Six Palestinians were injured after Israeli occupation forces raided the Qalandiya refugee camp today in the occupied West Bank, according to local residents, Anadolu News Agency reports. Israeli forces raided the camp, north of Jerusalem, and searched a number of Palestinian shops there, triggering Palestinians to protest, during which Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and teargas canisters, the residents said. In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said six Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets, while dozens suffered temporary asphyxiation from tear gas fired by Israeli forces. Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed East […]
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Iran has ruled out an interim agreement in the ongoing talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, saying the proposal has never been on its agenda, Anadolu News Agency reports. At a weekly presser in Tehran on Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said Tehran only seeks a "stable and reliable agreement". The eighth round of marathon talks between Iran and P4+1 (Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany) to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal is currently underway in the Austrian capital. While both sides have noted progress in the talks, disagreements between Tehran and other parties on […]
An Israeli firm is developing body cameras with facial recognition technology for Israeli forces. Built by Yozmot, a strategic planning firm owned by former Israeli army chief, Colonel Dany Tirza, the technology will enable forces to scan crowds and detect suspects in real-time, even if their faces are obscured, and build a database of such identities. "The policeman will know who he is facing," Tirza told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He said he partnered with Tel Aviv-based Corsight AI to develop the technology, which he claimed Australian and British police were already piloting. However, Corsight CEO, Rob Watts, refused to confirm the […]
Palestinians in Gaza staged a rally on Saturday in solidarity with Yemen against the ongoing war in the country conducted by the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition has stepped up its air strikes following last week's drone and missile strike in Abu Dhabi which was claimed by the Houthi-allied Yemeni armed forces. The rally was organised by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and saw protestors chanting "Death to the House of Saud" and waving posters of the leader of the Houthi movement, Sayyid Abdlulmalik Al-Houthi. Of all the Palestinian resistance factions, Islamic Jihad is considered to have the strongest relations with Iran, which […]
Egypt's foreign minister said yesterday that his country is always ready to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, if the government in Addis Ababa has the political will to reach an agreement. "Egypt was not the reason for interrupting the Renaissance Dam negotiations," Sameh Shoukry told a joint press conference with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, in Muscat. "We are keen to reach a binding legal agreement that meets the needs of all parties, which includes Ethiopia's right to development, and Egypt and Sudan's right to their share of the Nile water." According to Albusaidi, the Sultanate hopes […]
Iran's special representative in Kabul, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, announced on Sunday that Tehran has given permission for fuel trucks to go to neighbouring Afghanistan. "In order to meet the needs of the Afghan people in winter and at the request of the Afghan authorities, a permit has been issued for diesel fuel trucks to pass to Afghanistan through Iranian territory for a period of three months," Qomi wrote on Twitter. Earlier this month, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban regime, announced that the group's Economic Committee met with local experts and officials to discuss the importing of […]
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has between 70 and 80 per cent support in the West Bank, a former Israeli chief of the general staff has warned. Retired General Gadi Eisenkot made his comment when asked about the possibility of a new outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. "The question is not whether there will be another outbreak, but when and how intense it will be," said Eisenkot. "It is quite clear that this will happen. There's no way that it's not going to happen… It will happen at the least convenient time and place for us." With […]
A former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, Gadi Eisenkot, has warned that the country's internal divisions pose a greater threat than its foreign foes, Walla has reported. Eisenkot issued a similar warning a year ago. "I think that the rifts in Israeli society, and the attacks from both sides, the decline in governance, the decline in faith in state institutions, in the courts, crime — all these are the greatest threats for the country's future," explained the former general. "People are worried, not because of the Iranian threat, but because of internal weakness, loss of cohesion, […]
Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Barlev on Sunday described settler attacks against Palestinians as "actions of a terror organisation", Anadolu Agency reported. Barlev was referring to settler assaults on Friday against activists near the Burin village in the occupied West Bank, where 10 activists were injured, including four Israelis. The violence was committed "by a terror group that acts together and harmed Israeli citizens who came to demonstrate in the area," Barlev told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. Israeli forces came late to the scene as "the terrorists were no longer there and have disappeared," Barlev said, in reference to the Israeli settlers […]
The Israeli government is expected to vote Sunday on forming an inquiry commission to look into corruption suspicions in a submarine deal five years ago that came to be known as "Case 3000". Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday described the case as "the most serious security corruption case in the history of Israel." "Every stone must be turned in order to reach the truth," Lapid said on Twitter. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said" the establishment of the commission of inquiry is a necessary step in maintaining Israel's security." READ: Israel signs multi-billion dollar deal for submarines from […]
The UN mission in Sudan on Sunday decried the arrest of a Sudanese female activist, saying the detention was a reduction of women political participation in the country. "Outraged by arrest of women's rights advocate Amira Osman overnight," the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) said on Twitter. The mission said Osman's arrest along with the pattern of violence against female activists "severely risks reducing their political participation in Sudan." The statement called for the activist's immediate release and urged the Sudanese authorities to "respect right to freedom of assembly." READ: Sudan's Freedom and Change movement says UN consultations […]
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Sunday ordered the creation of a new post for assistant foreign minister for regional affairs. A decree was issued by the Gulf state's ruler to appoint Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Khulaifi as Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs, the state news agency QNA reported. Al-Khulaifi is the dean of the Law Faculty at Qatar University and is a member of several academic and professional committees, including the permanent Legislative Committee of the Qatari Council of Ministers. Qatar gives high priority to regional issues where the Gulf country has successfully carried out mediation missions […]
The Arab League on Sunday called for classifying Yemen's Houthi rebel group as a terrorist organization. Last week, three people were killed in a Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Cairo-based league held an emergency meeting at the level of permanent delegates on Sunday upon a request from the UAE to condemn the Houthi attack on the Gulf country. A resolution adopted by the pan-Arab body strongly condemned the rebel attack on Abu Dhabi as "a flagrant violation of international law." Yemen: At least 3 children among victims of Saudi-led coalition strikes The […]
Lebanon must not be a platform for hostile acts or words, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Sunday while visiting Beirut, an indirect call for curbs on the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in order to improve strained ties with Gulf Arab states, Reuters reported. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah spoke after meeting President Michel Aoun in Beirut, during the first visit by a senior Gulf Arab official since a diplomatic rift last year. Sheikh Ahmad said on Saturday he had delivered confidence-building proposals to Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and that his trip was coordinated with Gulf states. "We asked that Lebanon not […]
Seventeen children have been killed in Yemen this month as a result of ongoing fighting in the war-torn country, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said. "According to reports, the number of children killed only since the beginning of the year is 17," Ted Chaiban, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. He added that the number "is nearly double the number in the whole of last December." Chaiban said children "continue to be the first and most to pay" during the seven-year conflict in Yemen, adding that more than 10,000 children have been […]
Iran is expected to regain its vote in the UN General Assembly after South Korea paid Tehran's delinquent dues to the world body with frozen Iranian funds in the country, South Korea said on Sunday, Reuters reported. Iran had regained its UN voting rights in June after a similar payment, but said this month it had lost them again because it could not transfer the funds to pay its dues as a result of US sanctions. Release of Iran's frozen funds requires the approval of the United States, which joined its European allies this week in saying only weeks remain to salvage the […]
The total number of Palestinian refugees tortured to death by the regime of Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the Syrian revolution has risen to 653, a rights group has reported. According to statistics released by the Action Group for Palestinians in Syria (AGPS), four Palestinian refugees died under torture in the Syrian regime's vast prison network last year, bringing the total number to 653 throughout the course of the ongoing decade-long conflict. The names of the refugees recently tortured to death are Majed Al-Madani, Mahmoud Kadoura, and Mohamed Ibrahim Kamal, with the fourth Palestinian's name being kept confidential reportedly due […]
The head of the United Nations (UN) has condemned the Saudi-led military coalition's strikes on Yemen Friday, which killed over 70 people. Following a strike by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this week, the Saudi-led military coalition conducted a series of strikes on Yemen, one of which hit a detention centre holding migrants in the north-western city of Sa'ada. The casualties were staggeringly high but were disputed by various groups, with the Houthis and an aid group claiming that 82 had been killed, the Red Cross in Yemen claiming that over 100 had been killed […]
A state-of-the-art Turkish hospital, Medipol, has launched health services for foreigners living in Turkey under its social responsibility program, Anadolu News Agency reports. Medipol currently provides services to more than 35,000 health tourists from 115 countries annually, mainly from the US, Europe, the Balkan region, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other Turkic Republics, the Middle East and Africa, Uygar Ustun, the Marketing and International Patient Services Coordinator, said in a press release on Wednesday. With the new project, the hospital will offer all the services available to health tourists to foreigners residing in Turkey at an affordable cost. Foreigners residing in Turkey […]
Diplomatic relations between Somalia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been at their lowest point since 2018, when Somalia accused the small Gulf country of interfering in its internal affairs and instigating chaos, Anadolu News Agency reports. In 2018, Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency seized three suitcases at Mogadishu's international airport containing over $9 million from a Boeing 737/700 operated by the UAE's Royal Jet. Since then, the money has been under the watch of Villa Somalia, the Presidential palace. At the time the money was confiscated, the Horn of Africa country was in the midst of major political […]
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, met with Russian Special Envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev today, giving the two an opportunity to discuss steps to be taken for a political solution in Syria. According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Lavrentiev arrived in Riyadh and "conveyed the greetings of [Russian] President, Vladimir Putin, to His Royal Highness, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, while [bin Salman] conveyed his greetings to [Putin]". Bin Salman and Lavrentiev primarily discussed the ongoing attempts to find a political solution for Syria, which has been undergoing over […]
The UN Security Council denounced "in the strongest terms", on Friday, attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that killed three civilians and wounded six other victims, Anadolu News Agency reports. Council members "expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of the Houthi attacks," and further "reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security." The council "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in […]
The Houthi attacks on Abu Dhabi International Airport and other facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) represented a new "turning point" in the course of the Yemeni war — which is about to enter its seventh year — according to a political expert and reported by Anadolu News Agency. On Monday evening, the Iranian-backed Houthi group announced that it had targeted the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, and "sensitive" facilities in the UAE, with five ballistic missiles, and a large number of drones. Three petroleum tanks were blown up and a fire broke out in the new construction area near […]
At least 70 people died and 138 others were wounded in an airstrike on a prison in northern Yemen, Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Friday and reported by Anadolu News Agency. "Last night, Sa'ada City Remand Prison was hit by what was reported to be an air strike from the Saudi-led Coalition. Al-Gumhourriyeh Hospital in the city has received 138 wounded and 70 dead. They are so overwhelmed that they can't take any more patients," MSF said on Twitter. The group added that there were also airstrikes in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, last night, including at the airport. "We have […]
