Author: Daily Sabah With DPA

The Israeli Air Force once again attacked targets in the south of neighbouring Syria, the military said in a statement on Tuesday morning. Fighter jets attacked radar systems, command centres and weapons depots during the night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. The IDF said the targets posed a threat to Israel and its military, and the strikes were carried out to eliminate “future threats.” The Israeli army has significantly expanded its military activities on Syrian territory since the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. The Israeli army moved troops into a demilitarized buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan…

Philippine police on Tuesday arrested former president Rodrigo Duterte as requested by Interpol after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant against him for crimes against humanity amid the “war on drugs” during his time in power. The Philippine Presidential Communication Office said in a statement that Interpol Manila received a copy of the arrest warrant on Tuesday morning. “The former president and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government doctors,” the statement said. “They [government doctors] have assured that he [Duterte] is in good condition.” “He is currently in the custody of the…

US authorities have arrested a Palestinian student who played a leading role in last year’s pro-Gaza protests on the campus of Columbia University in New York. US immigration officials forced their way into Mahmoud Khalil’s flat on Sunday and detained him, according to media reports. He was later taken to a detention centre in the US state of Louisiana, the reports said. US President Donald Trump labelled Khalil “a radical foreign pro-Hamas student” in a post on his online platform Truth Social on Monday. Trump said he would deport him from the United States along with others involved in “pro-terrorist,…

US authorities have arrested a Palestinian student who played a leading role in last year’s pro-Gaza protests on the campus of Columbia University in New York. US immigration officials forced their way into Mahmoud Khalil’s flat on Sunday and detained him, according to media reports. He was later taken to a detention centre in the US state of Louisiana, the reports said. US President Donald Trump labelled Khalil “a radical foreign pro-Hamas student” in a post on his online platform Truth Social on Monday. Trump said he would deport him from the United States along with others involved in “pro-terrorist,…

A Gaza Strip reconstruction plan, drafted by Arab nations, has gained backing from key European countries as the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain issued a joint statement calling it a “realistic path.” In the statement published on Saturday, the ministers said the proposal sets out “a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza.” “Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians, which provides long…

Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters began a march near the Houses of Parliament after a planned rally near the BBC’s headquarters was blocked by police. Protesters were planning to gather outside Broadcasting House in Portland Place, central London, on Saturday. But police imposed conditions under the Public Order Act to prevent the rally from gathering there as it risked causing “serious disruption” to a nearby synagogue on a Saturday, the Jewish holy day, as congregants attended Shabbat services. Organizers Palestine Pulse, XR for Palestine and others moved the protest to outside the prime minister’s residence at Downing Street instead. Dozens of…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday renewed calls for stronger sanctions against Russia, emphasizing the need to protect lives and bolster air defences in response to continued attacks. Following a Russian air raid on a mining town in eastern Ukraine that reportedly killed at least 11 people late on Friday, Zelensky wrote on Facebook: “Such attacks show that Russia’s goals have not changed.” “That is why it is crucial that we continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences and tighten sanctions against Russia.” Following the recent suspension of US military aid to Ukraine, experts suggest…

On a day when he threatened Moscow with sanctions over its heavy bombardment of Ukrainian positions, US President Donald Trump expressed understanding for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s current approach in the Ukraine war. “I actually think he’s doing what anybody else would do,” Trump said on Friday when asked whether Putin was taking advantage of the current suspension of US military aid to Kyiv. “Probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now,” the US president added. Trump again emphasized his “good relationship” with Putin and claimed that the Russian president wants “to end the war,” adding: “I…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hailed the EU’s “historic step forward” as he spoke to leaders after the bloc backed moves to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security. In a phone call with the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission and the leaders of Canada, Turkey, Norway and Iceland on Friday, Starmer also welcomed the prospect of talks next week in Saudi Arabia after they were confirmed by Volodymyr Zelensky. Issuing a readout of the call, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The prime minister applauded the progress the European Union had…

The Kremlin on Thursday condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to discuss stationing European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. In a televised speech on Monday evening, Macron announced that he would host an international meeting next week to discuss the possible deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. The French president also described Russia’s rearmament as a threat to European security and said he would consider placing allied countries under the protection of French nuclear weapons. Macron’s speech was directed against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Under these circumstances, Moscow’s position on the deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine…