Russian planes bombed towns and villages in Idlib and Aleppo again on Friday, marking the seventh year anniversary of Moscow’s bloody intervention in the Syria war. Al-Ruwaiha, south of Idlib, and Darat Izza, west of Aleppo, were targeted in Russian ai…
‘End of soft power’: Arabs and Iranians react to BBC cuts
Listeners of BBC Radio Arabic and Persian have criticised the broadcasting service for choosing to terminate their establishments after nearly 80 years of service. The BBC announced on Thursday that it plans to axe several services of the BBC World Ser…
Abbas calls Blinken ‘little boy’ for not confronting Israel
Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas told a group of Palestinian Americans that he called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken a ‘little boy’ for succumbing to Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. During a private meeting …
Iran detains woman for eating breakfast without hijab
An Iranian woman has been arrested after a photograph of her eating at a restaurant without the government-mandated headscarf went viral. The picture showed two unveiled women sitting in an Iranian restaurant in Tehran – one was identified as Donya Rad…
Sweden moves closer to NATO, lifts arms embargo on Turkey
Would-be NATO member Sweden on Friday announced it will allow exports of arms to Turkey, which had threatened to block the Scandinavian nation’s application to join the 30-member defense alliance. The decision means that Sweden, which has sought NATO m…
UN to seek $800 million more in aid for flood-hit Pakistan
The United Nations will seek $800 million more in aid from the international community to respond to soaring life-saving needs of Pakistani flood survivors, a UN official said Friday. The unprecedented deluges — likely worsened by climate change — have…
US urges probe after Palestinian boy dies in Israeli raid
The US has called for an investigation into the death of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy who collapsed while being chased by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Thursday. Rayyan Yaser Suleiman died of heart failure while in a state of panic as Israel…
Putin: US created nuclear precedent by bombing Japan
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States had created a “precedent” by using nuclear weapons against Japan at the end of World War Two, in a speech filled with hostility towards the West delivered from the Kremlin on Friday. Fears of nucl…
Putin signs accord to annex four occupied Ukrainian regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed documents to incorporate four Ukrainian territories into Russia in a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Russia declared the annexations of the regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson \- aft…
Saudi Arabia ‘to purchase German weapons’ after arms ban
Saudi Arabia could obtain German weapons despite a 2018 arms ban being in place on Riyadh, as Berlin’s new leader looks to mitigate the country’s devastating energy crisis, according to reports. The weapons deal will include $34 million in weapons and …