DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the senator said in a post on X, where he also criticised what he called “false narratives” circulating about the UAE and its
By Marine Delrue Feb 18 (Reuters) - Satellite images show that Iran has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covered it in soil, experts say, advancing work at a location reportedly bombed by Israel in 2024 amid tensions with the
By Mahmoud Issa GAZA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - As the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began in Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinians headed to the shattered ruins of mosques or to makeshift prayer spaces made of tarpaulins and wood, mourning their dead and their lost places of worship. In
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force it wants assurances from the United States that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three
Kurdish fighters who have laid down their arms should be reintegrated into society, Turkish lawmakers urged in a key report released Wednesday, while ruling out an "amnesty". The recommendations of the cross-party parliamentary commission are meant to prepare the legal
The signatories – Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan – said the decision violates international law and constitutes a 'grave escalation aimed at accelerating illegal settlement activity, land confiscation, and
Kurdish fighters who have laid down their arms should be reintegrated into society, Turkish lawmakers urged in a key report released Wednesday, while avoiding any reference to an "amnesty". The recommendations of the cross-party parliamentary commission are meant to prepare the
Little Ramadan lanterns and string lights appeared on streets lined with collapsed buildings and piles of rubble in Gaza City, bringing joy and respite as Islam's holiest month began -- the first since October's ceasefire. In the Omari mosque, dozens of worshippers performed
ISTANBUL, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he is pleased to see steps taken in neighbouring Syria to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into state structures, after a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal late last month between the sides. In
ANKARA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Washington in lieu of President Tayyip Erdogan for the inaugural meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" on Thursday, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. A Turkish diplomatic
By Ece Toksabay ANKARA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A Turkish parliamentary commission was set to vote on Wednesday on adopting a draft report to facilitate the disarmament of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which would advance a peace process meant to end a more than
By Jana Choukeir, Andrew Mills and Maha El Dahan DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The departure of the chief executive of Dubai port giant DP World is the biggest fallout in the Middle East from U.S. Department of Justice documents whichshowthat disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein
Feb 18 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday night about U.S.-mediated Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Geneva, as well as talks between the U.S. and Iran on their nuclear dispute, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Even without the human headline-generator of UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, the volume of published news on Israel and Palestine dwarfs other conflicts. Why is this – and will it ever end?
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Vatican will not participate in U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday while adding that efforts to handle crisis
Weeks after Hamdy Ibrahim left his village in Egypt's Nile Delta hoping to reach Europe, his brother's phone rang with a chilling message from Libya: pay now or the boy would die. A smuggler was on the line, demanding 190,000 pounds ($4,000) to secure the 18-year-old's place on
BERLIN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - More than 80 actors, directors and other artists who have taken part in the Berlin Film Festival, including Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem, signed an open letter to the organisers published on Tuesday calling for them to take a clear stance on
By Matt Spetalnick, Olivia Le Poidevin and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/GENEVA/DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Even for a U.S. president long fixated on deal-making, Donald Trump’s assignment of his favorite envoys to juggle two sets of negotiations – the Iranian nuclear standoff and
With Iran seeking a partial deal to ease sanctions and quiet protests, and the U.S. zigzagging between talks and further military build-up, the IDF is bracing for the worst scenario: failed talks leading to America and Iran getting into a war that might well involve Israel
Qatar is moving to shore up ties with Venezuela as the US seeks greater control over the South American country’s oil revenues.
More than 80 film industry figures including Oscar-winning actors Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton issued a statement on Tuesday slamming the Berlin Film Festival's "silence" on Gaza. The signatories to the open letter, sent to AFP, said they were "appalled" by the festival's
Sharp warnings, entrenched red lines and rising military signaling reveal a shaky path in US-Iran nuclear talks.
ANKARA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Israel's recognition of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland would not benefit Somaliland or the region. In December, Erdogan had said Israel's decision to formally recognise Somaliland, a northern
Iranians shouted slogans against the leader of the Islamic republic on Tuesday as they gathered to commemorate protesters killed in a crackdown on nationwide demonstrations that rights groups said left thousands dead, according to videos verified by AFP. The country's clerical
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - An independent United Nations body on Tuesday condemned what it described as vicious attacks based on disinformation by several European ministers against the organisation's special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese.
By Laila Bassam and Tala Ramadan DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Armed group Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government's decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees
The plan restarts a land registration process in Area C of the West Bank, requiring Palestinians to prove ownership or risk having their land classified as state property.
Turkey opposes Somaliland's recognition to protect its strategic military foothold in Mogadishu and the Red Sea.
The drills come as the three countries strengthen their ties amid growing US economic and military pressure on Iran.
By Mohammad Yunus Yawar KABUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban government said on Tuesday it had released three Pakistani soldiers captured during border clashes in October, in a move mediated by Saudi Arabia amid strained ties and a prolonged frontier closure between
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday, where he was greeted by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, images on state television showed. Neither government has given a scheduleor other information on the visit, but