Finland elects new president to take over top job in NATO’s newcomer and Russia’s neighbor HELSINKI: Finland has a new president after former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb narrowly won a runoff vote Sunday for the key post in this Nordic country. Stubb, who takes over in March, will steer Finland’s foreign and security policy, including … Read more
BEIRUT: A local Hezbollah official was seriously wounded Monday in an Israeli air strike on his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told AFP. Israeli forces and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily fire since war broke out on October 7 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group in … Read more
AL-MUKALLA: The US Central Command said on Thursday that its forces had launched strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, targeting anti-ship missiles ready for launch, as Yemen’s militia leader pledged to continue Red Sea attacks. In a post on X, CENTCOM said that on Wednesday night, its forces struck two Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles … Read more
DUBAI: Being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing a lengthy course of treatment is a frightening prospect at any time. Enduring such an ordeal in wartime is a different league of terror altogether. Some 2 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been displaced by months of intense Israeli bombardment, while strict controls on the entry of … Read more
Gates Foundation CEO urges billionaires to increase philanthropic contributions in annual letter LONDON: In his annual letter published on Thursday, Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, urged philanthropists to increase their donations and take immediate action to address the unparalleled struggles countries face in combatting poverty, diseases, and inequality. The Gates … Read more
LONDON: Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has spared no one, burying entire families under the rubble of their own homes, paralyzing essential healthcare facilities and traumatizing the Palestinian enclave’s population of 2.3 million — of whom, according to the Euro-Med Monitor, at least 130,000 were living with permanent disabilities before the conflict. Amid the persistent … Read more
Siege is a ‘silent killer’ as Gazans face ‘debilitating’ struggle to survive, says UN agency chief NEW YORK CITY: The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on Thursday called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, to provide some relief for the population there and clear … Read more
CAIRO: Egyptian people have made great achievements in country-building during the era of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Cairo on Sunday. He was speaking at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Egypt was the first stop of the Chinese foreign minister’s tour in Africa, followed … Read more
BEIRUT: Israel has continued its strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon amid mounting fears of a war on the border. Hezbollah also struck back against targets in Israel despite warnings from Israeli officials. Reports in local Lebanese and Israeli media say that Israel’s provocative targeting of Hezbollah could lure the group into all-out conflict. Since … Read more
AMMAN: Jordan’s foreign minister on Sunday strongly criticized Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, describing them as “barbaric aggression” and warning of a potentially dangerous escalation in the region.Speaking to Jordan News Agency, Ayman Safadi said Israel is killing innocent people, depriving over 2.3 million Palestinians of water, food and medicine, and attempting to displace … Read more