Arab World

Ukrainian Strike Kills One, Wounds 10 in Russia: Governor
Ukrainian Strike Kills One, Wounds 10 in Russia: Governor

A Ukrainian drone strike on an apartment block killed one person and wounded 10 others in southwestern Russia, the region's acting governor said early Friday. Governor Alexander Khinshtein said he went to the apartment building damaged in the strike in Kursk. "Unfortunately, a 45-year-old woman died on the spot," he said on ...

Israeli Far-Right Minister Backs Contentious West Bank Settlement Plan
Israeli Far-Right Minister Backs Contentious West Bank Settlement Plan

Israel's finance minister on Thursday backed plans to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the territory's annexation in response to several countries' plans to recognize a Palestinian state. In response, the United Nations chief warned that building Israeli homes in the area ...

800 National Guard Personnel Mobilized for DC Mission: Pentagon
800 National Guard Personnel Mobilized for DC Mission: Pentagon

All 800 National Guard troops who were ordered to the US capital, Washington, to aid law enforcement personnel by President Donald Trump have now been mobilized, the Pentagon said Thursday. Trump ordered the deployment—which follows a similar move during protests in Los Angeles in June—as part of what he billed as a crackdown on crime in the ...

Gaza Civil Defense Says 17 Killed in Israel Strikes
Gaza Civil Defense Says 17 Killed in Israel Strikes

Gaza's civil defense agency said at least 17 people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes as the military intensified its bombardment of Gaza City. The dead included six civilians who had been waiting for humanitarian aid, said civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal. "The Israeli occupation forces are intensifying their raids in the Zeitun ...

Trump Vows Not To Be Intimidated Ahead of Putin Summit
Trump Vows Not To Be Intimidated Ahead of Putin Summit

US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he would not be intimidated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the eve of a high-stakes summit and said Ukraine would be involved in any deal on its fate. Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump in his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine ...

Turkey Reports Mass Return by Syrians
Turkey Reports Mass Return by Syrians

More than 410,00 Syrians who fled to Turkey during the rule of Bashar al-Assad have returned home since he was overthrown in December, the government announced Thursday. Turkey's interior ministry said 411,649 Syrians had so far returned, the rate picking up in recent weeks, with the immigration service recording 140,000 returns since ...

Russia, Ukraine Exchange 84 Prisoners Each
Russia, Ukraine Exchange 84 Prisoners Each

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 84 prisoners each on Thursday, both sides said, the latest in a series of swaps that has seen hundreds of POWs released so far this year. This latest one came on the eve of a high-level summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday. The Russian defense ministry ...

EU Working 'Non-Stop' to Support Wildfire-Affected Countries
EU Working 'Non-Stop' to Support Wildfire-Affected Countries

The EU said on Thursday it was working "non-stop" to support countries battling wildfires raging across European countries. Extreme summer heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is exacerbating, has fuelled blazes across the region including Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Balkans. "We continue non-stop to work on the support of ...

Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media
Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media

A blast rocked Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday, state media said, reporting four dead and without identifying its cause. Residents told AFP they heard the sound of explosions in the western outskirts of the provincial capital. State news agency SANA reported "an explosion whose cause is unknown in the vicinity of the ...

Putin, Trump to Discuss Settling Ukraine Conflict in Talks: Kremlin
Putin, Trump to Discuss Settling Ukraine Conflict in Talks: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump are to discuss ways to settle the Ukraine conflict during their landmark summit in Alaska on Friday, the Kremlin said. The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia's nearly three-and-a-half ...

Foreign NGOs Say New Israeli Rules Keep Them From Delivering Gaza Aid
Foreign NGOs Say New Israeli Rules Keep Them From Delivering Gaza Aid

New Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza, according to a joint letter signed by more than 100 groups published Thursday. Ties between foreign-backed aid groups and the Israeli government have long been beset by tensions, with officials often complaining the ...