After five days in a row in which Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli security forces, aggressively entered the Al-Aqsa compound, the number of Palestinians who have been arrested or injured is unknown, local sources told The New Arab on Thursday. For …
Ukraine says 19 prisoners returned from Russian captivity
Ukraine said Thursday it had received 19 military personnel and civilians captured by Russia, in the the latest prisoner swap after two months of fighting. “Today we are returning home 19 people, including 10 military personnel — two of whom are offic…
Turkey’s opposition leader loses power over unpaid bills
Turkey’s main opposition leader said Thursday that his power supply had been cut at home after he stopped paying electricity bills in protest at sharp utility bill hikes. Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) has seized on T…
NATO allies want longer Ukraine war to weaken Moscow: Turkey
Turkey on Wednesday accused some of its NATO allies of wanting the war in Ukraine to last longer in order to weaken Russia. “There are countries within NATO who want the war to continue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk in an in…
Macron warns Le Pen risks ‘civil war’ with hijab ban
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that his far-right rival Marine Le Pen risked sparking a “civil war” if she was elected and implemented her plans to ban the Muslim headscarf in public. During a televised presidential debate, Le Pen co…
Turkey’s top diplomat to visit Israel on May 24
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he will visit Israel on May 24 amid increasing efforts between the regional rivals to mend ties, four years after they expelled ambassadors. Turkey and Israel have in recent weeks been working to mend the…
Sweden opens criminal probe into Ericsson Iraq graft
Swedish prosecutors said Wednesday they had opened up an investigation into cases of corruption involving telecoms giant Ericsson in Iraq, including suspected bribes to the Islamic State (IS) group. Senior Public Prosecutor Leif Gorts confirmed that th…
West warns of Russian cyberattacks on infrastructure
Western governments jointly warned on Wednesday about a potential threat of increased malicious cyber activity by Russia against critical infrastructure as a response to sanctions imposed as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine. The cybersecurity age…
Israel police block far-right protesters from Jerusalem
Israeli police prevented hundreds of Jewish ultra-nationalist protesters from approaching Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter on Wednesday to prevent more violence after weeks of tensions. More than a thousand ultra-nationalist demonstrators carryingIsraeli fla…
Ramadan: not a time for secular religiosity
I’m not going to pontificate on what the true meaning of Ramadan is. Many Muslims will inform you that it’s about spiritual detox, or a time for reflectiveness, or a time of giving. I think all of those are true. For me, I see Ramadan as the potential …