Top Lebanese official in IMF talks calls for central bank head to resign amid corruption allegations
May 18, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese official heading talks with the International Monetary Fund to bail out Lebanon's tanking economy called Thursday for the country's embattled central bank chief to resign, amid allegations of corruption and an international arrest warrant issued against him.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Jewish nationalists, some of them chanting “Death to Arabs” and other racist slogans, paraded on Thursday through the main Palestinian thoroughfare of Jerusalem’s Old City, in an annual display that caused new friction between Jews and Palestinians in the tense city.
Syrian president heads to Saudi Arabia for regional summit, sealing country’s return to Arab fold
May 18, 2023 GMTJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad headed to Saudi Arabia on Thursday to attend a regional summit, his first visit to the oil-rich kingdom since Syria’s conflict began in 2011, the president's office said.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The ruling Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday called on Palestinians to confront a flag-waving parade planned by Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City.
British financier ordered by UAE high court to repay $1.7 billion bilked in tax fraud
May 17, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates' highest court Tuesday ordered a British hedge fund trader convicted of orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud to pay that amount to Denmark's tax authority.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A Jordanian lawmaker has been indicted on charges that he illegally smuggled scores of rifles and handguns into the occupied West Bank through an Israeli-controlled crossing, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Arab foreign ministers welcome Syria’s return to the Arab League ahead of Jeddah summit
May 17, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Arab foreign ministers Wednesday in Saudi Arabia welcomed back Syria to the Arab League and called for a cease-fire in conflict-hit Sudan ahead of the organization's annual summit taking place in the kingdom.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad received an invitation to attend the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai later this year, even as the yearslong war in his country over his rule grinds on.
UN envoy cautiously optimistic Yemen’s warring parties will resume UN-led negotiations
May 17, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Yemen expressed “cautious optimism” Wednesday that the country’s warring parties will return to U.N.-led negotiations to end their deadly eight-year conflict.
France issues arrest warrant for Lebanese central bank governor
May 16, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A French investigative judge Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Lebanon's embattled central bank governor after he didn't show up for questioning in France on corruption charges, a Western diplomat said.
A rare, endangered seal named Yulia basks on Tel Aviv beach
May 16, 2023 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An unexpected visitor spotted sunbathing on a beach in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv is turning heads and causing a media buzz.
But it's not American film director and Tel Aviv mainstay, Quentin Tarantino, or another Hollywood celebrity — it's Yulia, an endangered Mediterranean monk seal.
Parliament spokesperson says one of Libya’s rival administrations suspends prime minister
May 16, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — One of Libya’s two administrations voted Tuesday to suspend and investigate its prime minister, accusing him of failing to achieve his government’s objectives, the parliament’s spokesperson said.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman Air said Tuesday that one of its Boeing 737s had been grounded in Iran after sustaining damage “caused by debris on the runway” at Shiraz International Airport.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A court has sentenced moderate Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi to a year in prison for allegedly referring to police officers as tyrants in what his party said Tuesday amounted to a sham trial.
Sudan military chief freezes bank accounts of rival armed group in battle for control of the nation
May 16, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military chief ordered the freezing of all bank accounts belonging to a rival paramilitary force, the latest step in a fight for control of the resource-rich nation.
The two sides have battled for weeks across Sudan, pushing the troubled country to the brink of all-out war.
Abbas urges UN to suspend Israel during first commemoration of 1948 flight of the Palestinians
May 15, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the United Nations on Monday to suspend Israel’s membership unless it implements resolutions establishing separate Jewish and Arab states and allows the return of Palestinian refugees.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Baseball United, which swung for the sports history fences by establishing the first professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia, announced Monday its first franchise, the Mumbai Cobras.
Cartier uses images of Amazon tribe devastated by illegal gold mining. Critics call that hypocrisy
May 15, 2023 GMTBOA VISTA, Brazil (AP) — Until two months ago, Cartier’s website showed Yanomami children playing in a green field.
The French luxury jewelry brand said it was working to promote the culture of the Indigenous people and protect the rainforest where they live, in a vast territory straddling Brazil and Venezuela.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Israel’s foreign minister on Monday paid a visit to Sweden in a new sign of warming ties between the two nations.
Eli Cohen said his visit to Stockholm was the first visit by an Israeli foreign minister to Sweden in 22 years.
