Middle East

Leaders of 18 nations call on Hamas to release hostages

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – The leaders of the United States, Britain, France and more than a dozen other countries called in a joint statement Thursday for Hamas to release the scores of hostages it is holding. Hamas seized the hostages during a shock October 7 attack that sparked the deadliest ever war between it and Israel, which has vowed to eleminate the Palestinian militant group. “We call for the immediate release of all […]

US House approves Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid, threatens TikTok

By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, April 21, 2024 (AFP) – The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine in a rare show of bipartisan unity, while also bolstering Israel and Taiwan defenses and threatening to ban Chinese-owned TikTok. The four bills in the $95 billion package were overwhelmingly approved in quick succession, though they leave the future of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in some doubt as he seeks to fend […]

Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran

TEHRAN, April 20, 2024 (AFP) – World leaders appealed for calm Friday after reported Israeli retaliation against Iran added to months of tense spillover from the war in Gaza, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in a central province. Israeli officials made no public comment on the attack and Iranian officials played down its significance. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israeli micro-drones used in the operation had caused no deaths or damage, dismissing it […]

US embassy in Israel tells employees to limit movement

JERUSALEM, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The United States embassy in Israel on Friday told its employees and their families to restrict their movements after reports that Israel conducted a strike inside Iran. “Out of an abundance of caution following reports that Israel conducted a retaliatory strike inside Iran, US government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv” area as well as the Jerusalem and Beersheva areas […]

Three Filipinos dead in UAE floods: officials

DUBAI, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Three workers from the Philippines have died in heavy flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Filipino officials announced, as the desert country struggled on Friday to recover from record rains. Two women suffocated inside their vehicle during the flooding and one man died when his vehicle fell into a sinkhole, the Philippine’s Department of Migrant Workers said in a statement. The women died in Dubai — the first confirmed […]

IAEA says ‘no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites’

VIENNA, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – There has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites following explosions Friday in the centre of Iran that have been described as Israeli revenge attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. “IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites,” the Vienna-based agency said on X, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation. The agency called for “extreme restraint from everybody” and added that […]

United States had advance warning of Israel attack on Iran: US media

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The United States received advance notice of Israel’s reported strike on Iran but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its execution, US media quoted officials as saying. NBC and CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter and a US official, respectively, said Israel had provided Washington with pre-notification of the strike. Various networks cited officials confirming a strike had taken place inside Iran, with CNN […]

Explosions in Iran, US media reports Israeli strikes

TEHRAN, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Iran’s state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival. Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan. Israel had previously warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones […]

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

By Talek Harris, Sahar Al-Attar and Amanda Mouawad DUBAI, April 17, 2024 (AFP) – Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding and its major airport was in chaos as the Middle East financial centre remained gridlocked on Wednesday, a day after the heaviest rains on record. Tailbacks snaked along waterlogged, six-lane expressways after up to 259.5 millimetres (10.2 inches) of rain, the most since records began 75 years ago, fell on the desert United Arab […]

Dubai airport diverts flights as ‘exceptional weather’ hits Gulf

By Talek Harris with Rasha Al Ebrahim in Manama Dubai’s major international airport diverted scores of incoming flights on Tuesday as heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding around the desert country. The world’s busiest air hub for international passengers confirmed a halt to arrivals at 7:26 pm (1526 GMT) before announcing a “gradual resumption” more than two hours later. Earlier the airport, which had been expecting more than 100 flight arrivals […]

Oman floods kill 14 including schoolchildren

MUSCAT, April 15, 2024 (AFP) – Flooding in Oman has killed at least 14 people, many of the schoolchildren, authorities said following the discovery of the bodies of a woman and child on Monday. The Gulf sultanate’s official news agency initially reported on Sunday nine schoolchildren and three adults had “lost their lives after their vehicles got swept away in gushing wadi waters”. Five others individuals were reported missing in the floods that struck the […]

Iran tells UN Israel attack was ‘self-defense,’ had ‘no choice’

  UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 14, 2024 (AFP) – Iran’s United Nations envoy told the Security Council Sunday that the Islamic republic was exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” in its unprecedented attack on Israel. “The Security Council… failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security” after Israel’s apparent strike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month, Amir Saeid Iravani said. Therefore, Tehran “had no choice” but to respond, he […]