Two Turkish humanitarian organisations joined hands to provide free medical treatment and perform surgeries in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Anadolu News Agency reports. Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and Doctors Worldwide Turkey (Yeryüzü doktorları) examined 353 people and conducted 74 surgeries in Mogadishu in December, the Turkish state-run Charity said in a statement on Friday. "Necessary anaesthesia devices and some medical equipment were brought from Turkey. Theoretical and practical training was also given to assistants, nurses and anaesthesia technicians, as well as specialist doctors in general surgery and ENT branches," the statement added. READ: UAE uses 'humanitarian diplomacy' to […]
Negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal are "on right track" and a final deal might be reached soon, an EU official said on Friday and reported by Anadolu News Agency. "We are on the right track for a final agreement," a senior EU official said about the negotiations in the Austrian capital, Vienna, to bring the US and Iran back to the 2015 nuclear deal. The official pointed out that the slow pace of negotiations may put a "good solution" in danger. "Still, I think we will have an agreement (…) sooner than later," the official added. Last week, EU Foreign […]
Tens of people have been killed in air raids on Friday morning by the Saudi-led coalition forces on a Houthi prison in northern Yemen, Houthi officials and charities disclosed. The Houthis reported 223 victims, including 77 dead, noting that rescue operations are still ongoing and people are still under the rubble. Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) has said it had counted 70 dead and 138 wounded in the strike in Saada governorate. Meanwhile, Save the Children announced that at least three children were killed in a strike targeting the key port city of Hudaydah in the south of the country. […]
Security and intelligence cooperation between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Israeli occupation has reached "dangerous and unprecedented levels", the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ) announced on Friday. In a statement reported by Quds Press, the PIJ stated: "The PA's continuous repression, chasing and political detention of leaders and activists is a form of support for the Israeli occupation's attempts to extinguish the ongoing revolution in the occupied West Bank." The PIJ condemned the detention of Sheikh Abdul Ra'ouf Al-Jaghoub by the PA's security agencies, in addition to the detention of two other activists, Motasem Dweekat and Bilal Hamayel. READ: […]
Israeli settlers have uprooted 400 olive trees in the Palestinian occupied West Bank village of Deir Sharaf on Friday, witnesses have said. One of the witnesses, Ghassan Daghlas, monitors Israeli colonial settlement violations in the northern West Bank and explained that the settlers broke into a plot of land known as Al-Harayek and chopped down the trees. The owners of the land were identified as Abdul Rahim, Abdul Hamid and Ghazi Antari – all villagers of Deir Sharaf. Ghazi Antari shared that he went to his 68-dunam farm to find that settlers had chopped down 320 olive trees, which he planted […]
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in front of the Israeli embassy in London yesterday calling for an end to the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. The protest in solidarity with residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood was organised by the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), Friends of al Aqsa (FOA), Muslim Association in Britain (MAB), CND, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War coalition. The PFB's speaker, Salem Nusseibah, conveyed his organisation's rejection of the British government's complicity in the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah: "It is upon us to say no to our government's policy, to say no […]
Both Russia and Ukraine are opening up to the possibility of Turkish mediation in their dispute and military confrontation, Turkish diplomatic sources have reportedly confirmed. According to the Reuters news agency, the anonymous Turkish sources said "Both Russia and Ukraine are warm to Turkey's mediation." It comes after Ankara offered its mediation in November, as tensions between Kyiv and Moscow flared in a new round of Russian threats to invade the rest of Ukraine. While the Ukrainian government has expressed its willingness to have Turkey as a mediator, Russia had until now dismissed the offer. On Wednesday, however, the Kremlin spokesman […]
Qatari Ambassador Mohammed Al-Emadi has signed a deal with the Gaza Power Generation Company and the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, Akka news website reported on Friday. According to Akka, Israel Hayom, an Israeli Hebrew daily, reported that the deal stipulates opening an escrow account to cover the cost of gas supplies to the power plant and power generation. The Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza will be the major owner of this account, and the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company will deposit $5 million each month into the account. Several months ago, Al-Emadi was quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz stating that […]
Two Tunisian attorneys confirmed on Friday that the authorities have referred former head of the National Bar Association Abderrazak Kilani for military investigation. Attorney Hosni Al-Baji posted on Facebook: "My friend and fellow, Abderrazak Kilani, was referred to the military investigative judge." "He was referred due to his opinion, which he expressed, that it is not necessary to oblige the executive authority's officials, especially the security agents, with instructions that violate the constitution and the law," Al-Baji added. Another attorney, who asked not to be named, said that Kilani: "Received an invitation yesterday through a notification addressed to the office of […]
Tunisian President Kais Saied asserted on Thursday: "Tunisia's judiciary is free, and it must apply the law. The media is run by the hidden system that still rules Tunisia." This came in statements made by Saied while receiving Prime Minister Najla Bouden at Carthage Palace, according to footage broadcast by the presidency on its official Facebook page. "Yes, the judiciary is free, and we are working to ensure that it is free, but the judiciary is not a state or government," Saied expressed. He also stressed that the judiciary is: "The state's justice and it must apply the law." "The hierarchical […]
The German Embassy in Tunisia announced on Friday that Ambassador Peter Prügel confirmed during a conversation with Tunisian Minister of Finance Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia the payment of a €100 million ($115 million) loan by the German KfW Development Bank, agreed upon in 2020. In a statement on Facebook, the embassy indicated that Germany: "Rewards Tunisia through the disbursement of 'reform funding' to implement reforms in the banking and financial sectors, which were previously agreed upon as part of the German-Tunisian Reform Partnership." The embassy affirmed that the goal of the reforms is to: "Improve financial inclusion and access to financial services […]
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday that it repelled an attack on a prison holding thousands of Daesh inmates, a statement reported by news agencies revealed. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that a car bomb hit the entrance of Al-Ghuwayran Prison in Syria's Al-Hasakah. A second blast went off in the vicinity before Daesh militants attacked Kurdish security forces guarding the facility. The SDF disclosed in their statement that the attack was aimed at freeing Daesh prisoners. According to SOHR: "A number of prisoners managed to escape." SOHR said that this prison includes 3,500 […]
