Palestinian refugee camps in the southern cities of Sidon and Tyre erupted in...

Antonio Guterres, speaking at an economic forum in China, condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people as "acts of terror" that could not be justified. "But those attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," Guterres said. He urged Israel to...

The envoy "will visit the Middle East next week to coordinate with various parties for a ceasefire, to protect civilians, ease the situation, and promote peace talks," a CCTV video report said. The report came as Israeli forces appeared poised for a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip already reeling...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the bombardment is "just the beginning" as Israel seeks to retaliate against Hamas after their fighters killed more than 1,300 people a week ago. At least 1,900 Gazans -- most of them civilians and including more than 600 children -- have been killed in...

Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem spoke as Hamas and Israel traded heavy fire for a seventh day, after hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel on Saturday and killed more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians. Israel has retaliated by bombarding Hamas targets in the...

Israel's army said it has called for all Gaza City residents to evacuate their homes and head south of the territory "for their safety". "The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said on...

Nearly 60 percent of households in Gaza were considered food insecure before the start of the new hostilities. As of late Thursday, the number of displaced in Gaza rose by over 84,400 people to reach more than 423,300, according to OCHA figures.

Cairo, Egypt- The first shipment of humanitarian aid arrived in Egypt's Sinai on Thursday from Jordan, state-affiliated media reported, to be transported into Gaza, which Israel has been bombarding for days following a surprise Hamas attack. Israel's army has hammered Hamas with thousands of strikes ahead of what is widely expected...

Israel has also imposed a "complete siege" on the Palestinian territory, cutting off electricity, water and fuel supplies into Gaza. Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said earlier on Thursday that the supplies will not be resumed until Hamas militants free all the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Fierce fighting has left thousands dead on both sides since Hamas launched a surprise assault on Saturday, spurring Israel's reprisal bombing campaign. "Over 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes," said UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in an update Tuesday, warning that "this number is expected...

Israel is reeling under a deadly attack by Hamas fighters who stormed the border fence under a barrage of rocket fire on Saturday morning and killed more than 900 people inside Israel. In response Israel is carrying out a massive air and artillery bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza...

President Joe Biden said US support for Israel was "rock solid and unwavering". "The United States stands with Israel," Biden said in a televised statement at the White House, flanked by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Beirut, Lebanon - Shelling by government forces targeting several locations in rebel-held northwest Syria killed seven civilians including four children on Saturday, a war monitor said. The Damascus regime has been bombing opposition-held areas in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs on Thursday...

Mohammadi's award comes after a wave of protests that swept Iran after the death in custody a year ago of a young Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating Iran's strict dress rules for women. Mohammadi, a 51-year-old journalist and activist, has spent much of the past two decades in...

Labour heads into its annual conference in Liverpool, northwest England, this weekend enjoying double-digit leads in opinion polls ahead of a general election expected next year. Many observers say that is largely down to chaotic Conservative rule that has resulted in three different prime ministers in four years, following upheaval over...

Sick prisoners sent from detention facilities to the capital's Tishreen Military Hospital for treatment rarely received any medical attention, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), a Turkey-based watchdog. Instead, security forces at the hospital jail and even medical...

Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces had fired "live bullets and tear gas canisters at several young men and children" at the entrance to the camp, adding that the teenager died of his wounds. Saturday's incident is the latest in the West Bank, where violence linked to...

Bad weather over the past week had prevented those fleeing North Africa to venture the risky Mediterranean crossing. The earlier surge pushed the migration issue once more to the top of the European agenda, with Italy's hard-right government demanding more help from Brussels.

Istanbul, Turkey - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused the European Union of pulling away from Turkey, whose efforts to join the bloc have stalled amid criticism of Ankara's efforts to address democracy and rule of law concerns. Erdogan secured a pledge from Brussels to resurrect the membership talks first...

Houthis headed for Riyadh on an Omani plane, days after Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Oman's sultan on his way back from the G20 summit in India. Oman has played a role as mediators in the conflict. "Optimism exists regarding the mediation and the Omani...

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, dating to its historic normalization of relations with Israel in 1980, the first for an Arab state. The latest package of military aid includes $980 million that was not subject to restrictions.

President Joe Biden's administration has insisted that Iran will only be allowed to use the money to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. Iran had generated the $6 billion in question by selling its oil to South Korea, a close US ally, which froze the funds after the US...

The number of victims in Sunday's "Qouro market massacre" had risen to 46 by evening, said the local resistance committee, one of many groups that used to organize pro-democracy protests and now provide assistance during the war. The committee revised an earlier toll of 30 killed and added there were...

The United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) had warned last week that armed militants were occupying its schools in the camp, calling on "all armed groups to immediately vacate its premises". Tiny Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.

