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Updated: 17 hours 45 min ago

Thousands of Israelis join anti-government protests

Tue, 04/02/2024 - 01:08
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Jerusalem on Monday, continuing a three-day protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding new elections.  The protests have gathered in intensity as the war in Gaza nears the end of its sixth month and anger at the government's handling of the 134 Israeli hostages still held by the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza has grown.  "We're here to protest. To ask for having elections as soon...
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Netanyahu vows to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts in Israel

Mon, 04/01/2024 - 18:36
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8 dead in car bomb at north Syria market, monitor says

Mon, 04/01/2024 - 05:09
Azaz, Syria — A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces Sunday, killing eight people and wounding more than 20, a war monitor said. The blast in Azaz, Aleppo province, occurred not long after midnight as crowds were out shopping late during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, an AFP correspondent said. The group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that "eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when "a car bomb...
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Iranian TV journalist stabbed in London in stable condition

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 23:52
London — A U.K.-based journalist for independent Iranian media who was attacked outside his London home, prompting a counterterrorism police probe, is "doing very well," his news channel said Saturday.   Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Persian-language outlet Iran International was in stable condition, the channel's spokesman Adam Baillie said.   “He's doing very well actually. He's in the hospital recovering from the attack," Baillie told BBC radio, calling...
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Israelis stage largest anti-government protest since war in Gaza began

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 23:07
Jersusalem — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered outside the parliament building in Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government demonstration since the country went to war in October. They urged the government to reach a cease-fire deal to free dozens of hostages held by the Hamas militant group in Gaza and to hold early elections. Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others...
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Pope Francis calls for peace in Gaza

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 20:57
Pope Francis calls for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. This as Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday, and relief teams struggle to deliver aid to besieged Palestinian territories. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to undergo hernia surgery

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 18:14
Jerusalem — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says the Israeli leader will undergo surgery on Sunday for a hernia.  Netanyahu's office said the hernia was discovered during a routine checkup, and that the prime minister will be under full anesthesia and unconscious for the procedure.  Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant who also holds the title of deputy prime minister, will serve as acting prime minister during the operation, the office said.  Netanyahu,...
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Lebanon's precarious sectarian balance tipping amid Hezbollah-Israeli war

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 14:07
Beirut — As the Lebanese Christian village of Rmeish marks its first Easter since the Gaza war erupted, residents say a parallel confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel is dragging them into a conflict they did not choose. Like many Christians elsewhere in southern Lebanon, residents are angry and fearful their homes could be caught in the cross-fire and their families forced to flee -- permanently -- from their ancestral villages near the Lebanon-Israel border. Earlier this week, a...
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UN: 3 UN Observers, Translator Wounded in South Lebanon

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 05:33
BEIRUT — Three United Nations observers and a translator were wounded on Saturday when a shell exploded near them as they were carrying out a foot patrol in south Lebanon, the U.N. peacekeeping mission said, adding it was still investigating the origin of the blast.  The U.N. peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, as well as unarmed technical observers known as UNTSO, are stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, known as the...
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Erdogan Battles Key Rival in Turkey's Local Elections

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 04:11
ISTANBUL — Turks voted on Sunday in municipal elections focused on President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to reclaim control of Istanbul from rival Ekrem Imamoglu, who aims to reassert the opposition as a political force after bitter election defeats last year. Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu dealt Erdogan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing reelection and a parliament majority with his...
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8 Reported Dead in Car Bomb at North Syria Market

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 03:13
beirut, lebanon — A bomb exploded in a market in a north Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces early Sunday, killing eight people and wounding more than 20 others, a war monitor said.  At least "eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when "a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market" in Azaz, in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding the toll was provisional.   The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of...
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400 Tons of Aid on Way to Gaza; Humanitarians Say That's Not Enough

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 01:29
jerusalem — A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar.  The World Central Kitchen charity said the vessels and a barge carried enough to prepare more than 1 million meals from items such as rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins. Also on board were dates, traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.  It was not clear when the...
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Iraq's Christians cancel Easter celebrations to support Cardinal Sako

Sun, 03/31/2024 - 00:02
amman, jordan — Iraq's largest Christian denomination, the Chaldean Catholics, are canceling Easter celebrations this year to protest a presidential decision revoking the title of Patriarch from Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Louis Sako. Though Easter is considered the most important festival of the Christian calendar celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection, Easter Sunday in Iraq will be observed this year only through prayers, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate in Baghdad announced...
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Israel-Hamas Truce Talks to Resume Sunday in Cairo, Reports Egyptian TV

Sat, 03/30/2024 - 23:10
cairo — Truce talks between Israel and Hamas will resume Sunday in Cairo, the latest attempt to bring about a pause after nearly six months of war in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's Al Qahera News TV reported Saturday, citing a security source.  An Israeli official told Reuters that Israel will send a delegation to Cairo on Sunday. However, a Hamas official told Reuters the group would wait to hear from Cairo mediators on the outcome of their talks with Israel first.  The warring sides have...
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Israel Confirms Troops Killed 2 Palestinians on Gaza Beach

Sat, 03/30/2024 - 21:21
JERUSALEM — Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians and wounded a third on Gaza’s beach, the military acknowledged Saturday, responding to a video that showed one man falling to the ground after walking in an open area and then a bulldozer pushing two bodies into the garbage-strewn sand. The military said troops opened fire after the men allegedly ignored warning shots. The video was broadcast earlier this week by the Al Jazeera television network. The origin of the footage remains...
Categories: Iraq