Category: 2. Middle East

Gaza rescuers said a pre-dawn Israeli air strike Friday killed 10 members of the same family, as the UN said dozens of recent attacks on the Palestinian territory had killed only women and children.

A UN rights office report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking spaces, which “raise real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza”.

Israel’s military said it was looking into the…

Dozens of Israeli air strikes on Gaza have killed “only women and children” after a ceasefire collapsed, the UN said, as an Israeli attack in the territory’s south on Friday killed a family of 10.

A UN rights office report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising “real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza”.

Israel’s military said it was looking into the attack…

When US and Iranian negotiators meet in Oman on Saturday they will be just the latest to turn to crisis mediation in the Gulf Arab states, whose wealthy rulers are increasingly seeking out the role.

Oman is a long-established venue for Iranian talks, while promoting peace is a pillar of Qatar’s foreign policy and even enshrined in its constitution.

More recently Saudi Arabia has caught on, hosting Ukraine ceasefire talks including the latest round in a lavish hotel in Riyadh last month.

The…

The Tesla electric vehicle company owned by billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday opened its first showrooms in oil-rich Saudi Arabia — where hybrid cars remain a rare sight.

The opening of showrooms in the capital Riyadh, Jeddah and Damam comes as Tesla global sales fall.

Showrooms in the United States have been attacked, reportedly because of links between Musk, the world’s richest person, and US President Donald Trump. The company’s share price has slumped since Musk started working with the…

Washington and Tehran waged a war of words Thursday ahead of key talks in Oman after US President Donald Trump said military action was “absolutely” possible if the talks fail.

A senior adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran could expel UN nuclear watchdog inspectors over “threats” ahead of Saturday’s talks.

Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani’s comments came after US Trump Wednesday failed to rule out military action against Iran in the event the planned talks fail to…

An Iranian court has handed two Iranian film directors suspended jail terms over a film that angered authorities in the Islamic republic but was acclaimed in Europe and the United States, rights groups said on Thursday.

Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha were convicted earlier this week by a Revolutionary Court for the film “My Favourite Cake”, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Dadban legal monitor said in separate statements.

The film, which competed at the 2024 Berlin Film…

Hamas said Thursday that the announcement by President Emmanuel Macron that France could recognise a Palestinian state by June was an “important step”, after Israel’s foreign minister slammed the plan.

“We welcome the statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding his country’s readiness to recognise the State of Palestine,” Hamas official Mahmud Mardawi told AFP.

He said the announcement was “an important step that, if implemented, would constitute a positive shift in the…