EU chief Charles Michel said last month that the bloc should get ready to admit new members from eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030.

Stressing that “we are in a race against time” on issues from climate change and biodiversity loss to education and gender equality, he calls on Member States to “put money where our promises are” — supporting sustainable development with appropriate regulations, financing, capacity-building and verification.

Trouble erupted on Saturday when a demonstration against an Eritrean government event turned violent, injuring nearly 140 people, including a dozen Eritrean asylum seekers who were hit by Israeli police gunfire. "Alarmed at high number of injuries during protests involving opposing Eritrean protesters, particularly in Israel," UN human rights chief...

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL- A dozen Eritrean asylum seekers were wounded by Israeli police gunfire here on Saturday after a demonstration against an Eritrean government event turned violent, police and medical sources said. Clashes began outside a south Tel Aviv venue that was set to host a pro-regime event organized by the...

Israel, during more than a decade of civil war in Syria, has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. Israel rarely comments on the strikes, but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its...

Beirut, Lebanon - Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday in Syria's southern city of Sweida, local media and an activist reported, as dire living conditions stoke discontent in regime-held areas. Days of rare protests have erupted in the south after the government lifted fuel subsidies last week,...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russia still has not heard any reaction from international organizations regarding the assassination of journalist Darya Dugina as well as other ‘atrocities’ committed against media representatives, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday. "A year after the tragic death of Darya Dugina we have not heard...

The incident comes two days after an Israeli father and son were gunned down at a car wash in the town of Huwara, also in the West Bank, amid rising violence in the territory. The Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement that a woman was "confirmed dead"...

"Russian warplanes carried out air strikes on the western outskirts of Idlib city, targeting a military base belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)... killing at least eight fighters," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. HTS, led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, controls swathes of...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has met with diplomat Assadollah Assadi, recently freed by Belgium in a high-profile prisoner swap case in May, the presidency site said on Saturday. "The claimants of human rights have shown once again that they do not adhere to any law," Raisi said in...

The poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, Yemen's economy has collapsed in the eight years of war between Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi coalition-backed government. The conflict has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions displaced, with the UN having accused all parties -- including in Saudi Arabia...

Twelve years after conflict broke out when President Bashar al-Assad repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests, Syrians are still trying to escape a war that has killed more than 500,000 people. At least 141 Syrians were among up to 750 migrants thought to have been on a trawler that set off from...

The boat was spotted on Monday almost 200 miles from the island of Sal by a Spanish fishing boat, which alerted Cape Verde authorities, police said. Around 40 survivors and several dead bodies were found on the boat, but sources differed on the exact number. The local morgue said it...

The film-makers will only serve one-twentieth of their sentence, about nine days, while the remainder "will be suspended over five years," according to Etemad, which added the verdict can be appealed. During the suspension period, the defendants will be required to take a film-making course while "preserving national and ethical...

Shorelines at Habbaniyah, about 70 kilometres west of Baghdad, have receded by several dozen meters after years of drought ravaged parts of the country.

Residents of the Damascus region heard the blasts which came from "the warehouses of pro-Iran militias" in a mountainous area east of the capital. During more than a decade of war in Syria, neighboring Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters, as...

Rising security concerns, confrontational geopolitics, and chaotic global changes have fueled the demand for private military companies, the new reality of modern warfare.

Rising security concerns, confrontational geopolitics, and chaotic global changes have fueled the demand for private military companies, the new reality of modern warfare.

Amnesty said scores of women and girls, some as young as 12, have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape, with some held for days in conditions of sexual slavery. For its report, Amnesty said it had interviewed more than 180 people, primarily in eastern Chad where refugees from Darfur...

Dubai, UAE - Human rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of detaining five relatives of a US citizen who pursued a commercial lawsuit in Pennsylvania against royals including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The five detainees appeared briefly on Monday at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which was established in...

In the unbearable midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on the reddish-brown desert sand. The man is one among hundreds of migrants arriving daily in Libya after being abandoned in the desert borderland by Tunisian security forces, according to...

Yemen's finance minister and central bank governor as well as the Saudi ambassador were expected to disclose details of the grant at a signing ceremony in Riyadh. Since 2015, Riyadh has led an international coalition backing the Aden-based government in its war against Houthi rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa...

The closed-door meeting was one of the highest-level known gatherings of US and Afghan government officials in months, with the Washington team headed by Special Representative Thomas West and Kabul's by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The US statement did not, however, identify the Afghan representatives -- describing them only...

So far this year, violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed at least 203 Palestinians, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides. They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the...

On Saturday authorities said six migrants drowned off northern Morocco trying to reach Spain. Mohamed Zendour, of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), told AFP a boat went down near Dakhla, in the disputed Western Sahara, on Monday, resulting in the latest fatalities.