Category: 2. Middle East

Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani said Saturday that Israel’s violations against his country’s sovereignty pose a “threat to regional stability,” while praising the “effective mediation” efforts by Türkiye and Saudi Arabia to lift US sanctions on Syria, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad, Shaibani expressed Damascus’ hope for “a unified Arab position” in support of Syria’s right to regain full…

Hasan Hadi, the first filmmaker from Iraq to be selected for the prestigious Cannes Festival, said economic embargoes like those imposed in his childhood under Saddam Hussein did not work.

“Sanctions empower dictators,” he told AFP, as they concentrate scant resources in their hands and only make them “more brutal”.

“In the history of the world, there was no one time when they (imposed) sanctions and the president couldn’t eat.”

Hadi’s first feature film, “The President’s Cake”, has received…

Syria on Saturday announced the formation of a national commission for missing persons and another for transitional justice, more than five months after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s new authorities have pledged justice for victims of atrocities committed under Assad’s rule, and a five-year transitional constitution signed in March provided for the formation of a transitional justice commission.

The fate of tens of thousands of detainees and others who went missing…

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with riot police in Basel as the Swiss city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest Saturday, AFP journalists at the scene witnessed.

Protesters demonstrating against Israel’s participation in the contest while it ramps up its war in Gaza clashed briefly with police in the centre of the city shortly before Israel’s Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael took to the stage at the St. Jakobshalle venue across town.

Blows were exchanged and police used tear gas and…

Germany on Saturday criticized Israel’s latest military attacks in Gaza, warning that the offensive could undermine ceasefire efforts, endanger the lives of hostages, and worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, Anadolu reports.

“The launch of a renewed Israeli ground offensive in Gaza is cause for deep concern – both with regard to Israel’s strategic objectives and the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a…

“People of Gaza, the Israeli army is coming,” read leaflets dropped by Israel on Gaza on Saturday, threatening to escalate its ongoing military campaign, which has lasted for 19 months, with a new ground offensive, Anadolu reports.

The leaflets were scattered over several neighborhoods and bore the warning: “People of Gaza, the Israeli army is coming,” eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The leaflets were dropped a day after the Israeli military announced the…

Microsoft has confirmed it provides cloud and artificial intelligence services to Israel’s Defense Ministry, while denying its tools were used to harm civilians in Gaza, as scrutiny intensifies over the role of US tech firms in the ongoing war, Anadolu reports.

In a statement published Thursday, the company acknowledged public and internal concerns about whether Microsoft Azure and AI products had been used “to target civilians or cause harm” in Gaza.

The…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern Saturday over reports that Israel plans to expand its ground operations in Gaza.

“I’m alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations in Gaza,” Guterres said on X.

“I emphasize the UN will not participate in any operation that doesn’t adhere to international law & humanitarian principles – humanity, impartiality, independence & neutrality.”

Some 71% of the Gaza Strip is under…

Turkiye has discovered a new natural gas reserve of 75 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the Black Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

“We have discovered a new natural gas reserve of 75 billion cubic meters in the field. With this amount, we will be able to meet the residential demand alone for approximately 3.5 years,” Erdogan said during his speech at the opening of Istanbul Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training…

The UK’s Labour government is reported to have approved approximately $160 million worth of arms exports to Israel between October and December 2024, more than the total approved during the entire four-year term of Conservative leadership preceding it. The figure, drawn from newly released strategic export licensing data, reflects an unprecedented rise in UK military support to Israel as the occupation state continues its genocide in Gaza

By comparison, from…