Category: 2. Middle East

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday from Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen to lead the world championship for the first time in his career.

Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari completed the podium for this fifth round of the season under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Piastri’s third win this year was in large part decided at the first turn, when Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off the track.

He becomes the…

Lebanon’s military said a munitions blast in the country’s war-torn south killed an officer and two soldiers on Sunday, days after an explosion killed another soldier.

Under a November truce deal that ended a war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.

“An army officer and two soldiers were killed and a number of citizens were injured due to an explosion of ammunition as it was being…

Saudi nationals have been exempted from needing to secure a visa to visit Pakistan, a Foreign Ministry official confirmed on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

“Yes they don’t need a visa. Saudi Arabia is included in countries that have visa-free entry into Pakistan,” a ministry spokesperson told Anadolu in a written reply.

“Only official category requires a visa,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that Saudi citizens can…

World-famous actress Angelina Jolie on Saturday reaffirmed her support to Gaza by sharing a Doctors Without Frontiers report on Gaza in an Instagram story, Anadolu reports.

In a post shared by Jolie – who spent over 20 years as a goodwill ambassador and special envoy for the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency – the humanitarian aid group described the situation in Gaza as “mass grave for Palestinians and those helping them.”

“As Israeli forces resume and…

The foreign ministers of Jordan and Iraq held talks on Sunday to discuss preparations for the upcoming Arab summit in Baghdad next month, Anadolu reports.

Ayman Safadi met with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, who arrived in Amman early Sunday to deliver an invitation to King Abdullah II to attend the Arab summit in the Iraqi capital on May 17.

Discussions between Safadi and Hussein also dwelt on bilateral relations and regional developments, a Jordanian…

A Syrian passenger flight departed Sunday for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking the resumption of air travel between the two countries, Anadolu reports.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, the flight took off from Damascus International Airport early Sunday.

On Monday, the UAE had announced the resumption of air travel with Syria, indicating both countries were working together to complete the necessary procedures to restart regular flights.

The…

The Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), called Sunday for the protection of journalists amid Israeli attacks on reporters in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.

“The Israeli occupation is fully responsible for its crimes against journalists,” the council said in a statement on the eve of the Arab Media Day.

“Assaults against journalists are a deliberate attempt…

The father of an Israeli soldier held in Gaza accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday of abandoning the hostages in favor of prolonging the war for his political interests, Anadolu reports.

“We listened to Netanyahu’s words from the Hostages Square [in Tel Aviv], and we are deeply disappointed,” Hagai Angrest, father of soldier Matan, told Maariv daily.

“Across the world, everyone is saying that a ceasefire and the return of the hostages…

Seven civilians were killed and three others injured in artillery shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in western Sudan, the army said on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

A military statement said that displaced civilians in the Zamzam refugee camp and other areas across Darfur are facing “inhumane and discriminatory treatment” by the RSF militia, including road blockades and property theft.

There was no…

Palestine condemned on Sunday Israeli police assaults on Christians during the Holy Saturday celebrations as “racist” and “a blatant violation of the freedom of worship and access to holy sites”, Anadolu reports.

On Saturday, Israeli police clashed with Palestinian Christians during the Holy Saturday observances at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem.

“We decry the arbitrary actions, assaults, and restrictions imposed by…