Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters

Syria’s interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted regime leader Bashar al-Assad’s minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary. In his first interview to a global news agency, held after hundreds died in four days of clashes between Alawite Muslims and Syria’s new Sunni Muslim authorities, Sharaa blamed pro-Assad groups backed by foreigners for triggering the bloodshed but acknowledged that revenge killings had followed. “Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all,” he…

Israel’s suspension of goods entering Gaza has begun to take a toll on the Palestinian enclave, with some bakeries closing and officials warning of growing risks to the environment including possible discharges of raw sewage into the sea. The suspension, intended to pressure resistance group Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine and fuel imports. Hamas describes the measure as “collective punishment” and insists it will not be pushed into making concessions at the discussions. The U.N. Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA said the decision to halt humanitarian aid threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 17 months of “brutal”…

Ukraine’s air defences shot down 73 of 119 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Sunday, the air force said. It said that 37 drones were “lost”, in reference to the military’s use of electronic warfare to redirect them. The military said damage was recorded in six Ukrainian regions but provided no immediate details.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Tehran will not negotiate under pressure by a “bullying country”, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to the country’s top authority to negotiate a nuclear deal. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Khamenei said the aim of Washington’s offer for negotiations was to “impose their own expectations”, Iranian state media reported. “The insistence…

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with U.S. representatives in Saudi Arabia next week over ways to end the war with Russia. Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has paused U.S. military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. He has accused Zelenskiy of not being serious about reaching a peace agreement with Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and has seized about 20% of its territory. “Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on…

German election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) have concluded preliminary talks on forming a coalition government, Merz told reporters on Saturday in a joint announcement alongside other party leaders. In Germany, where coalitions are the norm, governments are typically formed in two phases, with parties first holding exploratory talks and then entering into formal coalition talks. The two parties were racing for a deal before next week when they hope to push a loosening of Germany’s borrowing limits through parliament to revive growth in Europe’s largest economy and boost military spending. Chancellor-in-waiting Merz wants to form…

A man was killed and an Israeli female tourist and Indian woman were gang-raped by three men in an attack late on Thursday near a popular UNESCO World Heritage site in southern India, local police said on Saturday. The Indian man and two women were stargazing with two other male tourists in the town of Hampi when the three men attacked them following an altercation over money, police superintendent Ram Arasiddi told Reuters over the phone. The assailants pushed the men into a river canal before raping the women, he said. Two of the men, including an American, survived, and…

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un emphasized the importance of strengthening naval power as he visited major shipyards to inspect construction projects of naval vessels and nuclear submarines, state media KCNA reported on Saturday. Kim said during the visit that naval power and its nuclear armament was crucial to the sovereignty of the country, bound by sea on the eastern and western sides, according to KCNA. Kim also said the country would not tolerate maritime and underwater military activities being carried out by enemies, such as deployments of strategic assets, and that its maritime defense would not be limited to…

Pope Francis is showing a “good response” to his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment. “The clinical condition of the Holy Father in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, indicates a good response to the treatment,” said the latest detailed medical update. The pope, it said, has continued to have no fever and his blood test have remained stable. Although the doctors said…

Iran’s foreign ministry warned on Friday that violence in Syria could cause regional instability, state media reported, amid reports of fighting in western Syria. It was the first comment by Iran, which had long backed Syria’s ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, during the fighting between the government in Damascus and fighters believed to be from Assad’s Alawite sect in western Syria. “Recalling the interim government’s responsibility in ensuring the security of all Syrian citizens, Iran strongly opposes insecurity, violence, killing and harming innocent Syrians from every group and tribe, and sees it as a catalyst for regional instability,” foreign ministry spokesperson…