Category: 2. Middle East

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Saturday the demands in Iran for the arrest and execution of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi as “unacceptable”, Anadolu reports.

“We support the lAEA’s critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the lAEA for their dedication and professionalism,” Rubio wrote on X.

He said the US urges Iran to provide the safety and security…

The Israeli army claimed Saturday it assassinated one of the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in an airstrike in Gaza City, Anadolu reports.

It identified the leader as Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa, who was killed in an attack on the al-Sabra neighborhood.

The army alleged he “led Hamas’ force-buildup efforts in the Gaza Strip, was one of the founders of its military wing, served as Head of the Training Headquarters, and was a…

Libya’s eastern Benghazi-based government on Saturday rejected recent remarks from Greek officials about the legitimacy of a maritime deal between Turkiye and Libya in 2019, Anadolu reports.

Prime Minister Osama Hammad stated that the deal between is internationally legitimate.

He reaffirmed Libya’s firm rejection of any challenges or interference with its sovereign decisions, particularly regarding international agreements made with allies.

Libya-Turkiye…

Five people were arrested during a pro-Palestine protest that turned violent against an Australian company supplying arms to Israel in Sydney, according to a statement, Anadolu reports.

Demonstrators were protesting at SEC Plating on Friday, which is “involved in providing plating services for various parts used in F-35 jets,” The Greens New South Wales party said in a statement.

Israel’s “fleet of around 40 F-35 rely on the global supply chain and…

The Israeli army issued mass evacuation orders on Sunday warning residents of multiple densely populated neighborhoods in Gaza City and Jabalia of “intensifying military activity” across the northern part of the enclave, Anadolu reports.

A statement, released by army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, called on residents of at least 17 areas including eastern Zeitoun, the Old City, Tuffah, Daraj, Sabra, Jabalia al-Balad, Jabalia Camp, and Tel al-Zaatar, to…

At least two people were killed Saturday in an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

The motorcycle was targeted on the main road in the Mahrouna municipality.

“The death toll from the Israeli enemy’s air strike on the town of Mahrouna has risen to two people, following the death of a wounded woman from her severe injuries,” said the Lebanese Health Ministry

The news…

Illegal Israeli settlers on Saturday set fire to Palestinian agricultural lands in the town of Yabrud, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.

The settlers infiltrated the Bab al-Wad area and ignited fires in grassy fields and olive groves, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Large areas of cultivated land were damaged, while settlers prevented residents from reaching the scene to extinguish the flames, the…

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Sweden’s capital Stockholm to protest Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports.

The demonstrators gathered in the Odenplan district of the capital and marched toward the Swedish parliament.

The protesters chanted slogans “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine,” “Murderer Israel, get out of Gaza” and “Immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”

Carrying Palestinian flags, they also demanded that the genocide in Gaza be…

A planned trade corridor linking the landlocked Sahel to the Atlantic is at the heart of an ambitious Moroccan project to tackle regional instability and consolidate its grip on disputed Western Sahara.

The “Atlantic Initiative” promises ocean access to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger through a new $1.3-billion port in the former Spanish colony claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front but largely controlled by Morocco.

But the project remains fraught with challenges at a time when military…

The world’s most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors – lying, scheming, and even threatening their creators to achieve their goals.

In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI’s o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught red-handed.

These episodes highlight…