Back in the Arab League after 12 years, Syria urges group to invest in war-torn country
May 15, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria on Monday called on Arab countries to invest in the war-torn nation, now again a member of the Arab League. The appeal from Syria's economy and trade minister came during an economic conference in Saudi Arabia ahead of a league summit in the kingdom.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and Israel are working on a deal to build a pipeline that will convey natural gas from both countries to the east Mediterranean island nation, where it will be liquefied for export by ship to Europe and potentially elsewhere, the Cypriot energy minister said Monday.
ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — The café outside Aswan station was full of Sudanese families, surrounded by luggage and waiting for the train to Cairo, the next leg in their arduous journey escaping violence that has torn apart their country and overturned their lives.
Israeli forces shoot, kill Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say
May 15, 2023 GMTRAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest death in a spiral of violence that has rocked the region.
Family with disabled children among hundreds of Gaza’s homeless after latest fighting with Israel
May 15, 2023 GMTWhen Najah Nabhan learned that her home was about to be bombed by Israel, she knew she had to get out quickly. What she didn’t know was how she would get her four children with special needs out of the building in time.
Israeli cease-fire with militants in Gaza appears to hold, despite new rocket launch
May 14, 2023 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fragile cease-fire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding on Sunday after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel.
Syria’s main insurgent group seeks to move away from al-Qaida past, get off Western terrorism lists
May 14, 2023 GMTIDLIB, Syria (AP) — The leader of an insurgent group that rules much of northwest Syria rose to notoriety over the past decade by claiming deadly bombings, threatening revenge against Western “crusader” forces and dispatching Islamist religious police to crack down on women deemed to be immodestly dressed.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire late Saturday, seeking to halt five days of intense fighting that killed 33 Palestinians, including at least 13 civilians.
UN envoy: Humanitarian deal between warring sides is a first step toward a cease-fire in Sudan
May 12, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Sudan on Friday welcomed a deal between the country's warring generals promising safe passage to civilians fleeing the conflict and protection for humanitarian operations in the East African nation.
Palestinian militants fire more rockets, as Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza despite cease-fire efforts
May 12, 2023 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed a senior militant commander in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Friday, further escalating the most violent flare-up in months despite efforts to broker a cease-fire.
Hezbollah leader denies reports linking the Iran-backed group to Syria’s drug dealer
May 12, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has denounced as "baseless lies" reports that one of Syria’s most well-known drug dealers, who was killed earlier this week in an airstrike near the Jordanian border, was linked to the Iran-backed group.
PARIS (AP) — A French citizen and another holding dual French-Irish nationality have been freed from an Iranian prison, French authorities said Friday, the culmination of a hard-fought effort to bring them home.
Lebanese man’s death in custody in the UAE raises questions about possible mistreatment
May 12, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese man who was detained in the United Arab Emirates on unknown charges has died in custody, rights observers and family members said on Friday, raising questions about his possible mistreatment by authorities.
From allies to foes: How uneasy relations between Sudan army, separate force exploded into violence
May 12, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Over recent years, Sudan’s military and a separate armed force accumulated power, each suspicious of the other, even as they worked together against the country’s pro-democracy movement.
New fighting kills 2 Palestinian militant commanders, elderly man in Israel as Egypt pushes truce
May 12, 2023 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed two militant commanders Thursday, while a 70-year-old man was killed by Palestinian rocket fire in the first fatality inside Israel amid the current wave of fighting.
UN human rights body passes resolution on human rights abuses in Sudan, amid worsening conflict
May 12, 2023 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The United Nation's top human rights body adopted a resolution Thursday that drew attention to mounting civilian deaths and rights abuses in Sudan since a bloody conflict erupted between the African country's two top generals last month.
Prosecutor says International Criminal Court issues 4 arrest warrants for alleged crimes in Libya
May 11, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Thursday that judges have issued four new arrest warrants stemming from his investigations of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Libya.
PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors are seeking to send former President Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to trial on charges that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions in illegal financing from the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Egyptian politician who vowed to run for president returns to Egypt, after relatives were detained
May 11, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — An Egyptian politician vowing to run in the country’s presidential elections next year returned to Egypt Thursday, days after announcing that his relatives had been detained.
Ahmed Altantawy, who left the country for Lebanon last August, confirmed his arrival in Egypt on his official Facebook page late Thursday evening.
