KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban "successfully conducted" air strikes using drones to hit military targets in Pakistan, its defence ministry and a government spokesperson said on Friday, as fighting between the neighbours continued. Pakistani Information
USS Gerald R. Ford is expected to dock in Haifa as Omani foreign minister, who mediated Thursday's indirect talks, heads to Washington for talks with VP JD Vance. Trump was reportedly briefed by CENTCOM chief on Thursday on strike options against Iran
By Emma Farge GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Iran, warning that dozens more people risk execution after the first death sentence linked to January mass protests
TUNIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Former Tunisian prime minister Ali Larayedh was sentenced on Friday to 24 years in prison on charges of facilitating Tunisian jihadists’ travel to Syria over the past decade, state media said. His party, the Islamist opposition Ennahda, says the case
JERUSALEM, February 27 (Reuters) - Israel has multi-layered air defences against attacks by Iranian ballistic missiles, an umbrella it may need to lean on as the United States and Iran teeter toward potential military conflict that could draw Iranian attacks on Israeli
Iran said Friday that in order to reach a deal, the United States will have to drop its "excessive demands", tempering the optimism expressed after talks seen as a last-ditch bid to avert war. The Oman-mediated talks follow repeated threats from President Donald Trump to strike
MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - In sub-zero temperatures outside Moscow, teams of husky dogs pull tourists from Oman and the United Arab Emirates across picturesque snow-covered fields in sleds, delighting their passengers who have never experienced a Russian winter before. Nearby,
By Jonathan Landay, Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three
ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday that the country was in an "open war" with neighbouring Afghanistan, declaring that Islamabad's patience had run out as tensions escalated overnight, with both sides reporting heavy
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified overnight, with both sides claiming heavy losses and the Pakistani defence minister saying his country was in an "open war" with its neighbour. As tensions persist, here is a look at how
Anti-Israeli activists in Turkey have intensified efforts to identify dual citizens who served in the military, while Israeli officials warn social media exposure is driving legal complaints and detentions abroad
Trump is hesitating about a strike, wary of a prolonged war, while U.S. generals are warning about limited munitions and logistical constraints ■ The plan for Gaza's future is underway, and Israel and Hamas aren't determining anything ■ The debate on the IDF's values ramps up
KABUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan struck targets inside Afghanistan's major cities overnight, Pakistani and Taliban officials said on Friday, as cross-border fighting intensified following months of tensions and skirmishes between the two countries. Security sources in
KABUL, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Pakistani and Afghan border forces clashed on Thursday night after the Taliban launched what it called retaliatory strikes on Pakistani installations, sharply escalating tensions after days of cross-border hostilities. Afghan forces opened fire on
Oman cites 'significant progress' in Geneva, while Tehran calls them 'some of the most serious' talks ever with Washington. Technical teams will meet in Vienna within days, but disputes over enrichment, missiles and sanctions relief still threaten a breakthrough
US President Donald Trump appears to be leaning toward strikes on Iran, but his administration is sending contradictory signals, alternating between threats and a willingness to talk -- and muddying its justification for intervention. Opposition Democrats are meanwhile
Rubio’s insistence was aimed at satisfying lawmakers demanding stronger US support for the SDF.
KYIV, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The next round of U.S.-brokered trilateral peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will likely take place in Abu Dhabi in early March, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. He made the remark in an evening address after talks in Geneva
Feb 26 (Reuters) - White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were disappointed by what they heard from Iranians in morning negotiations Thursday in Geneva, Axios reported. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
By Feras Dalatey DAMASCUS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with U.S. interests and threatens U.S. national security, according to three sources familiar with the
Speaking on Thursday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his support for U.S. President Trump's plan for Gaza; the director general of the Indian Foreign Ministry noted that India also supports advancing a solution to the
By Andrew Chung Feb 26 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene in its effort to strip deportation protections from about 6,000 Syrians living in the United States. The Justice Department in an emergency request
Washington’s flagship aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is in transit across the Mediterranean as US and Iranian negotiators wrapped up a third round of talks in Geneva.
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The U.N. expert on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, denounced on Thursday what she described as "toxic" attacks impacting her personal life and work, after a number of European states called for her resignation.
PARIS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A French court on Thursday convicted an Iranian national of glorifying terrorism in social media posts. * The court sentenced Mahdieh Esfandiari, a student living in the city of Lyon, to four years in prison. Three years of the sentence were suspended.
The Suwayda area has seen significant instability since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, complicating government efforts to address sectarian factionalism.
There were scenes of "utter chaos" when thousands of women and children related to suspected Islamic State jihadists escaped a camp in Syria last month following the sudden withdrawal of Kurdish forces, witnesses have told AFP. An AFP journalist who entered the huge Al-Hol camp
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday proposed a rule that, if finalized, would sever MBaer Merchant Bank AG's access to the U.S. financial system on the grounds the Swiss bank had supported illicit actors linked to Iran and Russia. The
By Emma Farge GENEVA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A new decree from Afghanistan's Taliban government is set to further crush rights and freedoms in the war-torn nation, especially for women, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday. The Taliban has restricted women's movements
Pope Leo XIV's newly announced visit to Algeria in April was welcomed as a dream come true by the archbishop of Algiers on Thursday. The trip will mark the first time a head of the Catholic Church has visited the North African Muslim-majority country. "This dream of a pope
Pope Leo XIV's newly announced visit to Algeria in April was welcomed as a dream come true by the archbishop of Algiers on Thursday. The trip will mark the first time a head of the Catholic Church has visited the North African Muslim-majority country. "This dream of a pope
Swaps for LPG delivered to East Asia next month soared to more than $600 per ton, their highest since April 1, 2025, after Saudi state energy firm Aramco said it would be canceling some deliveries.
CAIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, the territory's health officials said, and the Israeli military said it killed a militant who posed a threat to its forces in the south of the enclave. Medics said an
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that India and Israel had pledged to fight terrorism "shoulder to shoulder", as he concluded a two-day visit focused on deepening strategic ties. The trip, which has drawn criticism at home, marks Modi's second visit to
The negotiations come after President Donald Trump sought to build a case for war in his State of the Union address.
By Parisa Hafezi and Laila Bassam DUBAI, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The son of an Iranian carpet merchant from Isfahan, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has compared the country's negotiating style to the bartering of the bazaar, an approach requiring "patience and great time". But time
By Amina Ismail BRUSSELS - Feb 26 (Reuters) - Almost 8,000 people died or went missing last year on perilous migration routes such as across the Mediterranean and Horn of Africa, but the real toll is likely far higher as cuts in funding have hit humanitarian access and tracking