A Belgian judge has issued an international arrest warrant for the Chairman of Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), Ali Mahmoud Hassan, AFP reported on Friday. The LIA is the sovereign wealth fund responsible for managing Libya's assets and foreign investments. According to AFP, the arrest warrant relates to investigations into the management of Libyan assets frozen in Belgium after the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011. To avoid possible theft during the uprising against ousted Libyan President Gaddafi, AFP reported, the funds were scattered across several continents before the fall of his regime in 2011. Such funds are often the […]
Iran has to cut the natural gas flow to Turkey for up to 10 days due to a technical failure, prompting Turkish authorities to order gas-fuelled power plants to cut gas use by 40 per cent, Anadolu News Agency reports. According to the report, Iran notified Turkey of a 10-day cut to natural gas flows. Meanwhile, a gas import deal from Turkmenistan is "getting finalised" while Tehran is "in talks" with Turkey to extend gas export contracts to Ankara. Turkey is almost entirely dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Iran, alone, provided 16 per cent of Turkey's natural […]
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, have called on the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Amal Nakhleh, a seriously-ill Palestinian teenager who has been in Israeli detention without charge or trial for over a year. "The Government of Israel has extended the detention of Amal Nakhleh until 18 May, 2022, without charge or trial. Amal, 17 years old when arrested, has been in administrative detention for more than one year" the […]
The chances of reaching a plea bargain between Israel's former Prime Minister and head of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the prosecution have declined in recent days amid strong opposition from prosecution staff who had put the case against Netanyahu, local media reports said Thursday. According to the reports, up until recently, the prosecutor in Netanyahu's cases, Liat Ben Ari, has been the only one informed of the plea deal terms with Netanyahu. However, when the prosecution staff involved in the corruption files were briefed about the deal, they strongly opposed it "as favouring Netanyahu". Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said other […]
At least one child was killed in northern Syria, this week, when a storm blanketed tented camps in snow and brought freezing temperatures, Reuters reported. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Thursday, the child has died and its mother was in intensive care after snow caused their tent to collapse in the Qastal Miqdad area, as a result of the storm that struck on 18 January. The statement noted that two children were hospitalised due to the cold. "It is extremely cold and the children were crying … I didn't sleep until 8 am. I was […]
Morocco believes restoring relations with Spain needs a lot of clarity, government spokesperson, Mustapha Baitas, said in remarks to the media following a cabinet meeting on Thursday. "Regarding Spain … King Mohammed VI noted, last August, the importance of strategic relations between Rabat and Madrid … two years ago, the king also defined the reference for our country's foreign relations with a group of countries in two main principles: ambition and clarity," Baitas said. "The ambition exists and Spain has expressed it, but for ambition to be strengthened, we need a lot of clarity," he added. The Moroccan government's position comes […]
Interpol has asked authorities in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to detain the Spanish-Lebanese arms dealer Abdul Rahman El Assir, who has been seen there in the company of Spain's former monarch Juan Carlos I, police sources told El País. The newspaper said El Assir, 71, is wanted by Spain and France over tax fraud and other crimes; his whereabouts had been a mystery since 2018, when he failed to show up for trial in Madrid. Two international warrants were issued for his arrest in 2019. El País noted that Interpol's red notice (arrest for extradition) for […]
The Tunisian coast guard recovered five migrant bodies and rescued 21 others as their boat capsized off the coast of eastern Sfax city, state media said on Friday, and Anadolu News Agency reports. Efforts are ongoing to find the six migrants who went missing, the official Tunisian news agency reported, citing a statement by the Defence Ministry spokesman. Almost on a daily basis, the Tunisian authorities stop illegal migration attempts and arrest hundreds of irregular migrants. For years, Maghreb countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco have witnessed attempts by migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, to reach Europe, hoping […]
Israeli occupation authorities, earlier this week, have notified the families of two Palestinian brothers accused of carrying out an alleged shooting operation last month, that they will demolish their house in Jenin, based in the occupied West Bank. According to Wafa news agency, the planned demolition will render four families, comprising over 30 people, homeless. Ghaith and Omar Jaradat, brothers aged 20 and 17 years old, are accused of conducting an alleged shooting attack that took place on 16 December, near the illegal settlement of Homesh, north of Nablus, resulting in an Israeli settler being killed. The occupation forces arrested the […]
Israel's central mission is to significantly harm the Iranian regime and its regional proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and other terror factions based in the Middle East, the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, announced yesterday. Speaking at the Israel Defence Forces' General Staff Forum, Bennett stressed that the main task entrusted to Israel was "to tangibly harm the Iranian regime and the organisations operating in its orbit and operating in the region." Referring to the submarine purchase deal his country signed with Germany's ThyssenKrupp, Bennett said that it would "enhance Israel's national security and ensure our strategic superiority for many years. "In […]
Algeria's President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, announced on Wednesday that the thirty-first Arab League Summit will be postponed. The Summit was due to take place in Algiers this March after Tebboune confirmed that Algeria would host it last November. It marks the second delay after a previous postponement due to the pandemic. The new date of the Summit will be announced during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Cairo on 9 March, according to assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Hossam Zaki. In a statement, Zaki said that the new date will likely […]
Israeli settlers, today, fenced off a plot of land in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, reported Wafa news agency. Along with deputy Jerusalem Mayor, Arieh King, and heavily armed Israeli forces, the settlers barged into the neighbourhood, where they re-installed barbed wire around a plot of land in preparation to seize it. The land belongs to the Salem family; one of the families that are threatened with forced expulsion from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. According to a Wafa correspondent, the intruders physically assaulted members of the Salem family, inflicting fractures on a Palestinian woman's hand. This comes after […]
