Friday, January 16, 2026

Middle East

Iran FM says Tehran welcomes resumption of talks with Saudi Arabia

The Iranian foreign minister has voiced Tehran’s readiness to resume talks with Saudi Arabia over mending bilateral ties.

PM says Iraq does not need foreign combat troops

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has said his country is in no need of foreign combat forces on its soil.

Two Palestinian men shot dead by Israeli soldiers in West Bank

A young Palestinian man has died of wounds sustained when Israeli forces stormed the northern part of the West Bank. His death comes hours after another Palestinian youth was shot dead during a separate incursion into the occupied territory.

Turkish FM says Iranian foreign minister to visit Turkey next week

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, would travel to Turkey next week amid Moscow's efforts to convene a meeting between the top Turkish, Syrian and Russian diplomats.

Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in WB

Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, Israeli paramedics and Palestinian authorities have confirmed.

Report: Dozens of civilians killed by UK and US weapons in Yemen in a year

At least 87 civilians were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen using US and UK supplied weapons between January 2021 and February 2022, according to a new Oxfam analysis.

Egypt president warns of ‘very difficult’ times as inflation rises

Egypt continues to battle surging inflation amid a dramatic slide of its currency and price hikes, the country’s statistics bureau has reported. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described the situation as “very difficult”, urging people to trust his administration.

UNSC extends critical aid to Syria

The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to keep a key border crossing from Turkey to Syria’s rebel-held northwest open for critical aid deliveries for another six months.

Saudi Arabia lifts Covid-related restrictions on Hajj pilgrims quota

There will be no limit on the number of pilgrims who can attend the Hajj in 2023, Saudi Arabia has announced, following three years of restrictions on the pilgrimage due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Israeli minister orders police to remove Palestine flags from public places

Israel’s new far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces. He has also called waving the Palestinian national symbol an act of “terrorism”.

Top US diplomats to visit Israel within days, Iran on agenda

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel at the end of the month to get a better understanding of the new government's agenda. Prior to Blinken's visit, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to arrive in Israel on January 19.

Yemen urges rights groups to stop Saudi ‘genocide’ in border regions

Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights has strongly condemned Saudi atrocities against Yemeni civilians and African migrants in border areas, calling on international rights organizations to put an end to the Riyadh genocide.

Houthis warn Saudi Arabia, UAE of more attacks as MbS seeking a way out of “Yemen quagmire”

Yemen's Ansarullah movement says the Saudi-led coalition has exploited a UN-sponsored truce to tighten the brutal blockade against the war-wracked country, stressing that it won’t allow the status quo to persist, and will inevitably launch missile strikes against Saudi Arabia and its ally the UAE.

Thousands march in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s cabinet

Thousands of Israelis took to streets in Tel Aviv against Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist cabinet, which is predicted to set off a menacing policy trend.

Israel says has approved “punitive” measures to Palestinian moves at ICJ

Israel says it has approved a series of "punitive measures" in response to a Palestinian bid to push the International Court of Justice to give its opinion on the decades-old occupation of Palestine.

UNSC memebrs stress on  al-Aqsa status quo but take no action

The UN Security Council stressed on the need to maintain the status quo at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. But the UNSC member states did not commit to any action days after Israel’s new far-right security minister made a controversial visit to the site, which Palestinian leaders called “an unprecedented provocation."

Iraq says will prosecute masterminds and perpetrators behind murder of Gen. Soleimani, al-Mohandis

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, Judge Faeq Zaidan has stated that Baghdad will surely prosecute the masterminds and perpetrators of terror operation against Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Deputy Chief of Iraq's popular forces - Hashd al-Shaabi - Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis.

Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian teenager in WB

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian teenager during a raid on a refugee camp in northern West Bank on Thursday.

UAE FM meets with Syria president as sign of normalization with Damascus

The United Arab Emirates' foreign minister has visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad in the capital Damascus, in yet another sign of Arab countries' efforts to normalize ties with Syria.

Iranian VP: Saudis ready to resume talks with Iran

The Iranian vice president for parliamentary affairs says Saudi Arabia is ready to resume negotiations with Iran.

EU calls for preserving status quo at al-Quds holy sites

The European Union has underlined that the status quo of holy sites in the occupied Old City of al-Quds should be preserved. It comes after Israel's new far-right “national security” minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in what Palestinians called a breach of international laws.

Nasrallah says US killed Gen. Soleimani to save Israel

The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has said the United States assassinated top Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani with the goal of weakening the resistance front and eliminating threats to Israel.

Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli soldiers in West Bank

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian teenager during a raid on a refugee camp in the southern part of the West Bank. It comes less than 24 hours after two Palestinian men lost their lives in a similar Israeli attack in a village near the city of Jenin.

Saudi-led war on Yemen leaves thousands of civilians dead or injured in 2022: Report

At least 3,000 civilians, including women and children, were killed or injured in the airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen in the year 2022, according to a rights group.

Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinians in West Bank

The Israeli Army troops have killed two Palestinian men during a raid on a village near the city of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

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