Middle East

Escalation ‘not the answer,’ UN chief tells Israel

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations chief on Thursday accused Israel of using disproportionate force against Palestinian groups in a recent raid and warned against escalating the violence. A large-scale military operation by Israel in the occupied West Bank earlier this week killed 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier. “There was an excessive force used by Israeli forces,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in New York. Israel has “legitimate concerns over its […]

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Rockets fired from Gaza at Israel as troops withdraw from Jenin

By Rosie Scammel, with Gareth Browne in Ramallah and Jay Deshmukh in Jerusalem Agence France-Presse JENIN, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — The Israeli army said five rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip Wednesday, as the military began withdrawing forces from Jenin in the occupied West Bank after a major two-day operation in the area. Twelve Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed during the assault on Jenin refugee camp, launched early Monday […]

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Israeli forces begin pullout from Jenin camp: army spokesman

JENIN, Palestinian Territories, July 4, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli forces began withdrawing from a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, an army spokesman said, after nearly two days of a large-scale military operation in the area that killed 12 Palestinians. The raid on Jenin refugee camp, launched early Monday under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone strikes and army bulldozers that ripped up streets. […]

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Climate change spells ‘terrifying’ future: UN rights chief

GENEVA, July 3, 2023 (AFP) – Climate change threatens to deliver a “truly terrifying” dystopian future of hunger and suffering, the United Nations’ human rights chief warned Monday. Volker Turk slammed world leaders for only thinking of the short term while dealing with the climate crisis. Turk told a UN Human Rights Council debate on the right to food that extreme weather events were wiping out crops, herds and ecosystems, making it impossible for communities […]

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Saudi summons Swedish ambassador over Koran burning

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has summoned Sweden’s ambassador to denounce a Koran burning outside a Stockholm mosque that sparked a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world, state media reported early Monday. The kingdom — home to the holiest sites in Islam, in Mecca and Medina — had already condemned Wednesday’s incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages alight. […]

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Guard, gunman dead in shooting at US consulate in Saudi

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 29, 2023 (AFP) — Saudi authorities were investigating Thursday after an assailant and a security guard were killed in an exchange of gunfire outside the US consulate in Jeddah, the gateway city for the massive hajj pilgrimage taking place in Mecca. The gunman and a Nepalese security guard both died after the exchange of fire outside the consulate on Wednesday evening, officials said, giving no possible motive for the incident. “At […]

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Israeli volunteers help Palestinians travel to hospitals

By Delphine Matthieussent Agence France-Presse REHAN, Palestinian Territories, June 27, 2023 (AFP) — As dawn broke over the occupied West Bank, Mamoun Abu al-Rob and his son crossed into Israel, where a volunteer was waiting to take them to a hospital. Past the Rehan crossing in the northern West Bank, where Palestinian workers were passing through a dimly lit corridor, Abu al-Rob walked towards Yael Noy’s car as his six-year-old son, Adam, dozed in his […]

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Four shot dead near West Bank settlement

By Ahmad GHARABLI Agence France-Presse AL-LUBBAN ASH-SHARQIYA, Palestinian Territories, June 21, 2023 (AFP) — Four people were shot and killed Tuesday near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials said, a day after an army raid in the territory left six Palestinians dead. The deaths are the latest in a surge of violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which before Tuesday’s shooting had killed at least 166 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, a Ukrainian and […]

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World warming at record 0.2C per decade, scientists warn

PARIS, June 8, 2023 (AFP) – Record-high greenhouse gas emissions and diminishing air pollution have caused an unparalleled acceleration in global warming, 50 top scientists warned Thursday in a sweeping climate science update. From 2013 to 2022, “human-induced warming has been increasing at an unprecedented rate of over 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade,” they reported in a peer-reviewed study aimed at policymakers. Average annual emissions over the same period hit an all-time high of 54 […]

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Fossil fueled: Climate talks begin with spotlight on oil chief

By Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse PARIS, June 5, 2023 (AFP) — The future of fossil fuels — the leading source of planet-heating emissions — will face scrutiny at UN climate negotiations Monday with an under-fire Emirati oil chief poised to step into the driver’s seat. As the world struggles to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, pressure is on the UAE to arrive in Germany with ambitious plans for its presidency of […]

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Saudi population up by a third since 2010: census

RIYADH, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s population has grown by more than one third since 2010, and a majority of the kingdom’s nationals are aged under 30, according to a census published Wednesday. The 2022 Saudi census marks the “most comprehensive and precise population survey conducted in the Kingdom’s history,” the General Authority of Statistics said. It set the total population of the oil-rich country at 32.2 million. Of these, 58.4 per cent […]

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Royal fever sweeps Jordan ahead of crown prince’s wedding

By Mussa Hattar Agence France-Presse AMMAN, May 31, 2023 (AFP) — Jordan is gearing up for Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding on Thursday, an event already greeted with fireworks, concerts and social media frenzy in the usually quiet desert kingdom. The eldest son of King Abdullah II will marry Saudi fiancée Rajwa Al Saif at the grand royal wedding with regional monarchs, US First Lady Jill Biden and the king of the Netherlands among the guests. […]

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