SYRIA’S security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad’s army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon. Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining…
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern. Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised…
BANGKOK: Thailand’s embattled prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will not resign, or dissolve parliament, a senior official of the ruling Pheu Thai party said on Saturday. Sorawong Thienthong, who also serves as Thailand’s tourism minister, said in a Facebook post that the prime minister will not quit, despite growing calls for her resignation after her mishandling…
JAKARTA: Indonesia has evacuated 100 of its citizens from Iran and Israel amid rising tensions in the region, Foreign Minister Sugiono, who goes by a single name, said on Saturday. Of those evacuated, 96 individuals — including 93 Indonesian citizens, three embassy staff, and one Iranian national married to an Indonesian — crossed the Iran–Azerbaijan…
ANKARA: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his counterparts from Muslim countries that Israel was dragging the region into “total disaster” with its attacks on Iran, and added world powers must prevent the war from spiralling into a wider conflict. Speaking at a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Fidan…
BERLIN: At a market stall in Berlin run by charity Topio, volunteers help people who want to purge their phones of the influence of U.S. tech firms. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, the queue for their services has grown. Interest in European-based digital services has jumped in recent months, data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb…
MOSCOW: Russia has repeatedly told Israel that there is no evidence Iran is aiming to get nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia on Saturday quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying in an interview. “Russia, as well as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), has never had any evidence that Iran is preparing to obtain nuclear…
DUBAI: A senior United Arab Emirates official has urged a quick end to the Iran-Israel war, warning of a “difficult aftermath” if the conflict is prolonged. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the oil-rich UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said the war was “setting back” the wealthy Gulf region. “The longer a war…
ISRAEL’S Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the military had killed a veteran commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, in a strike in an apartment in Iran’s Qom. The veteran commander, Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, Katz said in a statement. There was no confirmation…
