Category: 2. Middle East

An Iranian lawmaker has caused a stir after claiming that Tehran managed to plant a spy camera inside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a claim he described as reliable and confirmed, not just speculation.

Mojtaba Zarei, a member of Iran’s parliament, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “A camera from Iran had been installed overlooking Netanyahu’s residence; we’ve never been this close to him, suggesting an unprecedented security breach…

Israeli media have escalated their criticism of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and its Grand Imam, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, over their positions on Israel and its actions in Gaza.

A report published by Maariv referred to Egypt’s Al-Azhar as “the head of the snake,” urging its elimination due to the institution’s outspoken criticism of Israeli policies.

The Hebrew-language daily interviewed Eli Dekel, a former Israeli intelligence officer and specialist in Egyptian affairs,…

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Wednesday rejected criticism that it was rewarding militant group Hamas by setting out plans to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to improve the situation in Gaza and bring about peace.

The sight of emaciated Gaza children has shocked the world in recent days and on Tuesday, a hunger monitor warned that a worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding there and immediate action was needed to avoid widespread death.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s…

By Edward McAllister and Vania Turner

LONDON (Reuters) -Sailing in the June sunshine off the island of Lesbos, Greek fisherman Thanos Marmarinos remembers how he saved migrant women and children whose dinghy was breaking up in a gale one night ten years ago.

Initially, when he received the midnight call, he was reluctant to leave his bed. The winds were bitterly cold, and he had already been on one rescue mission that evening – thousands of migrantswere arriving in rickety boats every day at…

By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in South Africa in November and send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of South African policies.

KEY QUOTE

“I think maybe I’ll send somebody else because I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Trump has…

Thousands of carpets and kilim rugs spread out in the sun form a festive and kaleidoscopic patchwork on the outskirts of Antalya, a coastal tourist city in southern Turkey.

From June to September, in harvested fields cleared of stubble, merchants bring their cargo to age in the sun, tempering the bright hues of their natural colours and ridding them of undesirable elements.

Hasan Topkara washed wool knotted carpets and rugs that come from across Turkey. He dries them, trims their fringes and…

Unconditional support for Israel has long been an entry requirement in US Republican politics, but that orthodoxy is being challenged by Donald Trump’s populist base — where invocations of the “special relationship” are falling on deaf ears.

Images of starvation and suffering in Gaza have given new impetus to a debate that has been simmering in Trump’s “MAGA” movement over whether US involvement in the Middle East is consistent with the president’s “America First” platform.

Trump’s first…

By David Lawder

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said he warned Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil would lead to big tariffs due to legislation in Congress, but was told that Beijing would protect its energy sovereignty.

Wrapping up two days of U.S.-China trade talks in Stockholm, Bessent said he also expressed U.S. displeasure at China’s continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil, and its sales of over $15 billion worth…

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday called on countries at the United Nations to support a declaration that outlines “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards implementing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the U.N. this week – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the…