Tag Archives: Syria

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a four-star general to review a 2019 strike in Syria that caused civilian casualties, the Pentagon said on Monday. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that General Michael Garrett, the head of US Army Forces Command, would have 90 days to complete his review …

The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) has announced a US$ 18 million contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in support of its core resources for 2021 and 2022. The total contribution of US$ 18 million will be disbursed in …

The U.S. mediator for indirect talks on border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel said on Thursday that the negotiations he was hoping to revive should be concluded in a short period if they were to succeed. Amos Hochstein, speaking to Al Hadath TV during a visit to Beirut, said holding …

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday Turkey would “do what is necessary for its security” after what it said was a rise in cross-border attacks by Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that an attack that Ankara blamed on the U.S.-backed YPG that killed two …

Turkish intelligence helped Iraq capture a senior Islamic State leader who had been hiding out in northwestern Syria, three security sources said on Tuesday, in an operation that points to closer cooperation against remnants of the jihadist group. Iraq announced on Monday that its security forces had captured Sami Jasim, …

Germany’s outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel will tour Israel’s national Holocaust memorial on Sunday and hold talks with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in her final official visit to the country after 16 years in power. Merkel, making her eighth visit to Israel since taking office in 2005, is expected to lay …

Jordan says it has discussed ways to expedite Egyptian natural gas shipments via its territory and Syria to Lebanon, which is dealing with a grueling energy-crisis. Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh arrived in Beirut late Thursday, the first foreign official to visit Lebanon’s new prime minister who took office earlier this …

A leading Syrian Kurdish politician said on Thursday the United States will stay on in Syria to destroy Islamic State, build infrastructure and remain a player in the search for a political settlement after more than 10 years of civil war. The Kurds, who live in the mountainous region straddling …

Egypt is finalising arrangements to start supplying gas to Lebanon soon under a plan to help ease Lebanon’s power crisis, the two countries’ energy ministers said after meeting on Tuesday. Under an agreement announced last month, Egypt will supply natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline that passes through Jordan …

The Libyan Foreign Minister said on Sunday that some foreign fighters had left the country as the government of national unity sought to mobilize international aid to withdraw those who remained. “The information is correct. There is a very modest start,” Najla Mangoush said at a press conference in Kuwait …

Saudi Arabia confirmed on Sunday it had held its first round of direct talks with Iran’s new government last month, part of a process begun earlier this year to reduce tension between the Gulf’s rival Sunni and Shi’ite Muslim powers. The longtime foes who severed ties in 2016 began talks …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections. The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Tuesday. The summit is scheduled for Oct. 30-31. Plastic straw bans are not helping the oceans Erdogan has recently said that relations between Ankara …

It will take no longer than four weeks to develop a clear roadmap to restart exports of natural gas from Egypt to Lebanon, Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati said following a meeting with his counterparts from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. The readiness of the physical infrastructure …

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla voiced hope that the country can soon export gas to Jordan to help supply Lebanon with electricity, saying Egypt will allocate all capabilities to help end the Lebanese energy crisis and work to quickly send natural gas to Lebanon. Molla’s remarks were made …

A bipartisan group of US Congress lawmakers have called for the suspension of American drone technology transfer to Turkey over concerns about Ankara’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weaponization program. In a letter to American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 27 lawmakers appealed for a temporary hold on Turkish exchanges, including …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday will host Jordan’s King Abdullah, a key U.S. ally in a volatile region, in what will be the first of three face-to-face meetings with leaders from the Middle East expected soon. Abdullah, who faced down a challenge to his authority in April from his …

US President Joe Biden did not secure a commitment from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday to renew a UN cross-border aid operation into Syria, a senior administration official said ahead of an expected showdown over the issue at the United Nations Security Council next month. Washington and several …

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan sounded upbeat after their first face-to-face talks on Monday, although they did not announce major breakthroughs in the relationship between the two allies, at odds over Russian weapons, Syria, Libya and other issues. “We had a positive and productive meeting, much …

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss problematic bilateral ties on Monday including Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles, but there is little hope they will resolve any of several disputes that divide NATO. The two leaders will hold their first face-to-face talks since Biden took …

Netflix has announced a new hardship fund in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (AFAC) to support those most affected by the pandemic in the Arab region’s film and TV community. The fund, valued at $500,000, will provide financial support in the form of individual grants ($2000 …

The refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics has 29 athletes competing in 12 sports. The team selected by the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday was drawn from 55 athletes who fled their home countries and got scholarships to train for the games in a new home country. The 29 — …

