Category: 2. Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed a response to Yemen’s Huthis and their Iranian backers after the rebels struck the area of Israel’s main airport, wounding six people and prompting several major airlines to suspend flights.

The strike came hours before Israel’s army confirmed the call-up of “tens of thousands” of reservists to expand the 19-month war in Gaza against Palestinian militants Hamas.

The military confirmed that the attack, which gouged a large crater in the…

LONDON: Under the Abbasid Caliphate, some 1,200 years ago, Baghdad sat at a crossroads between continents, a global confluence of commerce, culture and learning, becoming one of the most important cities on the Silk Road — the vast trade network that linked Asia to Europe.

It is that same strategic positioning that the modern-day government of Iraq hopes to recreate through a mega-project that could transform the nation’s fortunes after decades of war, sanctions and underdevelopment,…

TEL AVIV: Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, in a move that if implemented would vastly expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce international opposition.

Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of…

British police on Sunday said they had arrested five men, including four Iranians, on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”.

The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area, with all five arrested on suspicion of “terrorism offences”, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The men aged between 29 and 46 were detained by Counter Terrorism Police on Saturday in relation to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises” — wich was not named –…

TEL AVIV: Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, in a move that if implemented would vastly expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce international opposition.

Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of…

On the Doha seashore, rows of wooden dhow boats line a pier, with scores of fish on display — part of a festival seeking to revive the country’s long seafaring tradition.

Aboard the boats, men in customary sea gear — a white t-shirt and towel — pay tribute to the age-old tradition of line-fishing in the energy-rich Gulf emirate for the 11th edition of the Senyar festival.

“The feeling was amazing,” competitor Mohammed al-Hail told AFP as he returned from four days out at sea to waiting…

Roberto Firmino said he was proud of making history with his Saudi club and becoming an Asian Champions League winner, six years after lifting the prestigious European equivalent with Liverpool.

The 33-year-old Brazilian forward was an important member of Jurgen Klopp’s side who won the UEFA Champions League in 2019.

Firmino was named the AFC Champions League’s most valuable player after inspiring Al Ahli to beat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 on Saturday as the Jeddah club became Asian champions for…

Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar.

Several news outlets reported the army had begun sending the orders for reservists to replace conscripts and active-duty soldiers in Israel and the occupied West Bank so they can be redeployed to Gaza.

A military spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the reports but relatives of AFP…

Hamas on Saturday released footage of an apparently injured Israeli-Russian hostage held in Gaza as 11 Palestinians, including three infants, were killed in a strike on the territory, its civil defence agency said.

Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,396 people have been killed since…

Al Ahli were crowned champions of Asia at the third attempt after the Saudi Arabian side overpowered Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in Jeddah on Saturday.

The Jeddah club, runners-up in 1986 and 2012, triumphed at their King Abdullah Sports City Stadium thanks to two goals in seven minutes towards the end of the first half from Brazilian Galeno and Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessie.

The Asian Champions League’s latter stages have all taken place in Jeddah.

With the win, Roberto Firmino, Edouard…