News Archive

A senior Hamas official told Reuters on Saturday that the chief of the group's military wing had died, a day after Israel said that it had carried out airstrikes targeting him.

The Eurovision Song Contest's final takes place in Vienna on Saturday, with the organisers hoping the annual show of glitz and Europop will be a success despite five countries' withdrawal over Israel taking part.

FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom will meet Iranian FA (FFIRI) officials in Istanbul on Saturday and offer "reassurance" over Iran's participation in the World Cup, a source familiar with the talks has told Reuters.

The United States delivered a pointed assessment at the UN Security Council Thursday, accusing the Assad regime of having "permitted or turned a blind eye" to Hezbollah's activities and captagon trafficking networks, allowing the Iran-backed group to "sow destruction in Syria and across the region."

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 45-day extension of a ceasefire that has tamped down the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as two days of talks facilitated by Washington concluded on Friday with an agreement to hold further meetings in the coming weeks. 

"This year we will not be at Eurovision, but we will do so with the conviction of being on the right side of history."

U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but China gave no indication it would weigh in.

The United Arab Emirates is moving decisively to reduce its vulnerability to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, with Abu Dhabi ordering the acceleration of a new pipeline project that would allow hydrocarbon exports to bypass the strategic - and currently disrupted - waterway.

Tehran has "no trust" in the U.S. and is interested in negotiating with Washington only if it is serious, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday, as talks on ending the war remained on hold.

Iraq has a new government, and its first major commitment cuts straight to the heart of the country's most dangerous problem.

Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are heading for a diplomatic battle over the leadership of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), with both fielding rival candidates as fighting grinds on in eastern Congo. 

U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran is running out and he had agreed in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Islamic republic cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and must re-open the Strait of Hormuz.