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Salhiah family of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem have confirmed that they will be taking their case to the International Court of Justice (ICC). Their case is one of several to be brought court by Bindmans Solicitors partnering with the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), London. Last week, the Salhiah family were attacked by Israeli occupation forces, beaten, arrested and detained. Their home was also demolished. Although East Jerusalem is illegally occupied under international law, the ICJP said it has witnessed "extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity […]
Many Somali people still remember how, when civil war gripped their own country, an influx of refugees fled to countries like Yemen and Syria, where they stayed several years until Somalia got back on track its current, slow-moving path towards peace, Anadolu News Agency reports. Those who fled to Yemen were not expecting that, one day, they might also have to open their arms to their former hosts and help them integrate into Somali society. Najib Sha'naani, one of refugees who fled from the current bloodshed in his native Yemen, became one of the many prospering restaurant owners serving the southern […]
Saad Wahidi still remembers the day in 2008 when he was trying to rescue his family from Israeli fires by moving them to his uncle's home, where he believed it would be safer, Anadolu News Agency reports. "The distance between the two houses is passed in two minutes, but at the time, it felt like a year," he told Anadolu Agency. Wahidi recalled the first time he saw the white phosphorus, fired by Israeli artillery, descending from the sky around him and his family amid the clashes that came to be known as the 2008 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. […]
The United Nations Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, yesterday met with the Saudi Deputy Defence Minister, Khalid Bin Salman Al-Saud, in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, where they discussed ways to end the war in Yemen. "I appreciate the opportunity to discuss ways to end the Yemen war and ensure stability on the Arabian Peninsula with Prince Khalid Bin Salman," Grundberg said on Twitter, adding that they both agreed to "work closely together and to continue cooperation". Grundberg had been in Yemen for a day's-long visit to discuss the Yemen conflict. During his visit, he met with the Yemeni Foreign […]
A Palestinian Authority court in Nablus yesterday issued a three-month imprisonment sentence against the journalist, Abdul Rahman Zaher, for "defaming the authority." Lawyers for Justice said in a statement that the verdict came after he was acquitted from charges of "disseminating information that incites racial strife on social media, as well as transmitting false news to cause panic." The rights group pointed out that Zaher was being tried on three charges that affect the essence of his professional work, and restrict freedom of opinion and expression. The ruling was laid down against him after more than 10 sessions in court. The […]
The West Bank field office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) condemned on Thursday the demolition of the home and eviction of the Salhiyya family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. "Israeli forces violently raided the house of the Palestine refugee family at 3 am on 19 January, while members of the Salhiyya family, including an elderly woman and a young child, were sleeping," the UN agency said in a statement. "In a matter of hours, the Salhiyya's house and possessions were destroyed, erasing all traces of their nearly 40 years of history in […]
On Thursday, the Grand Mufti of the Republic of Tunisia, Othman Battikh, called on all Tunisian citizens to donate in favour of the State, in order to contribute to "end the current economic crisis" that the country is witnessing. Through a statement by the Tunisian Dar Al Iftaa (Fatwa Council), Tunisia's Grand Mufti called on "good and righteous people, who provided assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis" to "continue giving and expenditure as a moral and religious duty, until the country overcomes the crisis." The statement stated that "subsidisation of the homeland" cannot be considered "sacrifice, redemption or loss", but rather […]
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Nayef Al-Hajraf, yesterday met with Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), Lieutenant-General Charles Cooper, to discuss ways of strengthening the security and safety of waterways and marine navigation in the region. The meeting came after Yemen's Houthis seized a UAE flagged- ship on Sunday evening near the port city of Hudaydah. The GCC General Secretariat said in a statement that Al-Hajraf and Cooper discussed areas of joint cooperation and the importance of enhancing the security of waterways and ensuring freedom and safety of navigation in the Gulf. On Monday, a spokesman for the […]
A return to the Iran nuclear deal is better than not having a deal, the Jerusalem Post reported Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence, Aharon Haliva, saying. The paper quoted Israeli news website Walla reporting Haliva saying in a meeting that the restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme within the framework of the deal are better for Israel than total non-compliance with the agreement. This stance, it added, opposes Mossad chief David Barnea's who was reported not to support the deal. On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid expressed opposition to the potential return to the deal, saying that the Vienna talks being held to revive it "won't reach an optimal result as far as […]
An Israeli settler rammed his car into an elderly Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening, injuring him severely, Anadolu News Agency reports. The man identified as Suleiman Al-Hathaleen, 69, is an activist in the Palestinian resistance to Israeli settlement projects on the Palestinian land. Tareq, his relative, told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli settler ran over his car on orders from Israeli police, adding that he was taken to a hospital in Hebron city for treatment. He added that Suleiman was resisting an Israeli authorities' order to confiscate Palestinian cars from his Umm Al-Khair village, under the pretext […]
Ten rockets were fired from Syria's eastern Mayadin region on Wednesday, apparently targeting the Al-Omar oilfield in the Deir ez-Zor province of eastern Syria, where US forces are also stationed, Anadolu News Agency reports. However, these rockets landed in barren areas surrounding the oilfield, causing no injuries or damage, according to local sources who requested anonymity, adding that, in retaliation, US artillery targeted Mayadin. They claimed the missiles were launched in the morning from Mayadin, which is known to be home to Iranian-backed foreign terror groups. On Tuesday, US-led coalition forces struck short-range missile posts in eastern Syria, saying that they […]
Algeria announced, on Wednesday, that its ambassador to Paris will return to his post on Thursday, three months after being pulled back for "consultations", Anadolu News Agency reports. According to an Algerian Presidency statement, "President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received Algeria's Ambassador to France, Mohamed Antar Daoud, who will resume his duties in Paris on Thursday." In October, the Ambassador was recalled from Paris, citing "irresponsible comments" made by French President, Emmanuel Macron, about Algeria. "The building of Algeria as a nation is a phenomenon worth watching. Was there an Algerian nation before French colonisation? That is the question," Macron had said. Algeria […]
