Mideast News Stories
How Trump has already changed the world
(CLOCKWISE from top) Former US president Barack Obama greets former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton; incoming Secretary of State Mark Rubio speaks to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg; while, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SpaceX...
photo: AP / Photo/Hiro Komae
'We slept in peace': War-weary Gazans savour truce's first night
For the first time in more than a year, war-displaced Gazan Ammar Barbakh awoke on Monday feeling refreshed after a night spent in a tent, but free of Israeli attacks.'This is the first time I sleep comfortably and I'm not afraid,' Barbakh, 35, told AFP a day after a fragile truce in the...
photo: AP / Majdi Mohammed
EU mulls 'staged approach' to suspending sanctions on Syria
The European Union is exploring a gradual suspension of several economic sanctions on Syria to aid the country's transition while maintaining some leverage, according to two i ......
photo: AP / Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy
As ceasefire takes hold, Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages and Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners
After 15 months of collective grief and anxiety, three Israeli hostages left Hamas captivity and returned to Israel, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners walked free from Israeli jail, leaving both Israelis and Palestinians torn between celebration and trepidation as the ceasefire between Israel and...
photo: AP / Abed Hajjar
Gaza ceasefire finally begins after three hours of delay and Israeli strikes
The long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has finally come into effect, behind schedule by almost three hours, during which Israeli forces continued to strike Gaza, blaming the militant group’s failure to release the names of the hostages due to be released on Sunday. The ceasefire finally...
photo: AP / Jehad Alshrafi
Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect Sunday morning, officials say
The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rushed to...
photo: AP / Fatima Shbair
Netanyahu: Israel reserves right to resume war in Gaza if necessary
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume its war against Hamas “with full force” if the terror group breaks the ceasefire. In a speech as Israel awaited the release of the first hostages, Mr Netanyahu said both President Biden and President Donald Trump promised him Israel had the...
photo: AP / Ohad Zwigenberg
Gaza Ceasefire: Israel to Release 737 Prisoners in Truce Deal
AFP | Jerusalem Email : The Israeli government announced the release of 737 prisoners and detainees as part of the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, marking a significant step toward halting the ongoing conflict. The Justice Ministry confirmed the cabinet's approval of...
photo: AP / Abdel Kareem Hana
Overcrowding endemic in Pakistan’s prison system: report
KARACHI: Pakistan’s prisons are housing 152 per cent of their authorised capacity, while three-quarters of the total inmates are either aw­­aiting or undergoing trial, according to a report. The report, titled Pakistan’s Prison Landscape: Trends, Data, and Developments in 2024, highlig­h­ted that...
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed
Syria's New Regime Seizes Cargo of Iranian Weapons in Tartus
Under the administration of former dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syria's government gave Iran a logistics pipeline to supply Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, the most powerful member of Iran's "Axis of Resistance" in the Mideast. Assad was ousted in December after 13 years of civil war, and...
photo: AP / Omar Albam

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