Egypt’s affirms support for Libya’s stability

Egypt intelligence chief Abbas Kamel’s visit to Tripoli, where he met with Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, Libya’s Prime Minister-designate of the new Government of National Unity. (AFP)
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Updated 18 June 2021
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Egypt’s affirms support for Libya’s stability

  • Sisi called on Libyan institutions concerned with the upcoming elections to fulfill their national duty

DUBAI: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has affirmed Cairo’s support for the Libyan government to achieve stability, presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi said.

Radi issued the statement on Thursday following Egypt intelligence chief Abbas Kamel’s visit to Tripoli, where he met with Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, Libya’s Prime Minister-designate of the new Government of National Unity. They discussed how to strengthen cooperation relations and support the political process in the war-torn country.

Sisi affirmed that the efforts exerted for national unity in Libya are a key pillar for its stability, renewing Egypt’s support for carrying out the Libyan elections, local daily Egypt Today reported.

Sisi called on Libyan institutions concerned with the upcoming elections to fulfill their national duty, the report said.

Meanwhile Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry met with his Libyan counterpart Naglaa Al-Manqoush on the sidelines of an Arab ministerial meeting in Doha earlier this week.

Both ministers discussed developments in Libya steps to hold elections by the end of the year.


Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine

Updated 13 sec ago
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Jordanian government spokesperson says country remains firmly supportive of Palestine

  • Mohammad Momani affirms that Jordan backs self-determination of Palestinians
  • Remarks made during seminar commemorating 105th anniversary of martyrdom of Kaid Al-Mefleh Obeidat

LONDON: Minister of Communication Mohammad Momani has said that Jordan’s commitment to “defending” Palestinian rights in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza “remains firm.”

Momani, who is also the spokesperson for the Jordanian government, said that the country supported the right of Palestinians to self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His remarks were made on Saturday during a seminar commemorating the 105th anniversary of the martyrdom of Kaid Al-Mefleh Obeidat. He is remembered as a national hero after being the first Jordanian to lose his life in resisting Zionist groups during the British mandate in Palestine in 1920.

Momani said: “Supporting the Palestinian cause should not come at the expense of Jordan’s national stability but should be expressed through unity behind the Hashemite leadership, the Arab army, and the security agencies.”

He added that “Obeidat’s martyrdom … highlights Jordan’s long-standing sacrifices for Arab unity and freedom,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

Momani said that Jordan’s support resulted from its religious, moral, and humanitarian obligations and that a Palestinian state was vital to Jordan’s national interests, according to Petra.

He said that King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein continued “to champion the Palestinian cause, maintaining Jordan as a bastion of steadfastness amid regional upheavals.”


Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha

Updated 28 min 43 sec ago
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Qatari emir, Turkish FM discuss Syria, Gaza in Doha

  • Hakan Fidan meets Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at Lusail Palace

LONDON: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan at Lusail Palace in Doha on Sunday.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed significant regional and international developments, especially those concerning Gaza, the Palestinian territories, and Syria.

Sheikh Tamim and Fidan reviewed strategic relations between Doha and Ankara, as well as ways to strengthen and develop ties, the Qatar News Agency reported.


Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron

Updated 27 April 2025
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Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian Zanouta School in south Hebron

  • Zanouta is a small village east of Al-Dhahiriya, with nearly 150 people
  • Residents had just completed restoration work to prepare for pupils’ return when the attack occurred on Sunday

LONDON: Israeli settlers vandalized a Palestinian school near Hebron in the occupied West Bank after residents completed renovation for pupils’ return.

Fayez Al-Tal, the head of the Zanouta Village Council, said that the village school was destroyed by Israeli settlers who, early on Sunday, broke into the premises and “looted” the iron doors, wooden panels, and classroom dividers, according to Wafa news agency.

Zanouta is a small village east of Al-Dhahiriya, with nearly 150 people. Most of the 27 families there work as shepherds and some residents live in naturally formed caves. Israeli settlers have repeatedly demolished the village school, but the residents have rebuilt it each time.

Al-Tal said that residents and the local council had just completed restoration work to prepare for pupils’ return when the attack occurred on Sunday. He said that settlers “repeatedly attacked the village, destroyed homes, and forcibly displaced residents through violence and property destruction.”

In November 2023, Israeli settlers set fire to and destroyed the Zanouta Coeducational Primary School. Additionally, on Oct. 28, 2023, residents were forced to abandon their homes because of relentless Israeli attacks, which were overshadowed by the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

After being displaced for nine months, villagers received an Israeli court order in August 2024 to return to Zanouta. Israeli settler attacks, however, continue, Wafa reported.


Qatar PM sees some progress on Gaza truce

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaks during press conference.
Updated 27 April 2025
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Qatar PM sees some progress on Gaza truce

  • “We need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war,” Sheikh Mohammed said
  • PM met with Barnea in the Qatari capital to discuss a potential hostage deal on Thursday, Israeli media said

DOHA: Gaza mediator Qatar said Sunday there was some progress in talks in Doha this week aimed at securing a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking at a news conference, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani reported “a bit of progress,” in response to questions about reports of a Thursday meeting in Doha between Israel’s Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea and the Qatari prime minister.
“We need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war. That’s, that’s basically, I think, the key point of the entire negotiations,” Sheikh Mohammed added.
Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, brokered a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza which came into effect on January 19 but which did not bring a complete end to the war.
The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.
Sheikh Mohammed met with Barnea in the Qatari capital to discuss a potential hostage deal on Thursday, according to Israeli media.
“The meeting that took place on Thursday is part of these efforts where we’re trying to find a breakthrough,” the Qatari prime minister said without further elaborating on the details of the meeting.
Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all hostages released and secure a five-year truce, an official told AFP on Saturday as the group’s negotiators met in Cairo.
The Qatari PM said efforts were focused on the “best comprehensive deal possible that ends the war, brings the hostages out and not dividing (a deal) into other phases.”
Hamas has insisted that the negotiations should lead to a permanent end to the war.
According to the Palestinian group, it rejected an earlier Israeli offer that included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.


Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide

Updated 27 April 2025
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Four dead, 13 injured in Algeria landslide

  • Four people have died and 13 others injured in a landslide in Algeria’s western coastal city of Oran, authorities said on Sunday

ALGIERS: Four people have died and 13 others injured in a landslide in Algeria’s western coastal city of Oran, authorities said on Sunday.
The landslide occurred late Saturday in the city’s Hai Essanouber district, the civil defense agency said.
It said the four “deceased were between five and 43 years old,” and that “13 other victims, aged between 12 and 75, suffered various injuries.”
Authorities did not comment on the reasons behind the landslide, which the interior ministry said “caused the collapse of five tin houses.”
With no one still missing from the landslide, the ministry said the death toll was “final.”