Young protesters shot in the back, shotgun pellets fired in a doctor's face, wounded people afraid to go to hospital: "Every family has been affected" by the deadly crackdown on Iran's recent wave of demonstrations, said one protester. Speaking to AFP in Istanbul, this
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet on Thursday with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been tasked with finding a solution to Russia's nearly four-year-old war with Ukraine. Putin, quoted by Russian news
U.S. troops and their partner forces detained more than 300 IS operatives in Syria and killed over 20 last year, the U.S. military said
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his invitation to join Trump's Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that Putin quickly countered, saying
Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked being many times higher due to a crackdown that suppressed the demonstrations. Demonstrations and strikes initially
Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked being many times higher due to a crackdown that suppressed the demonstrations. Demonstrations and strikes initially
(Refiles to add dropped apostrophe in headline) By Samia Nakhoul DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's Board of Peace, seen by some as a rival to the United Nations, has caught officials at some of the countries invited off guard, with several saying they felt
The Israeli military said it struck four crossings along the Syria-Lebanon border on Wednesday that were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons, after earlier launching fresh strikes on the militant group in Lebanon. "A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck four border
Israel launched fresh strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon after raids earlier Wednesday killed two people, the latest violence despite a year-old ceasefire with the militant group. The state-run National News Agency said Israeli warplanes launched
Rifaat al-Assad became infamous for violently suppressing an Islamist uprising in 1982, an operation in which the Syrian Network for Human Rights later estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 civilians were killed – an episode often cited as a blueprint for how former president Bashar
BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob said on Wednesday his country will not accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trumpto join his so-called "Board of Peace". Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join the U.S.-led initiative,
The airlift underscored the speed with which Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces took control of camps and prisons previously secured by US-backed and Kurdish-led militias.
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday that its forces have transferred 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq. The move comes after the rapid collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria triggered uncertainty
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would like to bring together the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia to work out a deal to solve a dispute over Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which both Egypt and Sudan consider a
DUBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar have accepted invitations to join U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", the Saudi foreign ministry said in a joint statement that also included the United Arab Emirates. The
By Feras Dalatey , Maya Gebeily and Humeyra Pamuk DAMASCUS, Syria Jan 21 (Reuters) - The Syrian government's rapid takeover of territory long held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces took shape in a string of high-stakes meetings in Damascus, Paris and Iraq earlier this
By Menna AlaaElDin and Alexander Cornwell Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts but diplomats say it could harm the work of the United Nations. While some
LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William will visit Saudi Arabia in February, Kensington Palace said in a statement on Wednesday. "His Royal Highness' visit comes as the UK and Saudi Arabia celebrate growing trade, energy and investment ties, and as the two nations
An Israeli air strike killed an AFP freelancer and two other journalists in Gaza on Wednesday, the territory's civil defence agency said, while the military said it struck "suspects" operating a drone. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored ceasefire in Gaza has largely
Known for his role in the 1982 Hama massacre, the late member of Syria’s former ruling family oversaw the killing of tens of thousands of civilians.
The commandeering of West Bank homes takes place in the shadow of the expulsion of whole communities from their land and the expansion of Israeli settler outposts. Recently the army evicted the Kilani family and seized their house for 10 weeks
AMMAN, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The rapid collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast of the country this week triggered uncertainty over the security of around a dozen prisons and detention camps that they had been guarding, where more than 10,000 Islamic
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad known by critics as the "butcher of Hama" for crushing an Islamist uprising in the city in 1982 before unsuccessfully challenging for power and going into exile, died on Tuesday. He was
DAMASCUS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Syria's government said a drone strike by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces killed seven of its soldiers on Wednesday, though the SDF denied this, in an incident that threatens to derail a ceasefire after days of fighting in the northeast.
Jan 21 (Reuters) - The Syrian government has seized swathes of northern and eastern Syria from Kurdish forces, consolidating President Ahmed al-Sharaa's rule nearly 14 months after Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The rapid turn of events has brought almost all of Syria back under
President Donald Trump has warned that Iran would be wiped "off the face of this earth" if Tehran ever succeeded in assassinating the US leader. Arch foes Iran and the United States in recent days have threatened broadscale wars if the leaders of either country are killed. It
“They were born with a weapon in their hands, so it's not easy to do," Trump said.
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Art student Arash was walking home through the streets of Tehran when a shotgun blast ended his life. He had not shouted slogans, joined protesters or raised a fist. A friend, speaking by telephone from the Iranian capital, described
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee has not yet had any formal communication with the White House and U.S. President Donald Trump on preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said on Wednesday.
Jan 21 (Reuters) - The number of journalists jailed worldwide declined in 2025 but remains near record highs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report on Wednesday that warned about ongoing threats to press freedoms. The group said 330 journalists were behind bars
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Seven Syrian soldiers were killed in a drone attack by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria's Hasakah province, Syria's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. The drone attack took place in the countryside against an explosives workshop
By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid ISLAMABAD, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Pakistan will join U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" to help achieve lasting peace in Gaza, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Pakistan hoped "concrete steps will be taken towards the
By Eltayeb Siddig EL OBEID, Sudan, Jan 21 - Drone strikes have intensified in and around al-Obeid in central Sudan as the country's devastating civil war closes in on the army-controlled city, causing significant civiliandeaths in at least two cases, residents say. The city is
The Syrian government's attempt to wrest back control of Kurdish-held areas has thrown into doubt the fate of thousands of suspected Islamic State group jihadists detained there, with Western observers worried many could take advantage of the chaos to escape. The Kurdish-led
ANKARA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will represent Turkey's president on U.S. President Donald Trump's international "Board of Peace" initiative, a Turkish source told Reuters on Wednesday. Trump had sent an invitation to President Tayyip Erdogan to become a
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Israeli fire killed five Palestinians, including two boys, in central and southern Gaza, local health authorities said, and the Israeli military said it had "eliminated" a Palestinian militant who posed a threat to soldiers. Israel
The Turkish president accepted the US leader's invitation to join the Gaza Board of Peace along with Egypt and Israel.
The report comes as the U.S. bolsters its Middle East presence with fighter jets and defense systems. Iran's FM warned of a fierce retaliation if attacked, emphasizing the potential for a protracted regional conflict. Meanwhile, Iranian officials threaten a global jihad if
ANKARA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish forces in northern Syria must lay down weapons and disband now to avoid further bloodshed, after Damascus struck a ceasefire with the group and gave them four days to agree on integrating
The widow of Iran's last shah has told AFP there is "no turning back" after a wave of protests against the country's clerical authorities, saying she is convinced the Iranian people will emerge victorious. Driven into exile with her husband in January 1979 during a popular
Syria's army on Wednesday entered the vast Al-Hol camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists after Kurdish forces withdrew from the site, said an AFP journalist at the scene. The government announced a new ceasefire with the Kurds on Tuesday after taking
Syria on Wednesday accused Kurdish-led forces of breaching a ceasefire after seven soldiers were killed in a strike, while authorities entered a camp holding suspected relatives of Islamic State jihadists. The government announced a new truce with the Kurds on Tuesday after
ROME, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Italy won't take part in U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" initiative, daily Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday, citing concern that joining such a group led by a single country's leader would violate Italy's constitution. Trump's