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☆ Oil prices could spike to $100 if Iran directly attacks Israel, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The price of global benchmark Brent crude oil could spike to $100 a barrel if Iran directly attacks Israel, a former senior White House energy official said. @LCO.1 YTD mountain Brent crude oil, YTD Oil rallied last week after a missile attack destroyed Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing seven Iranian military officials. "If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack Iran," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on the social media platform X , tagging Ayatollah Khamenei. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear that the Biden administration is worried about rising energy prices during congressional testimony Tuesday. "Certainly, those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation," Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Persons: Bob McNally, McNally, George W, Brent, YTD Oil, Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Israel Katz, Biden, terrify, Daniel Yergin, Yergin, CNBC's, Natasha Kaneva, Lloyd Austin, Austin Organizations: Brent, White House, Rapidan, Bloomberg News, YTD, Israel, Iran, Rapidan Energy, Biden, P Global, JPMorgan, Defense, Senate Armed Services Committee Locations: Iran, Israel, U.S, Washington, Damascus, Syria, OPEC, Tehran, Islamic Republic, Strait, Hormuz, Persian, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah offensive, Gaza during Eid al-Fitr
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

A boy stands by the rubble of a collapsed building in Rafah, Gaza, on April 9. AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict as a “mistake” and calling for a halt to the fighting. “Well, I will tell you, I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden told Univision in an interview. Biden's comments add to mounting US criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.

Persons: Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, ” Biden, Biden Organizations: AFP, Getty, Univision, CNN Locations: Rafah, Gaza

☆ Middle East Crisis End of Ramadan Is Marked by War and Hunger in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Ameera Harouda | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

As Eid al-Fitr approached, Amani Abu Awda’s four children began asking her for new clothes and toys — festive items that Muslims customarily buy to celebrate the holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “Oh God, I couldn’t get anything for them because of the high prices,” she said Saturday, days before most Muslims worldwide would celebrate Eid al-Fitr. We have lost family and loved ones. Image Displaced Palestinians prepare traditional cakes before Eid al-Fitr, in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Tuesday. “I have a lot of hopes for Eid,” he said, “but firstly for them to end this revolting war.”

Persons: Eid, Fitr, Amani Abu Awda’s, ”, “, —, Abu Awda’s, Ms, Abu Awda, Alina Al, Yazji, Haitham Imad, Muna Daloob, Mohammad Shehada, we’re, Shehada, enjoyments Organizations: Hospital, Al, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, ., Agence France, Gaza Ministry, Health Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Jabaliya, Aqsa, Deir al, Gaza City, Israel, Egypt

☆ Hamas Political Leader Says Israeli Strike Kills His 3 Sons
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Palestinians gathered for Eid prayers across Gaza on Wednesday, where many mosques have been destroyed after six months of war. Ms. Abu Awda’s family managed to take some clothes with them when they fled their home in Jabaliya two months ago. “What kind of Eid is this?” Ms. Abu Awda said, adding, “We have lost so much. We have lost family and loved ones. The Gaza Ministry of Health says that more than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza over six months of Israeli bombardment.

Persons: Eid, Fitr, Amani Abu Awda’s, Abu Awda, ”, “, —, Abu Awda’s, Ms, Alina Al, Yazji, Haitham Imad, Muna Daloob, Mohammad Shehada, we’re, Shehada, enjoyments Organizations: Hospital, Al, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, ., Agence France, Gaza Ministry, Health Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Jabaliya, Aqsa, Deir al, Gaza City, Israel, Egypt

CNN —Five people have been arrested and multiple firearms have been recovered after a Wednesday afternoon shooting in West Philadelphia, police say. The shooting unfolded at roughly 2:30 p.m. at a park where about 1,000 people had gathered for a celebration, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said during a news conference. A law enforcement source told CNN earlier reports of a shooting prompted a police response to the Clara Muhammad Square. The scene of a shooting in Philadelphia on April 10, 2024. “We don’t know who was shooting, where the shots came from, but people started shooting and everyone just started running.

Persons: Kevin Bethel, ”, Bethel, Clara Muhammad Square, WPVI, Eid, “, Najah Bey, ” Bey, CNN’s Mark Morales, Hannah Rabinowitz Organizations: CNN, Philadelphia Police, Police, WPVI, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: West Philadelphia, Philadelphia

☆ Ismail Haniyeh: Israeli airstrike kills three sons of Hamas political leader in Gaza as ceasefire talks stutter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Zeena Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Wednesday, an assassination that threatens to complicate ongoing negotiations aiming to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal. The three were killed when the vehicle they were driving in was bombed in the Al Shati refugee camp, northwest of Gaza City, Hamas political leader Haniyeh told Al Jazeera. The Israeli military statement did not mention anyone else being killed in the strike. Palestinian group Hamas' top political leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on March 26, 2024. More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Amir Haniyeh, Mohammad Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Al Jazeera, Eid, ”, Majid Asgaripour, Reuters Haniyeh, “, Haniyeh’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Bill Burns Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency, Hamas, Reuters, Israeli, Gaza Ministry, Health, CIA, Israel Locations: Gaza, Al Shati, Gaza City, Palestinian, Tehran, Iran, Qatar, Rafah, “ Israel, Israel’s, Cairo