Aisha Harbiyat, wife of Palestinian prisoner, Hisham Abu Hawash, said on Wednesday that threats of Palestinian resistance from Gaza pushed Israeli occupation to agree on releasing her husband, Quds Press reported. "The Israeli occupation proposed on Tuesday releasing my husband in April, but he refused it and continued his hunger strike," Harbiyat said. "Hours later," she said, "the occupation proposed releasing him on 26 February, but we did not accept unless after getting an official agreement from the court." She said that the lawyer of the PLO's Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Committee,, Jawad Polis, informed that there are official guarantees on the […]
Military Court of Israeli occupation renewed, on Wednesday, administrative detention against Palestinian MP from Jerusalem, Mohammad Abu Teir, 71, Prisoners Media Office said in a statement. According to the statement, this is the second six-month administrative detention renewed against Abu Teir, who spent a total of 36 years inside Israeli jails. In 2010, the Israeli occupation forces deported Abu Teir along with the other Hamas MPs from Jerusalem to the occupied West Bank. Six months ago, Israeli occupation forces raided his temporary house near Bethlehem, detained him and turned them to administrative detention. READ: What's behind the deal to release hunger […]
The wife of Noureddine Bhiri, the deputy chairman of the Tunisian Ennahda party, yesterday said she would start a sit-in with her children in the hospital where her husband is being detained. Saida Akremi told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that authorities were "responsible for my husband's "life." "My children and I have decided to start a sit-in in the University Hospital Habib Bougatfa Bizerte, and we will not leave without him, alive or dead," Akremi added, blaming the authorities for her husband's "critical health condition." Bhiri's defence team reported earlier that their hunger-striking client's health was "in real danger." Sixty-two-year-old Bhiri, a former […]
The UAE intensified its mistreatment of human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor following the publication of his prison letter by regional media in July 2021, revealing details of the unfair trial and the abuse he has been subjected to since he was incarcerated in 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) said today. UAE authorities reacted angrily to the letter's publication and moved 53-year-old Mansoor to a smaller and more isolated cell. They denied him access to critical medical care, and confiscated his reading glasses, according to informed sources cited by HRW and GCHR. Mansoor has been held […]
A campaign calling for an end to the administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial – of Palestinians by occupation forces has been launched in London. Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) launched the #StopAdministrativeDetention campaign calling for the release of the 500 or so Palestinians who are currently held in Israeli jails with no knowledge of why they have been detained. Yesterday FOA supporters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in London to call on Israel to comply with international law and end its unfair use of administrative detention. Administrative detention is the arrest of Palestinians without charge or trial for an indefinite period on the grounds […]
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Tehran is ready to restore relations with Saudi Arabia at any time. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abdollahian described dialogue with Saudi Arabia as "positive and constructive", adding that within days Iranian representatives to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation will return to Jeddah, which is a "positive step". He stressed that Tehran believes in the importance of having a broad regional dialogue that includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey to solve the region's problems, explaining that Saudi Arabia wants a dialogue with Tehran, which only focuses on bilateral relations. On 3 January, Saudi Foreign […]
The two longest-serving Palestinian freedom fighters incarcerated in Israel have entered their 40th and last year behind bars, Palestinian Wafa news agency reported citing the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) yesterday. According to PPS, Karim Younis, 63, and his cousin, Maher Younis, 64, both from the Arab-Israeli town of Ara in northern Israel, were detained on 6 January 1983 for their resistance of the Israeli occupation and sentenced to life in prison, which was later commuted to 40 years. PPC said the Younis cousins were supposed to have been freed in 2014 in a deal brokered by then-US Secretary of State John Kerry in […]
A provincial intelligence chief was killed in a traffic accident in Afghanistan, an official said on Thursday and reported by Anadolu News Agency. Mawlawi Ulfat Hashimi was killed in a road accident on Wednesday night in eastern Laghman province, the provincial governor's office said. Hashimi was chief of the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) for the province under the Taliban-led interim government, Kabul-based Tolo News reported. Salahuddin Zahid, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the accident happened in Mehtarlam, the provincial centre, "as Hashimi's convoy was patrolling the city." He added five of Hashimi's guards were injured in the accident […]
Two Palestinians were killed this morning by Israel in separate occasions in the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency. Bakir Hashash, 21, was shot in the head after the Israeli occupation forces conducted a raid on the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, Palestinian medical and security sources confirmed. Hashash's mother, relatives and friends gathered at Rafidia Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. He was the first Palestinian to be killed by Israeli forces in 2022. Israel claims that the raids it carries out are essential for intelligence purposes, but rights groups have slammed the practice, insisting that the goal is […]
The Cairo Governorate in Egypt is planning to demolish the Sixth District in Nasr City and replace the homes there with residential tower blocks, the state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm has reported. The local government claims that many of the buildings set to be pulled down are already "dilapidated". Property owners will be compensated in cash or will have apartments rented for them until the completion of the development project. They will then return to the area. The governorate is likely to set compensation for a 90 square metre unit at 135,000 Egyptian pounds, despite the market value being at least 350,000. State […]
Officials at the Egyptian Sovereign Fund and the Ministry of the Interior are in dispute over land belonging to prisons which are no longer in use in the country, a researcher at a state-run research centre revealed yesterday. As the army expands its hold over the Egyptian economy, the interior ministry has been seeking to take advantage of the vast land on which a number of old, derelict prisons are located. In October, the ministry said it would close 12 prisons, most were in high-value residential areas. The facilities' list included prisons in the provinces of Cairo, Banha, Alexandria, Tanta, Mansoura, […]
