Middle East
Bangladesh to initiate safe return of citizens from Lebanon
The government has taken an initiative to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis in phases, who got stuck in troubled Lebanon, with the first batch's likely arrival on October 21
Israeli air strikes hit Beirut, south Lebanon
An Israeli airstrike yesterday destroyed the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon, killing the mayor and at least five others as they met to coordinate aid for those suffering from war.
Strikes hits south Beirut after Israeli military evacuation order
Strikes hit south Beirut on Wednesday, an AFP journalist saw, less than an hour after the Israeli military ordered residents to leave part of the Lebanese capital
Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 50 Palestinians
Israeli military strikes killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces tightened their squeeze around Jabalia in the north of the enclave yesterday, amid fierce battles with Hamas-led fighters.
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli targets
Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli naval base yesterday, a day after a drone strike killed four soldiers in the deadliest attack on Israel since the war in Lebanon began.
Israel steps up military pressure in north Gaza
Palestinian medics said yesterday that at least 10 people were killed and 30 injured by Israeli tank shells that hit a food distribution centre in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, with casualties including women and children.
IMAGES OF LIVING THINGS in afghanistan / Taliban vow to enforce media ban
Afghanistan’s Taliban morality ministry yesterday pledged to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced.
US to send anti-missile system and troops to Israel, Pentagon says
US President Joe Biden said the move was meant "to defend Israel," which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Oct 1
Kurds find mass grave of ‘IS victims’ in Iraq
Kurdish forces in northern Iraq yesterday found a mass grave containing the bodies of at least 11 Iraqi policemen presumed killed by jihadists, a peshmerga security official said.
UN says hunger on the rise in the Arab world
A third of people in the 420-million-strong Arab world do not have enough to eat, the United Nations said yesterday, highlighting that 69 million suffered from malnutrition last year.
Muslims worldwide can now touch Kaaba’s Black Stone virtually
Saudi Arabia has launched a new initiative that will allow Muslims all around the world to touch the Black Stone at the Kaaba in Makkah virtually.
Top military official killed in fight for Yemen’s Marib
A senior Yemeni military commander was among 28 troops killed in fighting between government forces and Huthi rebels for the strategic city of Marib, defence ministry sources said yesterday.
Israel’s PM meets crown prince on historic UAE visit
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Abu Dhabi’s crown prince yesterday after becoming the first leader of the Jewish state to visit the United Arab Emirates, a year after the establishment of ties.
3 killed in shooting at Palestinian camp
Three members of the Islamist group Hamas were killed and others injured in a shooting on Sunday in the Palestinian camp of Burj al-Shemali in Lebanon, the group said, blaming the bloodshed on rival forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli PM meets Abu Dhabi crown prince on historic visit
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Abu Dhabi's crown prince on Monday after becoming the first leader of the Jewish state to visit the United Arab Emirates, a year after the establishment of ties.
After UAE legalised premarital sex, unwed mothers still in limbo
Over a dozen unmarried women huddled in a jail cell south of Dubai last year, locked up for the crime of giving birth, when a guard entered and declared them free.
‘We never had anything like this here’
Buildings razed, cars overturned, trees ripped from the ground -- there were end-of-the-world scenes in the small Kentucky town of Mayfield.
Iran stays firm amid pressure
World powers and Iran have been locked in talks on reviving their nuclear deal, with a European source saying they were working from texts discussed five months ago and Iranian officials saying they were sticking to a tough stance from last week.