Escalation of Violence in Gaza

Israel’s military yesterday warned deadly air strikes against Palestinian militants in Gaza could last a week, as cross-border fire reverberated for a second day in the worst escalation since last year’s war.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that Turkey will start paying for some of its Russian natural gas imports in rubles.

Israeli jets pounded targets in Gaza on Saturday and rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted, raising fears of an escalation after a wave of Israeli airstrikes on the coastal enclave killed at least 12 people, including a 5-year-old girl.

A senior commander of Islamic Jihad was among more than 15 people killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip yesterday, prompting the militant group to warn Israel has made a “declaration of war”.

An Iranian whistleblower who published damaging revelations about the family of the speaker of parliament in April has been sentenced to two years’ jail for publishing false information, Iranian media reported yesterday.

Saudi Arabia welcomed US President Joe Biden's announcement of the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the State news agency reported late on Monday quoting a foreign ministry statement.

Iran said yesterday it remains “optimistic” about a possible revival of the 2015 nuclear deal after the European Union tabled a proposal aiming for a compromise in the talks stalled since March.

The Philippines has no plan to rejoin the International Criminal Court, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said yesterday, with the tribunal’s prosecutor seeking to resume a probe into the ex-president’s deadly drug war.

It’s been two years since his 3-year-old daughter, Alexandra, was killed in a massive explosion at Beirut’s port — and Paul Naggear has lost hope that outrage over the disaster will bring justice and force change in Lebanon.

Iran has the technical capability to produce an atomic bomb but has no intention of doing so, Mohammad Eslami, head of the country's atomic energy organisation, said on Monday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric stormed into Iraq’s parliament on Saturday, for the second time this week, protesting government formation efforts lead by his rivals, an alliance of Iran-backed groups.

Rescuers searched for the missing in Iran on Friday after landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 53 people, officials said.

Two days of flooding near the Iranian capital have killed at least 24 people and another 19 are still missing, officials said yesterday.

The United Nations and Turkey will open a joint centre with Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul today to coordinate the resumption of grain deliveries across the Black Sea.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was set to embark on a visit to Greece and France yesterday, state media reported, his first Europe trip since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Israeli troops on Tuesday demolished the houses of two Palestinians accused of killing an Israeli security guard in an attack outside the West Bank settlement of Ariel in April, authorities said.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unveiled the designs for “The Line” in NEOM, which according to its twitter handle is “a city that offers a healthier and more sustainable way of life.”

Iran said yesterday it will not be rushed into a “quick” deal reviving its faltering 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, as negotiations remain deadlocked.

Kuwait named the emir's son as prime minister on Sunday, replacing caretaker premier Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid who faced a combative parliament amid a feud between the government and elected assembly that has hindered fiscal reform.