By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Hamas is cementing its hold over Gaza by placing loyalists in key government roles, collecting taxes and paying salaries, according to an Israeli military assessment seen by Reuters and sources in the
SYDNEY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australian police said on Thursday they had launched an investigation after a threatening letter was sent to the country’s largest mosque, the third such incident in the lead-up to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The letter sent to Lakemba Mosque
By Steve Holland, Simon Lewis and Samia Nakhoul WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will preside over the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday with unresolved questions on the future of Gaza hanging over an event expected to include
Feb 18 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview made public on Wednesday, said that any new U.S. strike on Iran would have serious consequences and called for restraint to find a solution to enable Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme. Lavrov's
US President Donald Trump on Thursday gathers allies to inaugurate the "Board of Peace," his new institution focused on progress on Gaza but whose ambitions reach much further. Around two dozen world leaders or other senior officials have come to Washington for the meeting --
WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Iran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to avoid its standoff with the United States in the wake of U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday. Top national security advisers met in the
President Donald Trump, shifting his tone yet again, warned Britain on Wednesday not to "give away" a key Indian Ocean base, saying it would be vital if the United States attacks Iran. Trump, who is considering strikes on the Islamic republic, lashed out hours after the State
A top UN official warned Wednesday that steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to "gradual de facto annexation." Since last week, Israel has approved a series of initiatives backed by far-right ministers to
Feb 18 (Reuters) - The United States is in the process of withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing three U.S. officials. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Last week, the U.S. military said it
The White House warned on Wednesday that Iran would be "wise" to do a deal with the United States as President Donald Trump once again hinted at military action. The two sides recently resumed indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after Trump repeatedly threatened military action
President Trump is unlikely to approve a limited nuclear agreement that would invite comparisons to the 2015 deal he once scorned.
WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will host a Board of Peace meeting on Thursday in Washington, where he will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in Gaza, the White House said. White
Thousands of Alawites who fled violence in western Syria now face uncertainty as the Syrian government and Kurdish forces reach a tentative truce.
Feb 18 (Reuters) - The United States is imposing visa restrictions on 18 Iranian officials and telecommunications industry leaders, the State Department said on Wednesday, in the latest such move against Tehran. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones and Costas Pitas)
The director of the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday rejected accusations from more than 80 film industry figures that the festival had helped censor artists who oppose Israel's actions in Gaza. In an open letter published on Tuesday, Oscar-winning actors Javier Bardem and
By Feras Dalatey DAMASCUS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Fewer than 1,000 families remain at a camp where relatives of suspected Islamic State militants had been held in Syria's northeast, the camp's former director said on Wednesday, with thousands having fled last month as government
Moscow’s energy minister said Russia is currently building equipment for new units at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant.
The list of countries attending Thursday's inaugural meeting 'says less about confidence in the board itself and more about concern over where U.S. policy may go next,' one security expert says
The massive US military buildup in the Middle East, including warships, fighter jets, and refueling aircraft, lays the foundation for a potentially sustained campaign against Iran -- should President Donald Trump give the order. Trump -- who ordered strikes on Iran last year --
The United States is building a major force of naval and air assets in the Middle East, potentially setting the stage for a sustained military campaign against Iran. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if ongoing talks do not reach a
Leila Shahid, the first woman diplomat representing Palestine abroad, died in southern France aged 76, her family said Wednesday. "She died today," her sister Zeina told AFP, without providing further details. Born in Lebanon in 1949, Shahid was the first woman to represent the
The UAE also has other significant investments in Somaliland, including around $442 million in funding from logistics company DP World to modernize the port of Berbera.
Satellite images reveal Iran is shielding a site hit by Israel and burying nuclear tunnel entrances bombed by the U.S. last year. The fortification of missile bases comes as Tehran and Washington remain deadlocked over a new nuclear deal.
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Iranians have returned to the streets this week to mourn those killed by security forces during last month's anti-government demonstrations, sparking some new crackdowns in an echo of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought down the
Graham pushed back against what he called “false narratives” about the UAE leader, making the remarks after days of online rumors regarding the president’s health.
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
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is also expected to attend the Board of Peace meeting, raising the prospect of the first face-to-face talks between top Turkish and Israeli diplomats since the war amid high-running tensions.
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