Author: Gulf News Week

The official, Akram Salloum al-Abdullah, is accused of executing detainees, and other ‘serious violations’.Syrian authorities have said they had arrested a former military official accused of executing detainees at the notorious Sednaya prison during the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad.In a statement on Wednesday, the interior ministry said the Damascus province’s counterterrorism branch arrested Major General Akram Salloum al-Abdullah.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The Church of England owes Zimbabwe more than an apologylist 2 of 3ICJ says Israel must allow aid into blockaded Gaza, provide ‘basic needs’list 3 of 3Israel’s parliament advances bill to annex occupied…

ICJ states that Israel must allow aid into Gaza, ensuring food, water, medicine, and shelter for the Palestinian population.The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel must support United Nations relief efforts in Gaza, including those conducted by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), regarding Israel’s legal responsibilities towards UN agencies and other international organisations operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.The court found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA – including that it had been complicit in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel – were unsubstantiated.Recommended…

The bill passed 25-24, despite opposition from PM Netanyahu, in the first of four votes it will face to become law.Israel’s parliament has voted to give preliminary approval to a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty on the occupied West Bank, in a move tantamount to annexation of the Palestinian territory, which would be a blatant violation of international law.Despite opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset voted 25-24 on Tuesday to advance the bill, in the first of four votes needed to pass it into law.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist…

In its advisory opinion, the UN’s top court says Israel must support UN institutions, including UNRWA, with aid efforts.The United Nations court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has said Israel has an obligation to ensure the “basic needs” of the population in Gaza are met.The panel of 11 judges said on Wednesday that Israel is forced to support the relief efforts provided by the United Nations in the bombarded Gaza Strip and its entities.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Paris’s Louvre Museum reopens after $102m jewel heistlist 2 of 3NYC working-class Muslims see progress in Mamdani, but…

Israel continues to hold 80 Palestinian doctors and medical workers from Gaza and 15 from the occupied West Bank.More doctors and healthcare professionals are mobilising and calling for action to demand the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia and at least 94 other Palestinian medics currently held captive by Israeli authorities.On Monday, in an event organised by Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) and Amnesty International UK, doctors and healthcare workers protested outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all the detained healthcare workers currently held in appalling conditions in Israel.The protest comes just…

Narcotics worth more than $972m seized in two separate operations carried out within 48 hours.The Pakistani navy, operating as part of the Saudi-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), has seized nearly $1bn worth of narcotics from two vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea.The CMF, the naval network overseeing the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday that last week, the Pakistani navy intercepted the dhows in two separate operations over 48 hours and seized narcotics worth more than $972m.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Saudi Arabia signs mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistanlist 2 of 3Pakistan FM says Trump’s…

Hamas says it is meeting its side of the truce agreement while Israel refuses to open the crucial Rafah border crossing.Israel and Hamas have exchanged the remains of more captives, but the Palestinian group says Israel is failing to uphold the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement by refusing to reopen the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt.The bodies of two more Israeli captives, one soldier and one civilian, were returned to Israel late on Tuesday, and identified early on Wednesday as those of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, and army Master Sergeant Tamir Adar, 38.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1…

Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, has described inhumane conditions in Israeli detention as rights advocates call for his release.Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) has obtained testimony from Palestinian American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, whose case has become a symbol for the mistreatment of minors in Israeli jails.In an interview with a DCIP lawyer, published on Tuesday, 16-year-old Mohammed described the harsh conditions he has faced since his detention began in February, including thin mattresses, cold cells and meagre meals.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump claims Middle East countries offered to fight Hamas in Gazalist 2 of 3WFP says…

Netanyahu’s office says he will appoint the deputy head of the National Security Council, Gil Reich, as acting head.Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi says he has been fired by Benjamin Netanyahu, as the Israeli prime minister’s office said Gil Reich would be appointed as acting head of the National Security Council (NSC).“Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me today of his intention to appoint a new head of the National Security Council,” Hanegbi said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “In light of this, my term as national security adviser and head of the National Security Council ends today.”Recommended Stories list…

More than 200 people have been hospitalised in recent weeks with respiratory issues blamed on a local chemical plant.A general strike and tens of thousands of protesters have brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill as anger intensifies over a state-run chemical plant that residents blame for a pollution crisis.Shops, markets, schools, and cafes shut down in the general strike, halting economic activity in coastal Gabes on Tuesday in response to a call by the powerful UGTT labour union.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Tunisia pardons man sentenced to death over Facebook postslist 2 of…