Middle East

42 Feared Dead in Migrant Shipwreck Off Libya: UN
42 Feared Dead in Migrant Shipwreck Off Libya: UN

The United Nations said Wednesday that 42 migrants were missing, presumed dead, after a rubber boat capsized off the Libyan coast last week. It was the latest in a series of similar disasters in a stretch of the Mediterranean Sea that has claimed the lives of more than a thousand people so far this year. Only seven survivors were rescued after ...

Iraq's Sudani Secures 'Major Victory' in General Election: Sources Close to PM
Iraq's Sudani Secures 'Major Victory' in General Election: Sources Close to PM

The list backing incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has scored a big win in parliament after elections, sources close to his alliance told AFP on Wednesday. Sudani's "Reconstruction and Development list has secured a major victory" following the vote on Tuesday, an official close to the premier told AFP. Another two sources ...

Israel Says Key Crossing to North Gaza Opens for Humanitarian Aid
Israel Says Key Crossing to North Gaza Opens for Humanitarian Aid

Israel said it had opened a key crossing into northern Gaza on Wednesday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Nations and other international organizations. "Today, the Zikim crossing has been opened for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip," COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that ...

Neural Nostalgia: The Calming Power of the Music of Our Youth
SpotlightNeural Nostalgia: The Calming Power of the Music of Our Youth

Tuning into an FM station, an old hit slips in between news flashes, and suddenly everything comes rushing back: the taste of an adolescent summer, the warmth of a first love, the carefree lightness of youth. Why do these songs, sometimes simple or even innocent, have such a powerful effect on our mood? In a world where nostalgia seeps into ...

Israel Negotiator Dermer Resigns from Ministerial Post
Israel Negotiator Dermer Resigns from Ministerial Post

Israel's strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, who also led negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire, has announced his resignation from his ministerial post following the return of hostages held in the Palestinian territory. Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spearheaded months of intense negotiations that resulted in the ...

House Vote Likely Wednesday on Ending US Government Shutdown
House Vote Likely Wednesday on Ending US Government Shutdown

The effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown heads Wednesday toward a final vote, as President Donald Trump declared victory in the political face-off and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal. The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the six-week standoff, after eight ...

Turkey Says Military Plane Crash in Georgia Killed all 20 On Board
Turkey Says Military Plane Crash in Georgia Killed all 20 On Board

Turkey on Wednesday said all 20 people onboard a military cargo plane that crashed in Georgia on its return from Azerbaijan had died. The plane had taken off from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon but crashed shortly after crossing the border into eastern Georgia, the defense ministry said after the incident. It said there ...

'Killed on sight': Sudanese Fleeing El-Fasher Recall Ethnic Attacks
Focus'Killed on sight': Sudanese Fleeing El-Fasher Recall Ethnic Attacks

As he fled the Sudanese city of El-Fasher in terror, Hassan Osman said he saw ethnic attacks by paramilitary forces, with civilians targeted for their tribe and skin color. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war with the army since April 2023, captured their last stronghold in western Darfur on October 26. Reports of mass ...

Arrival of US Aircraft Carrier Fuels Venezuelan Fears of Attack
Arrival of US Aircraft Carrier Fuels Venezuelan Fears of Attack

A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America Tuesday, escalating a military buildup Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict, as it announced its own "massive" deployment. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, entered an area under control of the US Naval Forces Southern Command, which ...

Syria and Israel in Direct Talks, Sharaa Says Damascus Ready for ‘New Chapter’ With U.S.
Syria and Israel in Direct Talks, Sharaa Says Damascus Ready for ‘New Chapter’ With U.S.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa confirmed that Syria and Israel have begun direct negotiations for the first time in half a century, signaling a major diplomatic shift in the Middle East as Damascus also seeks to rebuild relations with the United States after decades of hostility. In an interview with The Washington Post after his meeting with ...

Israeli Police Say Settlers Arrested after West Bank Clashes
Israeli Police Say Settlers Arrested after West Bank Clashes

Israel's police and military said Tuesday that security forces arrested several Israeli settlers after violent clashes near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem, during which Palestinians were injured and property was destroyed. The military said it dispatched troops after "masked Israeli civilians... attacked Palestinians and set fire to ...

Iraqi Voters Turn Out in Numbers as Region Watches On
Iraqi Voters Turn Out in Numbers as Region Watches On

Iraqis voted for a new parliament Tuesday, with an unexpectedly high turnout of more than 55 percent, at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region. Iraq, which has long been vulnerable to proxy wars and is closely watched by Iran and the United States, has recently regained a sense of stability. But, even as it tries to move past two ...