German police blocked a vigil meant to take place in Berlin on Friday to commemorate Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces as she reported in the occupied West Bank earlier this week. Pro-Palestine Jewish organisati…
China withdraws as 2023 football Asian Cup host due to pandemic
China has withdrawn as the 2023 Asian Cup host due to the coronavirus, football officials said Saturday, with Beijing’s strict zero-Covid strategy dealing another blow to the country’s sporting ambitions. Authorities in China are pursuing a strategy of…
Somalia’s next leader to inherit nation mired in crisis
A violent Islamist insurgency, looming famine, political chaos, and a threadbare economy in tatters – these major crises and more await whoever wins Sunday’s fraught and long-overdue presidential election in Somalia. The troubled Horn of Africa country…
We saw the Nakba through our grandparents’ eyes
History is a reasoned, evidence-based reconstruction of the past, and is read and shared by everyone. Memory, on the other hand, is experiential and deeply personal. This is certainly true for most historical traumas, and for the Nakba generation, the …
EU to provide 500 million euros in military aid to Ukraine
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday the bloc would provide a further 500 millions euros worth of military support to Ukraine and that he was confident a deal could be reached in the coming days to agree an embargo on Russian oil. Speak…
US aim to clarify Turkey stance on Sweden, Finland NATO bid
The United States is working to clarify Turkey’s position on Sweden and Finland’s potential membership to NATO, the top US diplomat for Europe at the State Department said on Friday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is not supportive o…
Lebanon to vote in first election since economic collapse
Lebanese vote on Sunday in the first election since their country’s economic collapse, a test of whether Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies can preserve their parliamentary majority amidst soaring poverty and anger at ruling parties. Expectations are…
Emirates airline announce ‘significantly’ low $1.1 bn loss
Emirates airline announced a “significantly reduced” annual loss of $1.1 billion dollars on Friday, five times lower than a year before, as pandemic travel restrictions ease. Losses came in at 3.9 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion) in the 2021-2022 financi…
Rocket attack on military bus in Syria kills 10 soldiers
A rocket attack on a military bus killed 10 soldiers and wounded nine more in northwest Syria on Friday, state news agency SANA reported, in a deadly flare-up near the frontier with rebel-held territory close to the Turkish border. The bus was hit in t…
Tunisian opposition figure says he is under investigation
The head of a Tunisian opposition party said on Friday he had been summoned for investigation over a radio interview and accused President Kais Saied of attempting to intimidate opponents. Ghazi Chaouachi, the head of Attayar party and a prominent crit…