Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Palestinian president names Hussein al-Sheikh vice-president of PLO and his likely successor

Posted on by

Mahmoud Abbas appoints veteran aide to newly created role, making him frontrunner to replace ageing leader

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice-president. It’s a major step by the ageing leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice-president of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the frontrunner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Continue reading...

New details on killing of paramedics in Gaza appear to contradict IDF’s account

Posted on by

Haaretz report comes as supreme court gives Israeli PM more time to respond to affidavit from fired Shin Bet chief

New developments have come to light in the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last month, with evidence reportedly contradicting the Israel Defense Forces’ claim that soldiers did not fire indiscriminately at the medical workers.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that its analysis of the IDF’s own materials collected as part of an internal investigation into the incident contradicted the army’s claim that soldiers did not shoot indiscriminately at Palestinian ambulances and a fire engine in the early hours of 23 March.

Continue reading...

US writers at growing risk of crackdown on free speech, says PEN America

Posted on by

China again biggest jailer of writers in 2024, followed by Iran – with Israel in fifth place, says organisation’s annual report

Writers in the US are at growing risk amid a worldwide crackdown on free speech that has begun to spread to countries previously renowned for unfettered expression and openness, according to a leading writers’ advocacy group.

PEN America said it was concerned about an emerging threat from the Trump administration as it published its annual Freedom to Write index report, which showed that the number of writers jailed worldwide had jumped for the sixth year running to 375 in 2024, compared with 339 the year before.

Continue reading...

Eleven killed in Gaza school shelter as Israel continues bombing campaign

Posted on by

Wave of airstrikes claim at least 25 lives while Arab negotiators make new ceasefire proposal

At least 25 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including 11 in the bombing of a school turned shelter, the strip’s civil defence agency said, as Israel’s war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory grinds on despite a new ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators.

Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 11 in a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The strike ignited a huge fire that claimed most of the casualties, said a civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal.

Continue reading...

Jordan shuts local branch of Muslim Brotherhood after arrests

Posted on by

Ban comes week after 16 members were arrested, accused of threatening national security

Jordan has said it is shutting down the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and banning membership of the Islamist political group.

The ban came a week after Jordan said it had arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood accused of threatening national security by training militants, making explosives and plotting to strike targets in Jordan with rockets and drones.

Continue reading...

Sharon Osbourne urges US to revoke Kneecap rappers’ visas after Israel criticism

Posted on by

Irish language group uses Coachella gig to denounce Gaza attacks, saying ‘Palestinians have nowhere to go’

Sharon Osbourne has urged US authorities to revoke work visas for Kneecap after the Irish language rap group used a performance at Coachella to denounce Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The TV presenter accused the band of hate speech and supporting terrorist organisations and said it should not be allowed to perform in the US. “I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” she exhorted followers on X on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Trump says Hegseth is ‘doing a great job’ despite reports of second Signal chat

Posted on by

US president dismisses criticism of defense secretary sharing information on strikes in Yemen to his family

Donald Trump offered public support for defense secretary Pete Hegseth a day after it emerged that Hegseth had shared information about US strikes in Yemen last month in a second Signal group chat that included family, his personal lawyer and several top Pentagon aides.

“He’s doing a great job. Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump said dismissively, referring to the rebel group in Yemen targeted by those missile strikes, on the sidelines of the White House Easter egg roll event on Monday.

Continue reading...

Humanitarian agencies reject IDF claim Gaza medic killings caused by ‘professional failures’

Posted on by

UN, Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defence service condemn lack of accountability after Israeli investigation

The UN’s humanitarian agency, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza’s civil defence service have rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that concluded the killings of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers in Rafah last month were caused by “professional failures”.

Eight PRCS paramedics, six members of the civil defence rescue agency and one employee of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, were carrying out two rescue missions when they were shot and killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza in the early hours of 23 March.

Continue reading...

Moscow may gain key role in Iran nuclear deal as US talks progress

Posted on by

Russia touted as possible destination for Iran’s uranium stockpile and could also act as arbiter of deal breaches

Russia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches.

Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Continue reading...

Syrian refugee says Home Office ‘breaking my heart’ by refusing dying mother entry to UK

Posted on by

Home Office intervened after initial ruling allowing grandmother with terminal cancer to join family in Glasgow

A Syrian refugee says the Home Office has “broken her heart” by trying to bar her mother, who has weeks to live, from coming to the UK to spend her final days with the grandchildren she has never met.

Ola Al Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015. They had lost their baby after a bombing and were unable to take Al Hamwi’s mother, Soaad Al Shawa, with them.

Continue reading...

Tunisian court hands prison sentences of up to 66 years in mass trial of regime opponents

Posted on by

Opposition says trial was staged to entrench president Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule

A Tunisian court has handed down prison sentences of 13 to 66 years to politicians, businessmen and lawyers in a mass trial that opponents say is fabricated and a symbol of president Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule.

