Friday, January 2, 2026

World

EU discussing sanctioning Israel if it refuses to comply with ICJ’s ruling: Irish FM

The European Union is discussing sanctioning Israel if Tel Aviv refuses to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering it to immediately halt its military campaign in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, according to Ireland’s foreign minister.

3 European countries announce formal recognition of Palestinian state

The establishment of a Palestinian state is “the only route to peace” in the Middle East, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has stated as his country announced formal recognition of an independent Palestinian state, alongside Norway and Ireland.

EU says member states disagree on arming Ukraine using Russian funds

An EU plan to use profits from frozen Russian sovereign assets to buy weapons for Ukraine has so far stalled due to resistance from Hungary, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has stated.

Almost 1mn flee Gaza’s Rafah in past 3 weeks amid Israeli offensive

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has reported that in the past three weeks, nearly 1 million Palestinians have fled Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing Israeli incursion into the city.

Russia says NATO raises degree of escalation, goes too far in military rhetoric

NATO is raising the degree of escalation and going too far in military rhetoric, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated in an interview with REN-TV broadcaster.

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over Israel Rafah carnage

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss a deadly Israeli airstrike on a displaced person tent camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to a UN diplomat.

Iran strongly condemns Israel’s deadly carnage in Rafah

The Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed on Monday the Israeli regime’s bloody aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza city of Rafah, which sent shockwaves across the world, and called on the international community to take practical measures to stop the occupying regime’s crimes.

Yemen’s Houthis target cargo vessels, warships in Red Sea and Indian Ocean

Yemen's Houthi fighters have launched fresh attacks on Israeli and US-linked ships sailing in regional waters as part of a campaign to support Palestinians in their struggle against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas warns Israel: Captives in Gaza may return to you as corpses

Palestinian group Hamas has warned Israel the longer it sustains its war against the Gaza Strip, the more likely it is for the Israeli captives to die as a result of the attacks.

Netanyahu calls civilian deaths in Gaza’s Rafah ‘tragic mistake’, over 36k Palestinians killed in strip

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called an Israeli strike that killed at least 45 Palestinians over the weekend in the Gaza city of Rafah a “tragic mistake” and urged an investigation into the civilian casualties. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza.

Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks surges past 36,000

Gaza’s death toll from relentless Israeli attacks since last October has reached 36,050, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave reported on Monday.

Iranian acting FM says Iran and Oman will continue supporting Gaza 

Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri says Iran and Oman will work together seriously to support the people of Gaza.

Iran says no change in Palestine support

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has stated it will make no changes in Iran's foreign policy regarding its unconditional support for Palestine and confronting Israel.

EU says bloc’s credibility at risk over Israeli disregard of ICJ orders

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has stated that the bloc is endangered by the Israeli disregard for orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop military operations in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

UN warns half of Gaza population at imminent risk of famine

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that half of the population of the Gaza Strip is at imminent risk of famine, including around 15,000 pregnant women.

Germany says Ukraine might not become NATO member within next 3 decades

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated that Ukraine might not become a NATO member for the next 30 years.

Ukraine says no country can single-handedly survive war with Russia

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the global community to work together against Russia, stressing that no nation can survive a conflict with Moscow alone.

Saudi Arabia appoints first envoy to Syria in over a decade

Saudi Arabia has appointed its ambassador to Damascus for the first time since the kingdom closed its embassy in Syria in 2012, after violence gripped the country.

France warns EU is in serious danger

The European Union is facing a record number of “external and internal enemies”, who pose an existential threat to the bloc, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned, doubling down on a warning he’d given earlier, that “our Europe” could end up dying.

At least 40 killed in Gaza’s Rafah after Israel hit refugees camp

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and many more injured after Israeli missiles struck a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip which was designated as a safe zone.

Palestinian minister says economy facing unprecedented shock amid Gaza war

Minister of National Economy Mohammed Alamour has warned that the Palestinian economy is facing an "unprecedented" shock, due to the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza Strip.

World Bank says 30% of people in Lebanon live in poverty

One in every three Lebanese people is living in poverty, the World Bank has announced in a report. The organisation noted that poverty rates have tripled in the country over the past decade amid an economic crisis.

Italy says G7 failed to finalize plans for tapping Russian assets

The G7 has not reached a consensus on how to use the revenue generated by Russian central bank assets frozen abroad to help Ukraine, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has stated.

Russia says doesn’t need to draft more soldiers

Russia does not need another mobilization and has been signing up volunteers for contract service, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated, refuting a Financial Times report claiming that such a new draft was being planned.

Several killed in attacks on Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Russia’s Belgorod

Several people have been killed and wounded in separate attacks in Ukraine and Russia, according to officials, as Moscow steps up its offensive in northeast Ukraine.

Latest news