Israeli airstrikes near city of Aleppo kills several people, Syrian state media say
Beirut: Israeli airstrikes around the Syrian city of Aleppo killed several people early on Monday, Syrian state media reported. The state-run SANA news agency gave no specific toll. It said the strikes were around the southeastern edge of Aleppo. “The aggression led to a number of martyrs and some material losses,” SANA said. Israel did […]
Iran’s acting top diplomat visits Lebanon in the first official visit since his predecessor’s death
Beirut: Iran’s acting foreign minister arrived in Lebanon Monday, his first official diplomatic visit since his predecessor died in a helicopter crash last month. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Ali Bagheri Kani would visit Lebanon and then Syria “to meet with the two countries’ officials as well as the officials of the resistance […]
Israel tells citizens to avoid travel to Maldives, leave if present there
Jerusalem: Israel has advised its citizens, including those holding an additional foreign passport, to avoid travelling to the Maldives and asked those staying there to leave the Indian Ocean archipelago, a day after the Maldivian government decided to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the country amidst the deadly war in Gaza. The Israeli Foreign […]
Energy shutdowns hit Ukraine after Russian attacks target infrastructure
Kyivy: Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in most of the country on Sunday, a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure and claimed it made gains in the eastern Donetsk province. The shutdowns were in place in all but three regions of Ukraine following Saturday’s drone and missile attack on energy targets that […]
China’s Chang’e-6 successfully lands on rarely explored Moon’s far side to collect samples
Beijing: A Chinese spacecraft successfully touched down on the far side of the Moon on Sunday, in the first endeavour of its kind to collect samples from this rarely explored terrain. The Chang’e-6 landed at the designated landing area at 6:23 am (Beijing Time) in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin for the first time in […]
Iran’s hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers for June 28 presidential election
Dubai: Iran’s hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered Sunday as a possible candidate for the presidential election, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the nation’s president. The populist former leader’s registration puts pressure on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In office, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric, and […]
Hostage families call for a cease-fire deal pushed by Biden. Israel says conditions must be met
Tel Aviv: Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas called for all parties to immediately accept a proposal detailed by US President Joe Biden to end the nearly 8-month-long war and bring their relatives home, but Israel’s government said conditions for a cease-fire still must be met. Biden outlined a three-phase deal Friday proposed by […]
The ANC party that freed South Africa from apartheid loses its 30-year majority
Johannesburg: The African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result Saturday that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago. With nearly 99% of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC had received just […]
US defence secretary says war with China neither imminent nor unavoidable, stressing need for talks
Singapore: United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin told a gathering of top security officials Saturday that war with China was neither imminent nor unavoidable, despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding “miscalculations and misunderstandings.” Austin’s comments at the Shangri-La […]
12 killed in airstrikes in central Gaza as strikes targeting Houthi rebels kill 16
Jerusalem: At least a dozen people were killed in two airstrikes Friday in central Gaza. Two children and four women were among the dead. Palestinians in the border city of Rafah have reported heavy fighting in recent days as Israel’s military widened its offensive in the south, seizing control of the entire length of Gaza’s […]