JERUSALEM (AP) — The cycle has become grimly familiar.
Over three days, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed at least 28 people, including senior Palestinian militants, as well as children as young as 4 years old.
US authorities take down 13 Hezbollah-affiliated web domains
May 11, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — U.S. authorities have seized over a dozen website domains used by sanctioned associates, businesses, and charities of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Vatican formally recognizes 21 Coptic Orthodox killed in Libya as martyrs, gives them feast day
May 11, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is formally recognizing 21 Coptic Orthodox workers who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya as martyrs with their own feast day, in a significant new ecumenical gesture aimed at forging unity between Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Dubai main airport sees over 21.2M passengers in early 2023
May 11, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport had over 21.2 million passengers pass through its terminals in the first quarter of the year, potentially nearing numbers it saw before the coronavirus pandemic grounded air traffic around the world.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian authorities opened an investigation Wednesday into a shooting attack at a synagogue that killed two Jewish pilgrims and three members of the country's security forces.
War, natural disasters left record 71 million people internally displaced in 2022, report says
May 11, 2023 GMTThe war in Ukraine helped push the global total of people left internally displaced by conflict or natural disasters to a record high of 71.1 million last year, according to a report released Thursday by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Wednesday, while Israel pressed ahead with a series of airstrikes that have killed 23 Palestinians, including three senior militants and at least 10 civilians.
CAIRO (AP) — Tribal clashes over several days killed 25 people in southern Sudan, the country's doctors union said Wednesday, raising fears the war between the country's rival top generals — currently centered in the capital — could set off more violence in far-flung provinces.
Turkey and Syria agree to improve ties after talks in Moscow
May 10, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Syria and Turkey agreed Wednesday to set up a “roadmap” to improve strained ties, following talks alongside Russia and Iran in Moscow.
The agreement comes a week after Syria and Arab governments meeting in Jordan agreed to establish a roadmap of their own to resolve Syria's lengthy civil war and bolster ties.
Saudi Arabia invites Syrian president to Arab summit
May 10, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia has invited Syrian President Bashar Assad to the upcoming Arab League summit in the oil-rich kingdom, the Syrian president's office said on Wednesday. The news comes as Damascus continues to slowly return to the Arab fold, following a 12-year-period of political isolation.
Explosion near Syrian capital Damascus kills 1, injures 4
May 10, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An explosion close to a police station near the Syrian capital killed one officer and wounded four others Wednesday, state media reported.
The reports, citing the Interior Ministry, did not provide further details on the explosion in the town of Barzeh, just north of Damascus.
Reluctant critic China urges Afghan changes on women’s roles
May 10, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday called on Afghanistan to reform its radical policies excluding women from education and public life and “adopt a more resolute attitude in combating terrorism.”
Fears over scores of zoo animals caught in Sudan crossfire
May 10, 2023 GMTASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Dozens of zoo animals in Sudan's capital — including an elderly crocodile, parrots and giant lizards — are feared dead after street battles between the country's rival forces made the location unreachable.
As more women forgo the hijab, Iran’s government pushes back
May 10, 2023 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Billboards across Iran's capital proclaim that women should wear their mandatory headscarves to honor their mothers. But perhaps for the first time since the chaotic days following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, more women — both young and old — choose not to do so.
Saudi Arabia, Syria to reopen embassies restoring relations
May 9, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Syria will reopen diplomatic missions between the two countries now that relations have improved 11 years after the facilities were closed, the two nations foreign ministries said Tuesday.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 3 senior militants, 12 others
May 9, 2023 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched targeted airstrikes in densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing three senior commanders of the Islamic Jihad militant group in their homes and at least 10 civilians, Palestinian health officials said.
US probing reports it killed civilian in recent Syria strike
May 9, 2023 GMTQORQANYA, Syria (AP) — The U.S. military is investigating reports that it killed a civilian in a recent strike in northwest Syria that meant to target a senior al-Qaida leader, a military official said in a statement Tuesday.
Sudan’s death toll rises as warring sides continue talks
May 9, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The death toll from the ongoing clashes in Sudan has risen to 604 people, including civilians, the U.N. health agency said on Tuesday. The new figures come as representatives of the warring parties are holding talks in Saudi Arabia.