Category: 2. Middle East

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Friday with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in Damascus amid tensions and Israel’s repeated attacks in Syria under the pretext of protecting the Druze community, Anadolu reports.

Syrian state news agency, SANA, said the meeting took place in the presidential palace, without providing details.

Jumblatt left the palace without making a statement, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

His visit follows violence Wednesday…

UN officials believe the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip is probably deliberate and the enclave is one of the deadliest places in the world for reporters, said Ajith Sunghay, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Sunghay answered Anadolu’s questions about Israel targeting journalists in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, for World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

Emphasising that…

A man in Illinois was sentenced on Friday to 53 years in prison for a 2023 hate crime that resulted in the death of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadee Alfayoumi, according to US media reports, Anadolu Agency reported.

Wadee’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, was also stabbed in the attack.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes after attacking the Palestinian American family days after the Oct….

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate demanded on Friday ending Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, urging immediate international action to protect media freedom, Anadolu reports.

The group accused Israel of carrying out “the most horrific media genocide in history” against Palestinian journalists in a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on May 3.

The syndicate reported that…

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) delivered its legal argument Friday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding immediate action to protect a UN agency’s humanitarian operations in Palestinian territories, Anadolu reports.

A hearing came at a critical moment as the Gaza Strip faces catastrophic hunger and Israel continues an assault on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and…

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria warned Friday that renewed violence, including deadly sectarian clashes and Israeli air strikes, are jeopardizing the country’s “fragile” path toward sustainable peace, Anadolu reports.

“The recent surge in violence and deadly clashes with sectarian dimensions in Damascus countryside, which also spread to Suwayda governorate, is deeply troubling for Syria’s path toward sustainable and…

The head of UN children’s fund UNICEF on Friday raised alarm over the deteriorating conditions for children in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.

“For two months, children in the Gaza Strip have faced relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care. With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this,” UNICEF Executive Director…

The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said on Friday that an “outlaw” group had exploited Israel’s genocide to carry out robbery of shops and attacks on public and private property.

The ministry revealed in a statement that a security force, while pursuing this outlaw group, “was directly targeted by Israel more than once late Friday night, leading to the martyrdom of an officer and a child.”

The ministry indicated that this targeting reflects “the extent…

The US State Department approved the possible sale of AIM-120C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and related support to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said Friday.

The estimated cost is $3.5 billion.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that contributes to political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” it said in a…

Former Tunisian Prime Minister and deputy head of the Ennahda Movement, Ali Laarayedh, was sentenced to 34 years in prison on terrorism-related charges, media reports said Saturday.

Tunis Afrique Presse, (TAP), citing judicial sources, said Laarayedh and eight other defendants were charged with aiding the formation of a terror organisation, joining such a group within Tunisia, and facilitating the travel of Tunisian youth abroad to join terror groups.

The case is…