Businessman Kamel Ltaif received the longest sentence of 66 years on Saturday, while opposition politician Khayam Turki was given a 48-year jail term, a lawyer for the defendants said.

Continue reading...

Despair in Gaza as Israeli aid blockade creates crisis ‘unmatched in severity’

Posted on by

Palestinians pushed into new misery as supplies of food, fuel and medicine run out in seven-week siege

Gaza has been pushed to new depths of despair, civilians, medics and humanitarian workers say, by the unprecedented seven-week-long Israeli military blockade that has cut off all aid to the strip.

The siege has left the Palestinian territory facing conditions unmatched in severity since the beginning of the war as residents grapple with sweeping new evacuation orders, the renewed bombing of civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, and the exhaustion of food, fuel for generators and medical supplies.

Continue reading...

Iranian minister says nuclear deal possible if US does not make ‘unrealistic demands’

Posted on by

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will resume talks in Rome on Saturday

Iran’s top negotiator believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear programme with the US is possible as long as Washington is realistic, as the two sides prepare to resume talks in Rome on Saturday.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, and the US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will begin indirect negotiations through mediators from Oman, after their first round in Muscat, which both sides described as constructive.

Continue reading...

Scores killed in US strikes on Yemen fuel port of Ras Isa, Houthi officials say

Posted on by

Death toll reportedly hits 80 with 150 wounded in deadliest attack since Washington launched its campaign

US military strikes on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port have killed at least 80 people including civilians and rescue workers, according to the Houthi-run health ministry, in the deadliest attack since Washington launched its campaign against the Iran-backed militants.

The rebels’ Al-Masirah TV, citing local officials, said the toll from the strike had “risen to 80 dead and 150 wounded”.

Continue reading...

US airstrikes on Houthi oil port in Yemen reportedly kill dozens

Posted on by

Death toll, if confirmed, would make strikes on Ras Isa port one of the deadliest in month-long US campaign

US airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 33 people and wounded 80 others, Houthi-run media said early on Friday, which if confirmed would mark one of the deadliest days of a campaign launched under US President Trump that has involved hundreds of strikes since 15 March.

The strikes hit the Ras Isa oil port and were intended to deprive the rebels of “illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years”, the US military’s Central Command said.

Continue reading...

Wave of Israeli airstrikes kill at least 40 people across Gaza, says Hamas

Posted on by

Missiles hit encampments for displaced Palestinians as talks on response to Israel truce offer ‘almost complete’

A wave of Israeli airstrikes on encampments for displaced Palestinians has killed at least 40 people across Gaza, as Hamas officials said consultations on response to Israel truce offer “almost complete”.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Younis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded.

Continue reading...

ICJ hears Sudan case accusing UAE of ‘complicity in genocide’

Posted on by

United Arab Emirates says Sudan ‘misusing’ world court in proceedings relating to African nation’s civil war

The international court of justice will rule in the next few weeks on whether the United Arab Emirates can be plausibly found “complicit in the commission of genocide” by arming the Rapid Support Forces militia in Sudan’s civil war.

The case was brought by Sudan, whose acting justice minister, Muawia Osman, told the world court in The Hague last week that the country’s “ongoing genocide would not be possible without the complicity of the UAE, including the shipment of arms to the RSF”. Sudan wants ICJ judges to force the UAE to stop its alleged support for the RSF and make “full reparations”, including compensation to victims of the war.

Continue reading...

Israeli minister met David Lammy on ‘private’ visit to UK, Foreign Office says

Posted on by

Activist groups make request for arrest warrant to be issued for Gideon Sa’ar after unannounced trip to London

The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the foreign secretary, David Lammy, met his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, while Sa’ar was on an unannounced visit to London.

The Foreign Office described Sa’ar’s visit as “private”, though it said Lammy had discussed a full range of Middle East issues with the Israeli foreign minister. News of Sa’ar’s presence in the UK – at a time when Israel is intensifying its offensive in Gaza, having ended a ceasefire last month – has triggered outrage among critics of Israel, and a formal request from activists for an arrest warrant to be issued against him on charges of alleged complicity in war crimes.

Continue reading...

Members of leading British Jewish body condemn Israel’s latest actions in Gaza

Posted on by

Signatories from Board of Deputies say in open letter that ‘Israel’s soul is being ripped out’ and they ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ to loss of life

Members of the Board of Deputies, the largest body representing British Jews, have said they can no longer “turn a blind eye or remain silent” over the war in Gaza.

In a significant break with the board’s customary support for the Israeli government, the 36 signatories to an open letter published in the FT say “Israel’s soul is being ripped out”.

Continue reading...

UK conference on Sudan fails to set up contact group for ceasefire talks

Posted on by

Major setback for diplomatic efforts to end two years of civil war as Arab states refuse to sign joint communique

A British-led attempt to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan fell apart on Tuesday when Arab states refused to sign a joint communique after a conference in London.

The daylong argument between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the communique represents a big diplomatic setback for efforts to end two years of civil war in Sudan.

Continue reading...