Category: 2. Middle East

Church leaders, regional officials and Egypt’s Al-Azhar — Sunni Islam’s foremost religious institution — offered condolences this week following the death of Pope Francis, whose passing on Monday at the age of 88 drew tributes across the Middle East.

Francis passed away following struggles with a respiratory illness, having been hospitalized for more than a month starting in mid-February. His last public appearance was on Sunday, when he greeted the crowd outside the Vatican for…

Oman Airports has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Iraq’s Teebat Karbala Company to oversee the preparation and launch of Karbala International Airport — a key aviation project set to transform Iraq’s air transport sector.

The agreement was formalised on Saturday by Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Saeed bin Hamood Al Mawali, who also chairs Oman Airports, and Hassan Rashid Jawad Al Abayji, Chairman of…

The April 21 death of Pope Francis triggered a period of mourning in the Catholic Church, but also kick-started the race for his successor.

Whether diplomats, theologians, mediators or Vatican insiders, here are 15 cardinals who are among the potential favourites to become the next pope, known as the “papabili”, divided by region.

This list however is by no means exhaustive and Francis’s successor could well be someone else.

EUROPE

Pietro Parolin (Italy), 70, Vatican Secretary of State

The…

Israel has cancelled the entry visas of 27 left-wing French parliamentarians and officials just two days before their planned visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to a statement released by the group on Sunday, as reported by France 24.

This development comes shortly after Israel barred two British Labour MPs from entering the country, and amid heightened diplomatic tensions following French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that…

Pope Francis, an energetic reformer who inspired widespread devotion from Catholics but riled traditionalists, died on Monday aged 88, just a day after greeting delighted worshippers after Easter Mass.

The death of the Argentine pontiff, leader of the Catholic Church since March 2013, came less than a month after having been released from hospital following a 38-day battle with double pneumonia.

Some visitors to St Peters Square — where a frail-looking Francis was cheered by Easter Sunday…

Pope Francis died on Monday aged 88, prompting mourning across the Christian world for the energetic reformer who inspired devotion from Catholics but riled traditionalists during a 12-year papacy.

Mourners gathered, many in tears, in St Peter’s Square, where just a day earlier the the frail-looking pontiff had greeted worshippers on Easter Sunday, having recently left hospital following a 38-day battle with double pneumonia.

World leaders paid tribute to Francis’ moral and spiritual…

Leaders across the Middle East region paid tribute to Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, Anadolu news agency reported.

Pope Francis, who made history as the first Jesuit and first Latin American pontiff, died after battling an illness described by Vatican officials as a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” associated with thrombocytopenia.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi mourned the pontiff, describing him as “an exceptional…

US warplanes carried out a wave of air strikes on Yemen’s capital late Sunday in the latest round of near-daily attacks since the Trump administration announced a major military offensive against the Houthi group in March.

The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel said on X that the strikes targeted the Faj Attan area in Ma’een District of Sanaa in two raids, followed by an attack on a sanitation project in the Asr area of the district. It said additional…

In a major step toward financial modernisation and regional integration, Mauritania and Morocco have signed a landmark agreement to establish the country’s first stock exchange in Nouakchott.

The deal, signed on Thursday between the Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM) and the Casablanca Stock Exchange, underscores growing South-South cooperation and deepening economic ties between the two Maghreb neighbours.

The agreement, formalised in the presence of Moroccan…