World

Turkish FM Calls For Removal of Sanctions Imposed on Syria
Turkish FM Calls For Removal of Sanctions Imposed on Syria

International sanctions on Damascus must be lifted "as soon as possible" to allow Syria to get back on its feet and refugees to return home, Turkey's top diplomat said Sunday. "The sanctions imposed on the previous regime need to be lifted as soon as possible," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on a visit to ...

Women-Only Flight Lands in Iranian Holy City for First Time
Women-Only Flight Lands in Iranian Holy City for First Time

An Iranian airline conducted a rare women-only flight on Sunday, landing for the first time in the holy city of Mashhad in the northeast, state media reported. The Aseman Airlines flight by Shahrzad Shams -- one of Iran's pioneering women pilots -- carried 110 passengers on board, according to the official IRNA news agency. Dubbed the "Iran ...

Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 28
Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 28

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 28 Palestinians, including at one family's home and at a school building the Israeli military said was used by Hamas. On the ground in Gaza, civil agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least 13 people were killed in an air strike on a house in ...

Pope Again Condemns 'Cruelty' of Israeli Strikes on Gaza
Pope Again Condemns 'Cruelty' of Israeli Strikes on Gaza

Pope Francis doubled down Sunday on his condemnation of Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip, denouncing their "cruelty" for the second time in as many days. "And with pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty," the pope said after his weekly Angelus ...

Festive Spirit on the French Riviera: Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus Join Traditional Christmas Bath in Nice
WindowFestive Spirit on the French Riviera: Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus Join Traditional Christmas Bath in Nice

On December 22, 2024, bathers gathered on the French Riviera in Nice to take part in the traditional Christmas bath, a festive event held annually on the shores of the Mediterranean. This year, the scene was filled with participants dressed in Christmas-themed attire, with many donning costumes of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, while others wore ...

Khamenei Says Iran Does not Have or Need Regional Proxy Forces
Khamenei Says Iran Does not Have or Need Regional Proxy Forces

Iran's supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran's proxies, warning that if his country chose to "take action", it would not need them anyway. The remarks came after a year in which Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza suffered heavy losses in wars with Israel, and two weeks after the ...

Russia Claims Capture of Two More East Ukraine Villages
Russia Claims Capture of Two More East Ukraine Villages

Russia said Sunday it had captured two more villages in east Ukraine, the latest territorial gains for Moscow's advancing army. The defense ministry said on Telegram that its troops had "liberated" the villages of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasnoye, called Sontsivka in Ukraine. The latter is close to the resource hub of ...

Iraq's Prohibition Zeal Threatens Baghdad's Boozy Subculture
Iraq's Prohibition Zeal Threatens Baghdad's Boozy Subculture

The smell of dampness rises through the dust at a private club in central Baghdad, one of many shut in a crackdown on alcohol sales in Iraq. "We appealed to all authorities in the country, but no one listened to us," said the owner, a Christian who asked not to be named. Although a law banning the sale and import of alcohol was passed in 2016 ...

US Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen's Capital
US Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen's Capital

The United States said it conducted strikes on Houthi targets in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Saturday, including what it said was a missile storage center and a "command-and-control facility." During the operation, American forces also shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, the US Central Command ...

Hamas, Two Other Palestinian Groups Declare Gaza Ceasefire Deal 'Closer Than Ever'
Hamas, Two Other Palestinian Groups Declare Gaza Ceasefire Deal 'Closer Than Ever'

Hamas and two other Palestinian militant groups said on Saturday that a Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel is "closer than ever", provided Israel does not impose new conditions. Last week, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States were held in Doha, rekindling hope of an agreement. "The ...

Fade Out: Biden Disappears Into Background
Fade Out: Biden Disappears Into Background

In the twilight of his political career, Joe Biden is disappearing into the background even before Donald Trump returns to the White House, despite growing turmoil at home and abroad. The 82-year-old US president's silence on a looming government shutdown over Christmas is just the latest example of how critics say the aging leader is in office ...

Thousands Greet the Sun at Stonehenge Solstice Celebration
Thousands Greet the Sun at Stonehenge Solstice Celebration

Thousands flocked to Stonehenge on Saturday to greet sunrise at the ancient British monument on the northern hemisphere's shortest day of the year. Spectators cheered and applauded as the sun rose over the neolithic site in southwest England at the winter solstice, a pagan celebration that is believed to have been observed there for thousands ...