Israel conducted a massive airstrike on a weapons depot in Tartus, Syria, on Dec. 16, 2024. Israeli Defense Forces reportedly destroyed a scud missile facility. However, speculation has arisen about the possible use of a small nuclear weapon in the attack. The strike caused a 3.0 magnitude earthquake, felt as far as Iznik, Türkiye, 820 [&hell...
ANKARA (AA) – Syria’s newly appointed foreign minister said Monday that his first official visit will be to Saudi Arabia. Asaad al-Shaibani said he accepted an invitation from his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan to visit the kingdom. “I am honored to represent my country on my first official visit (to Saudi Arabia),” he ...
ANKARA (AA) – UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has strongly criticized an Israeli draft bill aimed at recruiting volunteers as prison guards, warning that it could lead to increased abuses against Palestinian detainees. In a post on X, Albanese called the proposal “so sickening,” saying “Israel MUST BE STOPPED: starti...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has threatened to assassinate Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi as regional tension continues to escalate over Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. “I’m sending a message to the Houthi leader that if he continues with his actions, he will end up exactly like (Hamas leader ...
ANKARA (AA) – World Health Organization (WHO) director-general has called on Israel to stop attacks on hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X that “Hospitals in #Gaza have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.” He stressed that the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza w...
ISTANBUL (AA) — Asma Assad, the British-born wife of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, has been effectively barred from returning to the UK after her British passport expired, according to local media. Without a valid passport, Asma Assad cannot return to her hometown London, according to the Sunday Times. Moscow confirmed earlier this mon...
Like the Pashtuns in South Asia, Kurds are considered devoted Muslims, a trait evident in Kurdish-majority provinces in eastern Türkiye, such as Diyarbakir and Şanlıurfa, where mosques are often packed with worshippers. By Iftikhar Gilani The Kurdish question, a lingering issue in the Middle East, has resurfaced following the downfall of Basha...
DAMASCUS / BEIRUT (AA) — At least 70 officers of Syria’s deposed Assad regime who had fled to Lebanon have reportedly been handed over to Syria’s new administration. “The army on Saturday handed over to the Syrian Military Operations Directorate approximately 70 Syrian nationals, including officers of various ranks from the f...
JERUSALEM (AA) – A private Israeli broadcaster, in an investigative report aired late Saturday, said a bomb was planted in Ismail Haniyeh’s room in his Tehran residence. Haniyeh was killed inside his residence during a visit to Tehran on July 31. The assassination was carried out with a “precision bomb” placed inside Haniyeh&...
ISTANBUL (AA) – More than 112,000 Syrians who disappeared under the Baath regime remain unaccounted for, with evidence suggesting many were killed in detention, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) states. The scale of torture and extrajudicial executions in Syrian prisons has been increasingly revealed following the collapse of the 61-y...
