DUBAI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's 90-year-old King Salman was undergoing medical tests in a hospital in Riyadh, the state news agency said on Friday. King of the world's biggest oil exporter and a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, he had received medical care for lung
BERLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will raise topics including the political transition in Syria and the return of migrants to their homeland in talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Berlin next Tuesday, a government spokesperson said on
South Africa's defence minister has ordered an inquiry into reports of Iran's participation in navy exercises, apparently against the instructions of the president, the ministry said Friday. The probe comes after the United States sharply criticised the past week's drills,
The Gulf states and Turkey are mounting an intensive diplomatic push to avert a U.S.–Iran clash that could trigger a costly regional war, offering economic incentives to ensure their territory and interests remain protected. So far, the effort appears to be working
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Mahmoud Hasano , Jonathan Spicer and Timour Azhari Jan 15 (Reuters) - Syrian troops are poised to attack towns in the north and east held by Kurdish fighters, sources familiar with the matter said, to pressure autonomy-minded Kurds into making
MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Iran in separate calls on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and said that Moscow was willing to mediate in the region, the Kremlin
By Parisa Hafezi and Nayera Abdallah Dubai, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Iran's deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents, as state media reported more arrests on Friday in the shadow of U.S. threats to intervene if
By Joey Roulette and Cassell Bryan-Low WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Iran’s crackdown on dissidents is shaping up as one of the toughest security tests yet for Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has served as a lifeline against state-imposed internet blackouts since its deployment
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will hold talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin Tuesday as Germany seeks to step up deportations of Syrians, despite unease about continued instability in their homeland. On his first visit to Germany since ousting Syria's longtime
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's defence ministry said on Friday that Minister Angie Motshekga had launched an inquiry into Iran's participation in the BRICS+ naval exercises held in South African waters over the past week. The defence ministry said in a
The protest movement in Iran has subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, one week after the start of the biggest protests in years challenging the Islamic republic's theocratic system. The threat of new military
MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the situation in the Middle East and Iran by phone on Friday, the Kremlin said. Putin offered Netanyahu Russia's help in mediating in regards to Iran, and told
The toppling of the Iranian regime, if it happens, would be a very positive strategic change in the Middle East. However, the main question which now justifiably troubles Israeli citizens is whether an American attack would in turn lead to an Iranian decision to launch missiles
LESBOS, Greece, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Over two dozen aid workers involved in refugee rescues in Greece were acquitted of migrant smuggling charges in a multi-year case that rights groups said was a baseless attempt to ban aid for refugees heading to Europe. European Union
Witkoff also described Trump's emotional reaction during a November White House visit by Israeli hostages and their families, including 17 of the last 20 hostages released the previous month. 'I saw the tears. He doesn't like anyone to see tears. And he said to me, "This is the
By Emily Rose JERUSALEM, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Israel is grappling with a dramatic increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among its troops after its two-year assault on Gaza, precipitated by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel. Recent reports by
Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale to Peru of $1.5 billion in equipment and services to support the country's efforts to shift its main naval base in the city of Callao, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday, so it can expand a
Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home. For the filmmaker, it is one way to overcome the obstacles he faces in a country where cinema once nearly vanished. Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya's
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza "board of peace," a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory. "It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed," Trump posted on his
Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is backing "a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government" in Gaza. "As Chairman of the Board of Peace, I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has made a series of controversial moves that have shaken up the world order, including a military raid that toppled Venezuela's leader and renewed threats to annex Greenland. Trump, who campaigned on
A senior UN official warned on Thursday that threats of military action against Iran, like those made by US President Donald Trump, increased "volatility" in the protest-torn country. Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran,” and President Donald Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N.
The interim government in Dhaka didn't consult major political parties – or even its own cabinet – before deciding 'in principle' to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza. Amid domestic unrest, imminent elections and wariness about U.S. pressure, the backlash in Bangladesh is building
A Greek court on Thursday acquitted Syrian competitive swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini, whose rescue of her sister inspired a hit Netflix film, and 23 others of migrant trafficking in a decision applauded by top rights groups. The verdict came almost a month after the start
By Saad Sayeed, Asif Shahzad and Jonathan Spicer ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have prepared a draft defence agreement after nearly a year of talks, Pakistan's Minister for Defence Production said, a signal they could be seeking a
The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.
