Syria’s foreign minister said on Saturday he was looking forward to the return of Syria to the Arab League as the country’s new rulers seek a place in the regional political landscape. Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani made his statements during a joint press conference in Damascus with Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki, who said…
Iran unveiled an underground naval missile base at an undisclosed location on Saturday, state TV said, two days before the start of Donald Trump’s second term as president. It was unveiled at a time when tension with Washington is widely expected to rise. Iranian leaders are concerned that Trump might empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…
Israeli forces started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported early on Sunday. A ceasefire in the Gaza war will begin Sunday morning at 0630 GMT, mediator Qatar said on Saturday after Israel’s cabinet voted to approve the truce and hostage-prisoner release…
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis warned “enemy forces in the Red Sea” on Sunday that there would be “consequences” for any attacks on the country during the coming Gaza ceasefire. “The Yemeni Armed Forces warn the enemy forces in the Red Sea of the consequences of any aggression against our country during the ceasefire period in Gaza…
A long-awaited ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was delayed Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the last minute that it would not take effect until the Palestinian militant group provided a list of the hostages to be released. Hamas, while “affirming its commitment” to the terms of the ceasefire, said: “The delay in…
The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday at 0630 GMT, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said in a tweet on X on Saturday. 24 cabinet members back agreement, which Netanyahu’s office says will enter into force on Sunday, while 2 members of ruling Likud party join far-right ministers in voting against The full…
China’s Vice President Han Zheng will attend US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Chinese state news agencies said on Friday, with Beijing ready to enhance dialogue with the new US administration. Han’s participation in the Washington, DC event comes at the invitation of the US side, China’s national television broadcaster reported. “We are…
The United States on Friday grounded SpaceX’s Starship and ordered Elon Musk’s company to investigate why the spaceship spectacularly disintegrated in a c over the Caribbean during its latest test mission. Authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands confirmed they diverted all flights from their airspace during the incident and urged residents not to touch fallen debris,…
Americans will be hit by a “Trump tariffs tax” if the US president-elect increases customs duties on Canadian products, the Canadian foreign minister said Friday, pledging a hard-hitting response in any trade war. Donald Trump, who returns to the White House next week, has said he plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports as…
Israel’s justice ministry has said 737 prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal approved Saturday. It said in a statement on its website that “the government approves” the “release (of) 737 prisoners and detainees” currently in the custody of the prison service….
Three people were killed early on Saturday in the center of Kyiv in a night-time Russian attack, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration. Tkachenko posted on the Telegram messaging app that the deaths had occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district. He said falling debris had also hit the Desnyanskyi district on…
US Central Command said its chief met with Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria and urged the repatriation of foreign ISIS fighters, as Kurds battle Turkey-backed groups in the region. General Michael Kurilla met United States military commanders and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday “to get an assessment” of efforts to defeat ISIS and…
Chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday, state media reported, as last month’s ouster of Bashar al-Assad sparks hopes for justice. Al-Sharaa and Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met “a delegation from the International Criminal Court, headed” by Khan, state news agency SANA reported, also…
A group of 15 Republican senators has introduced the “Dismantle Iran’s Proxy Act,” calling to redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, requiring a strategy to degrade Houthi capabilities in the Red Sea, and requiring a report on obstacles to humanitarian aid provision in areas of Yemen under Houthi control. In one of his…
The Israeli justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed starting Sunday as part of the first exchange for Israeli captives under a Gaza ceasefire deal. “The release of prisoners is… subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday 16:00 (1400 GMT),”…
