World

Houthis Threaten \
Houthis Threaten "Escalation" after US, UK Strikes

Houthis on Friday threatened to escalate attacks on Red Sea shipping after overnight strikes by the United States and Britain killed 16 people, according to Houthi media. The toll reported by the Houthis' Al-Masirah TV, which AFP could not independently verify, would constitute one of the deadliest strikes since the United States and Britain ...

Swedish Intelligence Accuses Iran of Targeting Israeli Interests in Sweden
Swedish Intelligence Accuses Iran of Targeting Israeli Interests in Sweden

Iran is recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs, some of them children, as proxies to commit "acts of violence" against Israel and others in Sweden that Tehran considers a threat, Sweden's intelligence agency said Thursday. The announcement came two weeks after night-time gunfire was reported outside Israel's embassy in Stockholm, and three ...

NATO Convenes to Discuss Ukraine Using Western Arms Against Russia
NATO Convenes to Discuss Ukraine Using Western Arms Against Russia

NATO foreign ministers gathered in Prague on Thursday in the face of growing calls for leading allies to lift restrictions stopping Kyiv from using Western weapons to strike inside Russia. The two-day meeting in the Czech capital is meant to focus on efforts to hammer out a package of support for Ukraine at NATO's summit in Washington in July, ...

Iran Opens Registration for Presidential Candidates
Iran Opens Registration for Presidential Candidates

Iran on Thursday began the formal registration of presidential candidates ahead of a snap vote next month to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash. "Candidate registration for the 14th presidential elections began at 8 am (0430 GMT)... at the interior ministry," the official IRNA news agency said. Presidential hopefuls ...

Xi Jinping Urges Peace Conference on Israel-Hamas Conflict
Xi Jinping Urges Peace Conference on Israel-Hamas Conflict

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Hamas, as he addressed Arab leaders at a forum aimed at bolstering ties with the region. Xi is this week hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and several other Arab leaders. Itself ...

Houthis Attacked Greek-Owned Ship off Yemen
Houthis Attacked Greek-Owned Ship off Yemen

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi said on Wednesday they attacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier and several other vessels in response to Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. The bulk carrier Laax, a Marshall Islands-flagged and Greek-operated vessel, reported being hit by three missiles on Tuesday, according to US Central Command ...

Brazil Recalls Ambassador to Israel
Brazil Recalls Ambassador to Israel

Brazil recalled its ambassador to Israel and will not immediately appoint a replacement, a diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions between the two countries over Israel's war in Gaza. Relations between Brazil and Israel have soured over the conflict, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accusing the Israeli ...

Xi Jinping Hosts Egypt's Sisi, Ahead of Arab Forum in Beijing
Xi Jinping Hosts Egypt's Sisi, Ahead of Arab Forum in Beijing

President Xi Jinping welcomed Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Beijing on Wednesday, as the Chinese capital hosts a number of Arab dignitaries for a forum it hopes will deepen ties with the region. Several Arab leaders are this week visiting Beijing, which is seeking to present a "common voice" on the conflict between Israel and Hamas ...

Prosecutor Demands Conviction in Trump Trial
Prosecutor Demands Conviction in Trump Trial

Donald Trump engaged in a "conspiracy and a cover-up" to hide hush money payments to a porn star, prosecutors told the jury on Tuesday in closing arguments at the first ever criminal trial of a former US president. Less than six months before American voters choose whether to return Trump to the White House, the stakes riding on the verdict are ...

New Qatar-Financed Village Opens For Displaced in Syria
New Qatar-Financed Village Opens For Displaced in Syria

More than 1,000 new homes for displaced people in northern Syria were inaugurated on Tuesday by Qatar's Red Crescent and Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the Qatari organization said. Mohammad Salah Ibrahim of the Red Crescent said the Qatari-financed village of 1,136 new homes was "the largest village opened to date in ...

Missile Attack Damages Vessel Off Yemen
Missile Attack Damages Vessel Off Yemen

A merchant vessel was "taking on water" off the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Tuesday after it was damaged in a missile attack, maritime security firm Ambrey said. The ship was "targeted with three missiles," Ambrey said, adding that a distress call said it "had sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water." The distress call also ...

Iraq Announces Seizure of 2.5 Million Captagon Pills
Iraq Announces Seizure of 2.5 Million Captagon Pills

Iraqi authorities announced the seizure of 2.5 million captagon pills Tuesday, as the country grapples with a ballooning trade in the banned stimulant. Authorities in Iraq -- a key conduit for the amphetamine-type drug -- regularly announce large hauls of captagon, much of it trafficked across the porous 600-kilometer (370-mile) border with ...