Friday, January 2, 2026

World

Bahraini official says relations with Iran will be restored soon

The first deputy speaker of Bahrain’s Council of Representatives has stated the Persian Gulf kingdom intends to take measures soon to revive diplomatic ties with neighboring Iran after more than eight years of severed ties.

Hamas says killed, captured Israeli soldiers in Gaza

A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday its fighters had killed, wounded or captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Hamas rejects talk of new negotiations with Israel over Gaza war

Hamas official Osama Hamdan has stated that there is no need for new negotiations with Tel Aviv, amid Israeli media reports that there is an intention to renew Gaza truce talks.

Acting president: Iran will continue late president Raisi’s policy toward Iraq 

Iran's acting president says Tehran will continue late president Ebrahim Raisi’s policy on Iraq with full force. Mohammad Mokhber was speaking with visiting Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid who has arrived in Tehran at the top of a high-ranking political delegation.

Let Ukraine freely strike Russia with western weapons: NATO head

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has argued that members of the Western military bloc should let Ukraine freely use their arms to launch strikes deeper into Russian territory.

Yemen’s Houthis say targeted three Israeli-linked ships

Yemen’s Houthi fighters have announced carrying out three pro-Palestinian operations, striking two Israeli ships and one headed towards the occupied territories.

Rights groups urge Biden to halt Israel arms transfers after ICJ ruling

Rights groups have renewed calls for US President Joe Biden to halt weapons transfers to Israel, after the United Nations’ top court ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and allow aid into the area.

UN chief pays respects to late Iranian president, foreign minister

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutters visited Iran’s Permanent Mission in New York on Friday and paid tribute to the late Iranian president and foreign minister who lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash.

Saudi crown prince calls Iran interim president, urges ties improvement

Interim Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber, in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stressed that West Asia is in desperate need of improving relations between Tehran and Riyadh.

US announces $275Mn arms package for Ukraine

The United States is providing a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $275 million to include additional high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) ammunition and 155mm artillery rounds, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated.

US preparing for ‘prominent’ role in post-war Gaza: Report

The United States wants a “prominent” role in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian enclave ends, Politico has reported. Washington expects a joint Palestinian-Arab force of several thousand troops to take charge of security in the blockaded territory after the current conflict.

Late Iran’s president had great faith in Palestinian cause, resistance: Hezbollah Chief

The secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has stated that Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was a political figure with “great faith” in the Palestinian cause and the resistance front.

ICJ orders Israel to halt military operation against Gaza’s Rafah

Judges at the top United Nations court have ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from the besieged enclave, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Tel Aviv of genocide, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.

Putin says Zelensky no longer legitimate Ukraine’s president

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky's legitimacy has expired, and Moscow will proceed from this fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated.

World Bank warns of Palestinian Authority’s financial collapse amid Gaza war

The Palestinian Authority is facing the possibility of financial collapse, the World Bank has warned in a report, as revenue streams run dry and economic activity drops precipitously against the backdrop of the besieged Gaza war.

Rights organizations call on Biden to respect ICC independence

A total of 121 human rights and civil society groups have urged US President Joe Biden to respect and support the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to reject sanctions threatened against the court’s officials.

Russia claims Ukrainian intelligence ‘directly involved’ in Moscow’s March terror attack

Ukrainian military intelligence was directly involved in the deadly terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March, the director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, has claimed.

EU staff express concerns over union’s handling of Gaza war

More than 200 staff members of EU institutions and agencies have signed a letter expressing “growing concern” over the union’s response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. They have argued that it runs contrary to its core values and the aim of promoting peace.

Report: Pro-Israel groups fund one-third of UK Conservative MPs

A third of elected politicians in Britain’s ruling Conservative Party have received funding from pro-Israel lobby groups, according to a report.

Russia president lays groundwork for confiscation of US assets

The property of US-linked entities will be held liable for any confiscation of Russian assets by the US government, according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

Moscow cautions Ukraine seeking to spark direct NATO-Russia clash

Calls by American lawmakers to allow Ukraine to use foreign-made weapons against targets deep in Russian territory play into Kiev’s hands, as they encourage a direct clash between Moscow and NATO, Russis’s Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has warned.

Western officials say cutting off Palestine from global banking system would be ‘catastrophic’

Western officials have warned of an “economic catastrophe” in the occupied West Bank if Israel does not renew a banking waiver vital to the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Financial Times has reported.

Israel has killed just 30-35 percent of Hamas fighters in 7 months of Gaza war: US sources

Only 30 to 35 percent of Hamas fighters have been killed after more than seven months of Israel's military operations against the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, US intelligence sources told Politico.

Moscow blasts EU decision to use income from Russian assets

Moscow has castigated the decision by the EU to use income from frozen Russian sovereign assets to help Ukraine as expropriation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated.

PA’s Mahmoud Abbas urges other countries to recognize Palestinian state

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed Ireland, Norway and Spain's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, calling on other countries to follow their lead.

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