Russia's Gazprom Export and Turkish state energy company BOTAS signed a four-year natural gas supply deal, Gazprom Export announced today. The Russian company will send 5.75 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year to BOTAS via the TurkStream pipeline effective on 1 January. Various agreements were signed between Gazprom Export and BOTAS for natural gas shipments on 30 December, according to Gazprom Export. The TurkStream project has a total capacity of 31.5 bcm. The first line with a capacity of 15.75 bcm is designated for supplies to Turkey's domestic customers, and the second line, with a capacity of 15.75 bcm, […]
The Saudi Ministry of Commerce yesterday blocked 40 accounts on social media for deceiving consumers by impersonating brands. "In cooperation with social media companies, and after extensive monitoring, we have closed 40 accounts on social media that impersonated a brand of a popular store selling phones, and deceived consumers," the ministry said on Twitter, adding that the investigations had found a "large number of accounts on a social media platforms impersonating popular brands specialising in selling mobile phones and accessories." The ministry warned local consumers against "buying from anonymous pages and accounts on social media," calling on them to use online […]
A video showing a Lebanese man assaulting a foreign worker in a town in Lebanon has gone viral on social media, raising concerns of the lack of foreign workers' rights within the country and prompting activists to double down on their opposition to the infamous kafala system. In the video clip, the man – who is the employer – can be seen dragging the woman by her hair onto the road and beating her while she screams. The incident took place in the town of Jouret el-Ballout, a predominantly Christian locality in central Lebanon. هيدا نظام الكفالة! هيدا الاستبعاد…الفيديو من جورة […]
The Moroccan Justice and Development Party yesterday sent a message of support to Tunisia's Ennahda following the arrest of the movement's deputy head, Noureddine Bhiri, describing his arrest as a "dangerous development in the political crisis in Tunisia". Secretary-General of Justice and Development, Abdelilah Benkirane, sent the message of solidarity to Ennahda movement leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, expressing the Moroccan party's solidarity with Bhiri and wishing him a speedy recovery following the illness afflicting him after his arrest. The party wished that "sisterly Tunisia will emerge from this crisis, that Bhiri and all political detainees will be released, and that dialogue will […]
The first train carrying goods from Pakistan to Turkey arrived in Istanbul yesterday, completing the first such journey in a decade. The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) cargo train – made up of eight wagons with a capacity of 22 tonnes – started its journey from Islamabad on 21 December and travelled 5,981 kilometres. It is hoped the new link will boost trade between the three countries. Turkey's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu, Member of Pakistan National Assembly Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi, and Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Farazmand attended the ceremony held in Istanbul to mark the locomotive's arrival. "It will save […]
The Netherlands has stopped funding the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), one of the six Palestinian human rights organisations designated as "terrorists" by Israel last year. According to Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz at the time, the organisations take orders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is also designated as a "terrorist" entity by the apartheid state due to its resistance against the occupation. The move by the Dutch government comes despite an external review showing no evidence of financial flows between the UAWC and the PFLP. In a joint letter by Foreign Minister Ben Knapen […]
Representatives of the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Thursday called for joint efforts to fight corruption for sustainable development in the world, Anadolu News Agency reports. Speaking at the 7th international seminar on corruption and human rights, the leaders stressed practical steps for combating corruption, especially illicit financial flows as well as promotion and protection of all human rights. "The United Nations High-Level Panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) has calculated that a staggering 7 trillion dollars in stolen assets are parked in the financial 'safe havens' destinations," Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said […]
Israeli tanks opened fire across the Syrian border yesterday, in an attempt to give a warning to several suspicious and identified figures spotted manning military posts on the Syrian side. The incident took place during a military operation in the occupied Golan Heights, when Israeli troops identified a number of figures who were guarding or conducting activity at "military posts" across the Syrian side of the border. According to the Israeli military, forces then fired flares and warning shots from tanks towards the posts, causing them to flee the area. Israeli helicopters and other aircraft then reportedly hovered overhead in the […]
On Tuesday, Tunisia's Ennahda movement denounced the charges against its detained Vice-President Noureddine Bhiri, and said they are "politicised". On Monday, Tunisian Interior Minister, Taoufik Charfeddine, announced that Ennahda's Vice-President, Noureddine Bhiri, had been placed under house arrest due to "illegal issuance of passports for some individuals and for a serious suspicion of terrorism". This came after a statement by Bhiri's defence committee that it considers him in a status of "kidnapping", so it filed a complaint against President Kais Saied and the Minister of Interior. Earlier on Tuesday, Abderrazak Kilani, a member of the defence committee of Vice-President Noureddine Bhiri, […]
Tunisia's fuel transport drivers began a three-day strike today over unfulfilled social demands, Anadolu reported. Secretary General of the General Union of Hydrocarbons Transport Workers of the Tunisian General Labour Union said in a statement that the drivers decided to go on a strike after the failure of three negotiation sessions with the Ministries of Transport, Social Affairs, Energy and Industry and the Union of Industry and Trade. The Tunisian General Labour Union has demanded fuel transport drivers have their own union due to the dangerous nature of their work, and their inclusion in the joint agreement for the trade and distribution of […]
The MENA Defence website has revealed that the Algerian army has bought a sophisticated Chinese electronic warfare system because Morocco has obtained advanced weapons systems from Turkey and other sources. The Chinese system is capable of blocking enemy communications and detecting radar at a range of hundreds of kilometres. According to media linked to the Algeria-backed Polisario Front fighting for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, the Algerian army is now capable of tackling armed drones used by the Moroccan armed forces. The kingdom has around 20 drones, which were bought from Israel and Turkey. In recent weeks, the Royal […]
The Court of First Instance in Tunis yesterday referred 19 people to trial for "electoral violations", including the head of the Ennahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, and former President Moncef Marzouki, Anadolu reported. A statement issued by the Information and Communication Office of the Court of First Instance said the defendants were referred to trial "for committing electoral crimes during the 2019 elections such as the use of illegal electoral propaganda through social media and propaganda during the electoral silence period," in reference to the days just prior to the election when parties are banned from canvassing. According to the statement, the referred defendants […]