U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will meet to discuss Syria, Afghanistan and other regional issues next week and will also look at the “significant differences” between Washington and Ankara, the U.S. national security advisor said on Monday. Speaking at a White House briefing, Jake Sullivan said …

Judges at a U.N. tribunal for Lebanon have scrapped a new trial against the man convicted of the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, because they expect the court to run out of money and be forced to shut down before it can finish. Last year the tribunal, located …

Five Arab movies are set to screen at the US’s Tribeca Film Festival this month among hundreds of international films. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle The 20th edition of the event is set to take place from June 9-20 both as a hybrid event with both …

Syrian authorities are working on extinguishing a fire that erupted in its main Homs refinery in the west of the nation, state media said on Sunday. The fire erupted in a distillation unit due to a leak in a pumping station, it said without elaborating. State television showed live footage …

A close aide of killed Daesh group leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has been caught in Istanbul, police said Sunday. The Afghan national, only identified by the codename Basim, was detained in the Atasehir district on the city’s Asian side on Wednesday, according to an Istanbul police statement. News reports of …

The Israeli army said Tuesday it shot down a drone that crossed into its airspace from Lebanon, and located another drone it had downed previously. “Troops downed a drone that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli airspace in the eastern part of the Blue Line,” an army statement said, referring to …

Iran’s foreign minister said he was forced to sacrifice diplomacy in favor of operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a leaked audio recording. The three-hour interview with Mohammad Javad Zarif, which was obtained by the London-based Iran International television channel, reveals the extent of the IRGC’s control over …

A missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria. The incident, marking the most serious violence between …

Saudi Arabia has been re-elected as a member of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in the Asia section, until 2023. It happened at The Hague, in the Netherlands, on Tuesday during the 25th Session of the Conference of the States Parties, which …

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Sunday on the first visit by a senior representative of the Biden administration, whose stance on Iran has worried Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Austin was due to meet Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz during the two-day visit, …

Three NGOs on Monday announced a landmark legal case in Moscow against Russian mercenary group Wagner over the torture of a detainee in Syria, aiming to hold to account a murky fighting force with Kremlin links. “This litigation is a first-ever attempt by the family of a Syrian victim to …

An Iranian container ship was damaged in an attack in the Mediterranean, the state-run shipping company said on Friday, adding it would take legal action to identify the perpetrators of what it called terrorism and naval piracy. The ship, Shahr e Kord, was slightly damaged in Wednesday’s incident by an …

Pope Francis on Sunday met the father of Alan Kurdi, the boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach six years ago became an image of the suffering of Syrians trying to escape war. The pontiff, winding up a historic trip to Iraq, met Abdullah Kurdi at the end …

Iranian militia groups have active cells operating in the US capital Washington DC and other US cities, according to chatrooms used by the groups. Kawtheryoon Electronic Team, a Telegram network used by Iranian militia groups and supporters, claimed in a recent posting that Iranian “resistance cells are rooted even in …

Israel accused Iran on Wednesday of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism. The spill was caused by an oil tanker that was carrying pirated cargo from Iran to Syria last month, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Gila …

The common interests of Turkey and the United States outweigh their differences and Ankara wants improved cooperation with Washington, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday striking a rare conciliatory tone. Ties between the two NATO allies have been strained over a host of issues. In December, the United States sanctioned …

The UN Security Council has given a green light to keep the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri operating and funded for at least this year. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to the council circulated Friday that the president of …

Former US President Donald Trump had to be talked out of assassinating Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017, according to a former adviser. KT Macfarland, former deputy national security adviser, said Trump insisted that he would “take him out” after seeing pictures of a Syrian regime sarin gas attack on …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not troubled that U.S. President Joe Biden has not phoned him yet, Israel’s ambassador to Washington said on Saturday, seeking to play down the lack of direct contact so far. There has been speculation that the Democratic president could be signalling displeasure over the …

Turkey will not turn back from its acquisition of Russian S-400 defense systems despite U.S. sanctions, it said on Thursday, but added it would seek to resolve issues with its NATO ally through dialogue. In December, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara for acquiring the S-400s on grounds they threaten its …

Pope Francis has called for the war in Syria to end, noting that 2021 marks its 10th anniversary. In an audience with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, the leader of the Catholic Church also confirmed that his visit to Iraq, beginning on March 5, will mark the restart …

Top advisers for Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on the phone on Tuesday, marking the first official contact between the two countries since Biden took office nearly two weeks ago. Erdogan’s Chief Foreign Policy Adviser Ibrahim Kalin and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed …