Middle East

Dhaka/Jerusalem, May 24: Bangladesh on Sunday made it clear that it has dropped the phrase "all countries except Israel" from passport to maintain international standards of the document and there was no change in its decades-long policy of travel ban to the Jewish state. Bangladeshi passports earlier had a clause written on them that said "This Passport is valid for all countries of the world

Tel Aviv, May 21: Scores of Palestinians were injured when the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque squares wherein thousands of people had gathered after Juma prayers today. The storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli police was unexpected and reflects how fragile the ceasefire can be, said an observer. “The Israeli police says that some of the youth that were at the

Tel Aviv, May 21: A ceasefire came into force in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Friday morning after Egypt brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt 11 days of conflict. A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet had “unanimously accepted the recommendations to accept an Egyptian initiative for an unconditional … ceasefire.”

Paris, May 20: Profits from Covid-19 jabs have helped at least nine people become billionaires, a campaign group said Thursday, calling for an end to pharmaceutical corporations' "monopoly control" on vaccine technology. "Between them, the nine new billionaires have a combined net wealth of $19.3 billion (15.8 billion euros), enough to fully vaccinate all people in low-income countries 1.3 times,"

Tel Aviv, May 20: Israeli fighter jets continued to pound the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several more as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied calls for a de-escalation. At least 227 Palestinians, including 64 children, have been killed in 11 days of violence. On the Israeli side, 12 people have been killed. Joe Biden, the president of the United

Tel Aviv, May 19: Israel bombarded Gaza with airstrikes and Palestinian militants kept up cross-border rocket fire, with no firm sign on Wednesday of any imminent ceasefire despite international calls to end more than a week of fighting. Israeli leaders said they were pressing on with an offensive against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but an Israeli military spokesman acknowledged that with an

Tehran, May 18: In a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, a senior Hamas leader says Israel’s continued acts of aggression against the Palestinian people and their sanctities necessitated a firm response from the resistance movement in Gaza, calling on for joint global efforts to end the regime’s atrocities against the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied

Tel Aviv, May 18: Israel continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as Palestinian groups fired rockets towards Israeli cities and diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire intensified. The Israeli military said it also shelled Lebanon, in response to six failed rocket launches from areas south of the country. In Washington DC, US President Joe Biden held his third phone conversation with

Gaza Strip, May 17: Monday was another tense day in the Gaza strip amidst continued air raids from Israel. “Hospitals are running out of resources, corridors and all departments, including the administration, are filled with beds and mattresses,” said Gaza-based journalist Youmna al-Sayed a few minutes after an Israeli missile hit a car a few metres away from her killing three people. “Electricity

Riyadh, May 17: Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that foreign visitors arriving by air from most countries will no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Visitors from 20 other countries - including the United States, India, Britain, Germany, France and the UAE - remain banned from entering the kingdom, however, under measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus