Middle East

Lufthansa stops using Iran airspace and keeps halt on Tehran flights

FRANKFURT, Germany, April 12, 2024 (AFP) – German airline Lufthansa said Friday its planes would no longer use Iranian airspace as it extended a suspension on flights to and from Tehran amid soaring Middle East tensions. “Due to the current situation, Lufthansa is suspending its flights to and from Tehran up to and including Thursday, 18 April,” a company spokesperson said Friday. “The airline is also no longer using Iranian airspace.” Its subsidiary Austrian Airlines […]

Defense minister says Israel ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with US on Iran

JERUSALEM, April 12, 2024 (AFP) – Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday that Israel and the United States were “shoulder to shoulder” in facing the threat from Iran, after talks with US Central Command chief Michael Kurilla. “Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true — they are bringing us together and strengthening our ties”, Gallant said, after the two discussed Iran’s threats of retaliation […]

Iranian threat to Israel ‘real’: White House

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2024 (AFP) – Iran’s threats of reprisals against Israel after a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals remain “real,” the White House said on Friday. “We still deem the potential threat by Iran here to be real, to be viable,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists. Kirby would not confirm reports that US officials considered an Iranian attack “imminent” or comment on whether the United States […]

US sent seized Iran weapons, ammo to Ukraine

By W.G. DUNLOP WASHINGTON, April 9, 2024 (AFP) – Washington has given Ukraine small arms and ammunition that were seized while being sent from Iranian forces to Tehran-backed rebels in Yemen, the US military said Tuesday. The transfer last week came as Ukraine suffers from significant shortages of ammunition and US Republican lawmakers block new aid, but it does not address Kyiv’s need for key items such as artillery and air defense munitions. “The US […]

Israeli withdrawal from southern Gaza likely just troop ‘refit’: W.House

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2024 (AFP) – Israel’s partial withdrawal from the southern Gaza Strip is likely so its troops can “rest and refit,” rather than a move towards a new operation, the White House said on Sunday. “They’ve been on the ground for four months, the word we’re getting is they’re tired, they need to be refit,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC’s “This Week,” though he stressed that it was “hard to […]

Israel pulls troops out of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza: army, media

JERUSALEM, April 7, 2024 (AFP) – Israel on Sunday pulled all its troops out of southern Gaza, including from the city of Khan Yunis, the military and Israeli media said, after months of fierce fighting with Hamas militants left the area devastated. But the military said a “significant force” will continue to operate in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip. “The 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis,” the army said […]

Israeli army says body of hostage recovered from Gaza

JERUSALEM, April 6, 2024 (AFP) – Israel’s army said on Saturday its troops recovered the body of a hostage abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack and later murdered in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The recovery of Elad Katzir’s body brings to 12 the number of bodies of hostages which the army says it has brought home from Gaza during the war. But it gave no comfort to his sister, who blamed […]

Bulgaria, Romania take first steps into Europe’s visa-free zone

By Diana Simeonova with Antrada Lautaru SOFIA, March 31, 2024 (AFP) – Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe’s vast Schengen area of free movement on Sunday, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks after a 13-year wait. A veto by Austria however means the new status will not apply to land routes, after Vienna expressed concerns over a potential influx of asylum seekers. Despite the partial membership, the lifting of controls at the […]

Israeli soldiers hurt, knifeman killed at bus station: police

JERUSALEM, March 31, 2024 (AFP) – Israeli police said a man was shot dead Sunday after stabbing an Israeli soldier at bus station in the southern city of Beersheva. Another soldier was wounded in the attack, police said, and the Israeli army said one of its troops then “neutralised the terrorist”. The Israeli military said an “IDF officer was lightly injured as a result of a stabbing attack” as police said the attacker was killed […]

Deadly chaos at Gaza aid distribution as WHO renews hospital warning

By Adel Zaanoun with Fiachra Gibbons in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, March 30, 2024 (AFP) – An aid delivery in Gaza descended into chaos on Saturday with shots fired and a Red Crescent paramedic reporting five dead, as almost six months of Israeli bombardment has left hundreds of thousands in desperate need. Israel’s siege, sparked by a deadly militant attack on October 7, brings nightly air strikes and in recent days major operations around […]

Israel’s Netanyahu approves new Gaza ceasefire talks

By Adel Zaanoun with Joshua Melvin in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, March 29, 2024 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Friday new talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a day after the world’s top court ordered Israel to ensure urgent humanitarian aid reaches people in the Palestinian territory. But despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an “immediate ceasefire”, fighting continued Friday, including around hospitals. Regional fallout from the […]

Iran releases remaining Filipino crew members from seized tanker (St. Nikolas)

The Philippines said Wednesday that Iran has freed all 18 Filipino crew members of an oil tanker that was seized in the Gulf of Oman in January. Iran’s navy had boarded the Greek-owned St. Nikolas, which was carrying 19 crew, off the coast of Oman. The only Greek crew member was released the following week. Tehran began freeing the Filipino crew in batches at the end of January after a replacement crew was hired from […]