Category: 2. Middle East

Gaza’s government issued a dire warning, Friday, that Palestinians in the besieged enclave are “on the brink of mass death” from widespread famine due to Israel’s nearly two-month aid blockade and the total collapse of essential services, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, the Government Media Office held Israel and its backers responsible for a “genocide documented in sound and image”.

We warn of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as…

The Turkish Parliament Speaker will travel to the Vatican to attend Pope Francis’ funeral this weekend, officials announced on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Numan Kurtulmus will represent Turkiye at the funeral, which is set for Saturday.

Numerous world leaders and royals will attend the farewell to the Pontiff.

Figures confirmed to be attending include US President Donald Trump, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, German…

The Israeli army has killed 212 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its genocidal war in October 2023, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, the Gaza-based Government Media Office reported that the journalist death toll in Gaza has risen to 212. The latest victim was journalist Saeed Abu Hassanein, who died from wounds sustained in an earlier Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

The statement noted that Abu Hassanein was…

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi arrived in Oman on Friday ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides said progress had been made in previous rounds.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X that “Araghchi and his accompanying delegation arrived in Muscat for the third round of Iran-US talks”.

Iran’s Mehr news agency released a brief video showing the foreign minister disembarking from an Iranian government plane in Muscat.

Baqaei said Araghchi would…

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared for fresh nuclear talks with the United States in Oman on Friday after apparent progress in previous rounds.

Araghchi flew into Muscat ahead of Saturday’s meeting with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, their third encounter in as many weeks.

Araghchi will lead Iran’s delegation of diplomats and technical experts in indirect discussions with the US side, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.

Iran’s top…

Syria’s new flag was raised alongside the flags of member states at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday morning, Anadolu Agency reports.

The flag-raising ceremony was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, as well as numerous UN permanent representatives and members of the Syrian civil society in the US.

The Syrian revolutionary flag was hoisted at the UN headquarters amid applause and cheers,…

A civil rights group has filed a habeas corpus petition with Israel’s High Court of Justice, challenging the military’s refusal to disclose the location of Asaad Nasasra, a Palestinian paramedic detained during a deadly attack on 23 March in which Israeli forces killed 15 emergency responders.

The petition, submitted by HaMoked, follows weeks of silence from the Israeli occupation army regarding…

Iraq sent a delegation to Damascus on Friday to study the possibility of restoring an Iraqi oil pipeline that transports oil through Syria to Mediterranean ports, the Prime Minister’s office said, Reuters reports.

The Iraqi delegation, led by the head of the National Intelligence Service, is also set to discuss counter-terrorism cooperation, border security and ways to expand trade between the two countries, the office added.

Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia…

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raised his country’s new flag at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday, in what he called a “historic” moment.

Shaibani “raises the new Syrian flag in front of the United Nations building in New York”, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Images showed Shaibani raising the three-starred flag officially adopted after the December ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The flag had become a symbol of the revolt against Assad’s…