Author: Daily Sabah With DPA

Shortly before talks between Tehran and Washington on Iran’s nuclear programme, the Iranian president has surprisingly left the door open to US investment in the country. “I see the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] several times a week. He has no objections to American investors in the country,” said President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the state news agency IRNA on Wednesday. “What we reject are conspiracies, subversion attempts and the incorrect policies they pursue,” he said. On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi plans to hold indirect talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Gulf state of Oman.…

At least 79 people were killed and 155 others were injured when the roof of a nightclub in Dominican Republic collapsed, the head of the disaster relief agency Juan Manuel Méndez said, according to media reports Tuesday. Parts of the roof collapsed on the party-goers during a concert by the merengue singer Rubby Pérez. The newspaper Listín Diario’ reported citing Pérez’s manager as saying that the musician died in the collapse. Local authorities did not initially confirm the information. Pérez, who was popular in Latin America, had initially been reported injured. The regional governor of the Monte Cristi province, Nelsy…

The United Nations estimates that about 13,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the war in Ukraine, UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher told the Security Council on Tuesday. According to data from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 12,910 civilian deaths in Ukraine – including 682 children – have been confirmed, and nearly 30,700 were injured between February 24, 2022 and March 31, 2025. Fletcher added that the true toll is likely to be far greater. More than 170 civilians were reported killed between the end of February and the end…

Thousands of protesters took to the streets across predominantly Muslim Bangladesh on Monday, condemning Israel’s inhumane attacks on Gaza, according to police. In the capital Dhaka, students and activists joined rallies in solidarity with the people of Gaza, as well as against the United States and its president Donald Trump for supporting Israel in its war with Palestinian resistance group Hamas. Large numbers of students assembled on the Dhaka University campus, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards with slogans such as “Boycott Trump, Save Palestine,” “Show Israel the Red Card,” and “Boycott America.” Classes and exams were suspended at many…

The European Union has offered the United States an agreement on “zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday, days before 20% tariffs on EU exports enter into force. “Europe is always ready for a good deal, so we keep it on the table,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. “These tariffs come first and foremost at immense costs for US consumers and businesses,” she said, calling the trade measures “a major turning point for the United States.” While hoping for a diplomatic solution, the EU was preparing countermeasures and setting up…

Israel says some 16,500 of its soldiers have been treated for physical and psychological injuries since one of the region’s bloodiest conflicts in decades began a year and a half ago. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that almost half – 7,300 – of the impacted soldiers had sustained psychological harm since its military began operations in Gaza in October 2023. Limur Luria, head of the ministry’s rehabilitation department said those impacted suffered from post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety attacks and depression. Israel says more than 400 military personnel have died since it began operations in Gaza after more than 1,200…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for greater pressure to be applied to Russia following overnight missile and drone attacks on Kiev and other targets across Ukraine. “These attacks are [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners – the United States, all of Europe, the entire world – has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing,” Zelensky posted on X on Sunday. “The pressure on Russia is still insufficient, and the daily Russian strikes on Ukraine prove it,” he said, detailing more than 1,460 guided bombs, almost 670 drones and…

The UN children’s organization UNICEF has urged Israel to allow aid convoys access to the Gaza Strip to help alleviate the plight of some one million children and young people there. “No aid has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 2 March 2025 – representing the longest period of aid blockage since the start of the war,” UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder said Saturday. This has led to shortages of food, safe water, shelter, and medical supplies, he explained. Without these essentials, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions would likely surge, leading…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has released more details about the children killed in a Russian airstrike on his home city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday. The 3-year-old Tymofij, 7-year-old Arina and 9-year-old Herman were among the nine children killed in the Russian strike, Zelensky wrote on X on Saturday. Nine adults were also killed when a Russian ballistic missile hit the south-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, followed by a drone attack, Zelensky said. Previous reports spoke of 16 people killed in the attacks. Zelensky said the strike hit an ordinary street in a residential area with a playground, shops and…

Top representatives from the European Union and the United States held a video conference on Friday to discuss President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on European imports. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said he spoke for two hours with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Šefčovič, writing on X, described the discussion as “frank.” “I was clear: US tariffs are damaging, unjustified,” he wrote. “The EU-US trade relationship needs a fresh approach. The EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests.” Šefčovič ended with: “We stay in touch.” No further details were…