Deputy Chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, Numan Kurtulmus, yesterday condemned an attack carried out by a far-right Israeli against an Anadolu Agency cameraman, Faiz Abu Rmeleh, in Tel Aviv. "I condemn this perfidious assault which shows the real face of the unlimited racist Zionist ideology in Israel," Kurtulmus said. Abu Rmeleh was attacked by a far-right Israeli protester in Tel Aviv in front of a hospital where a Palestinian prisoner, who had been on hunger strike for 141 days, is undergoing treatment. Journalists were covering the events outside the hospital where far-right Israelis had been called to protest against Israel's decision to release 40-year-old Hisham Abu Hawash on 26 February after holding him in administrative detention – without […]
The local committee for planning and construction of the Jerusalem Municipality yesterday approved plans for building 3,557 new settlement units in occupied Jerusalem, Peace Now revealed yesterday. According to the Israeli NGO which monitors settlement activities, the construction of the new units forms part of five plans. "One plan is between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos, and the other plans are on the edge of French Hill towards Mount Scopus," Peace Now said. It added: "All of the plans are bad news for the stability of Jerusalem and for the chances for peace, but the most harmful plan in terms of the possibility to reach two […]
Head of Secondary School Teachers Organisation (SSTO) Ran Erez said yesterday that the education system in Israel is experiencing unprecedented chaos, Sama news agency reported. According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Erez said that Israel had never experienced such comprehensive chaos in the education system even in its hardest times. During the 1967 War, he told Kan, Israel was led by one person, but now, there is more than one leader for the education system. Today, he said, there are many views regarding the education system, stressing that this reflects a lack of credibility in the education system. READ: Israel soldiers assault Palestinian […]
Morocco and China signed, on Wednesday, an agreement on joint implementation of "Belt and Road Initiative" reached in 2017, which stipulated establishing a trade and infrastructure bridge linking Asia to Europe and Africa, news agencies reported. Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister, and Ning Jizhe, Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission signed the deal virtually. Bourita commended the cooperation between the two countries and said that signing the deal comes as one of "the first diplomatic activity" of 2022. The Moroccan Foreign Minister emphasised that partnership between the two countries "was not born yesterday," but "it is supported […]
Over 100 organisations from across the UK have expressed their opposition to the Nationality and Borders Bill that is to be debated in the House of Lords today. Trade unions, mosques, members of the Church of England, law associations, business groups and educational establishments are amongst the signatories of an open letter calling on peers to reject the bill's dehumanising content, including a clause that allows the stripping of citizenship without warning. "We seek your respectful attention to the overtly racist and prejudicial implications that the Bill will have for approximately 6 million British citizens who are predominantly from an ethnic minority background," […]
Egyptian judicial sources yesterday revealed the names of the four defendants referred last week for a criminal trial in the case known in the media as "the health ministry bribery case". Last Wednesday, Public Prosecutor Hamada El-Sawy ordered the referral of the four defendants to criminal trial, without disclosing their names, on charges of abusing power and taking bribes to reverse a decision to close an unlicensed private hospital. Yesterday, judicial sources identified the defendants as Mohamed Ahmed Beheiry, the general manager for licensing non-governmental medical institutions at the Ministry of Health; Malek Attiya Ibrahim El-Fayoumy, one of the owners of […]
A petition calling for former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood has been signed by almost 700,000 people. If the goal of one million signatures is hit, it will become one of the top signed petitions on the change.org website. "[Tony Blair] was personally responsible for causing the death of countless innocent, civilian lives and servicemen in various conflicts," wrote Angus Scott, who started the petition after the Queen's New Year's Honours list was announced on 31 December. "For this alone, he should be held accountable for war crimes." The decision to knight the former Labour prime minister has caused […]
Two men have been arrested in Egypt after a 17-year-old woman committed suicide after doctored images which made her look like she was naked, were shared online. Basant Khaled's sister told local news that one of the young men asked her sister out and when she refused, the two of them created and shared the photos. The two men had fled their village in the Nile Delta Province of Gharbuyah where it took place and were in hiding before they were arrested. After the images were circulated, Basant's classmates and teachers bullied her. Her father reportedly did not believe that the […]
Lebanon's Minister of Interior and Municipalities has ordered all posters deemed to be offensive to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be removed from streets in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Bassam Mawlawi issued the order earlier today. According to the interior ministry, Mawlawi instructed the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces to remove the "offensive" pictures of Saudi King Salman and the Kingdom's ambassador in Beirut. He called on Lebanese citizens to "prioritise the national interest and spare Lebanon and Lebanese expatriates the consequences of offending their Arab brothers." Posters and banners insulting the Saudi monarch and Ambassador Walid […]
Gendarmerie forces seized over 70 historical objects in an operation in north-western Kocaeli province, the governor's office said, and reported by Anadolu News Agency. A total of 77 bronze coins and a Virgin Mary statue, believed to be from Hellenistic and Greek periods, were found in a vehicle stopped in the Korfez district. A judicial investigation was launched against two suspects. Modern-day Turkey has been home to many ancient civilisations and, hence, is rich in relics. This has attracted smugglers who often plunder tombs and other archaeological sites. READ: Excavations in Turkey's Trabzon shed light on history of region Source link
A camp in the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport has been hit by a rocket attack, the Iraqi Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. "A Katyusha rocket landed on the Al-Nasr camp in the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport in the capital," the Ministry said in a statement, and reported by Anadolu News Agency. No casualties were reported. Al-Nasr (Victory) camp is one of the military sites where advisers to the US-led international coalition against the Daesh terror group are located. Wednesday's attack was the fourth against US-led coalition bases in Iraq within a week, which came amid tension over the presence […]