A US appeals court overturned a ruling that led to the release of prominent pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, according to court documents filed Thursday, raising the prospect of his re-arrest. Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married
CAIRO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Two Israeli airstrikes killed five people, including a 16-year-old, in Deir al-Balah on Thursday, said local health authorities. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident. It was not immediately
By Maha El Dahan and Andrew Mills DUBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Four Arab states conducted intense diplomacy with the United States and Iran this week to prevent a threatened U.S. attack on Iran over Tehran's use of force against protesters that they feared would have impacts
Iran’s leadership faces its most serious unrest in years, and rising Kurdish mobilization makes the prospect of regime collapse particularly risky for Turkey.
MADRID, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A false bomb threat delivered via an onboard mobile connection caused a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to make an emergency landing at Barcelona's El Prat Airport on Thursday, Spanish police and the airline said. A Turkish Airlines
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lashed out Thursday at world leaders who he said were seeking to "put international cooperation on deathwatch" amid brazen violations of international law, but held off naming offending countries. He also reiterated that he was "deeply
Iranian authorities have killed a Canadian citizen during one of the protests that have spread across the Islamic Republic, Ottawa said Thursday. "I have just learned that a Canadian citizen has died in Iran at the hands of Iranian authorities," Canada's Foreign Minister Anita
Iranians have turned to the US internet provider to get online amid a government-imposed network blackout that began Jan. 8.
Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he had been told killings in Iran's crackdown were easing and that there was no current plan for large-scale executions, as the UN Security Council is set to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss tensions in Iran
WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions that target what appeared to be shipping, trading and energy companies, according to a post on the U.S. Treasury Department website on Thursday. The new sanctions come amid
By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of being behind the crackdown on protests and warned it was tracking Iranian leaders' funds being wired to banks around the world, as U.S.
By Nate Raymond Jan 15 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that a judge had no jurisdiction to order the release of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, delivering President Donald Trump's administration a victory in its
By Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Ali Shaath, the Palestinian former government official chosen to administer Gaza under a U.S.-backed deal, has an ambitious plan that includes pushing war debris into the Mediterranean Sea and rebuilding
By Dmitry Antonov MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday that its was unacceptable for the West to keep claiming that Russia and China threatened Greenland, and said the crisis over the territory showed the double-standards of Western powers which claimed moral
MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir said on Thursday that the international situation had deteriorated and that the world was getting more dangerous but he was silent on the situation in Venezuela and Iran. Putin has yet to comment in public on the toppling of
While Russia and China are ready to back protest-rocked Iran under threat by US President Donald Trump, that support would diminish in the face of US military action, experts told AFP. Iran is a significant ally to the two nuclear powers, providing drones to Russia and oil to
Iran's hardline judiciary chief has personally interrogated protesters arrested in a crackdown that has sparked an international outcry, amplifying fears among rights groups about the use of "forced confessions" to instil fear in society. On Thursday, state television showed
Jan 15 (Reuters) - Major shipping companies are devising strategies for a return to the Suez Canal after more than two years of disruptions due to security risks in the Red Sea. They have been rerouting vessels via longer, costlier routes around Africa since November 2023,
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Pakistani students returning from Iran on Thursday said they heard gunshots and stories of rioting and violence while being confined to campus and not allowed out of their dormitories in the evening. Iran's leadership is trying to
If the Islamic Republic falls, a civil war could emerge from a fragmented opposition divided over strategy – both on how to topple the regime and on how to form a government to replace it. Despite his knack for public relations, the shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, could be part of
The odds are against it. On the other hand, you can be sure the ayatollahs in Tehran, who created the problem, won't even try
ATHENS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Greece has warned its shipping fleet to review their security measures when sailing to Russian Black Sea ports after drone attacks on two Greek-operated tankers this week, according to shipping ministry advisories. Drones struck two oil tankers on