☆ Getting Dressed for the ‘Muslim Met Gala’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Sadiba Hasan | Amir Hamja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Washington Square Park is known for its lively atmosphere and eclectic characters. People celebrate Eid by getting dressed to the nines, which is why some jokingly refer to it as the Muslim Met Gala. Many came to Washington Square Park wearing colorful traditional garments like galabeyas, grand boubous, salwar kameez, thobes, kurtas and abayas, some of which were accessorized with opulent jewels or swipes of dark kajal eyeliner. Others chose more casual clothes — like the comic Ramy Youssef, who wore a hoodie and a green baseball cap. On the morning of Eid, there are many large prayer gatherings throughout New York — in mosques, at high school football fields, on blocked-off streets.

Persons: Eid, salwar, kajal eyeliner, Ramy Youssef, Mr, Youssef, Hasan Minhaj, Ayman Mohyeldin Locations: Washington, New York, Lower Manhattan

☆ Iran and Israel Exchange New Threats After Strike on Iranian Commanders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran and Israel traded fresh threats on Wednesday amid heightened concerns over how and when Tehran might retaliate for an Israeli strike in Syria last week that killed several senior Iranian commanders. The leadership of Iran has repeatedly vowed to avenge the deadly April 1 strike on an Iranian Embassy building in Damascus. U.S. officials have said they were bracing for a possible Iranian response, and Israel put its military on alert. The response from Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, was swift: “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran,” he wrote in Farsi on X.Israel has not publicly taken responsibility for the strike in Damascus, but several Israeli officials have confirmed its involvement to The New York Times. Israel has been trading fire with Iran-backed militant groups since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 ignited the war in Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Eid, ”, Israel Katz Organizations: Iranian Embassy, New York Times, Analysts Locations: Iran, Israel, Tehran, Syria, Iranian, Damascus . U.S, Damascus, Gaza

☆ How Muslim Americans are observing Eid-al-Fitr in the midst of the crisis in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In Gaza, it’s customary to make large batches of the cookies during Eid and other holidays to distribute to family and friends. Ahead of Eid, El-Haddad and her daughters prepare ka'ik, traditional ring-shaped cookies stuffed with date paste. Some other Muslim Americans aren’t in the mood to celebrateFor some other Muslim Americans, the ongoing assault on Gaza has cast a shadow over Eid festivities. Given the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, some Muslim American communities are not in the mood for elaborate Eid celebrations this year. So on Eid, El-Haddad will honor her aunt by cooking sumagiyya the way she knows how.

Persons: Laila El, Haddad, Eid, Haddad —, —, An’am Dalloul, Hoda, Hani, Dalloul —, El, “ Um Hani, ”, Hani ” —, An’am, Maggie Schmitt, ’, “, that’s, It’s, she’s, ” El, aren’t, Joe Biden’s, Laura Oliverio, CNN Arafat Herzallah, Herzallah, Herzallah’s, He’ll, he’s, they’ll, Abdul Elenani, Ayat Masoud, Elenani, they’d Organizations: CNN, sumagiyya, El, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Hamas, Palestinian American Community Center, ” Locations: Gaza, chard, chickpeas, El, Maryland, Gaza City, Israel, Rafah, New Jersey, Patterson, Palestine, San Francisco, New York

☆ Eid in Gaza is celebrated in destroyed mosques and homes, as war rages
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Rob Picheta | Zeena Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Wednesday should have marked the celebration of Eid al-Fitr; instead, it is another reminder of what millions in Gaza have lost. “I never expected in my life to spend Eid like this.”Mohammad has just returned to Khan Younis, the central Gaza city that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded for months until their withdrawal Sunday. He grabbed his daughter’s Eid clothes as he went, even though she won’t be able to wear them. People in Gaza, as across the Muslim world, would typically celebrate the day by meeting with their families and sharing large meals. Israel's war in Gaza has displaced most of the enclave's population.

Persons: CNN — Mohammad, Eid, ”, “, ” Mohammad, Khan Younis, won’t, Allah, Mohammed Abed, Ahlam Saleh, Saleh, Ramadan, Mohammed talatene, Deir al Balah, Um Ahmad, ‘, Baba, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mostafa Alhelou, ” Alhelou Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Ministry of Health, Getty, Hamas, UN Locations: Gaza, People, UN, AFP, Deir al Balah, Deir al, Farouq, Rafah, Jabalya, Gaza City

☆ How the Solar Eclipse Affected Eid Timing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Emily Schmall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For centuries, the sighting of a crescent moon has signaled the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fast and prayer for Muslims. This year, the sight was obscured in some parts of the world by the sun’s glare during the total solar eclipse, delaying some Islamic communities’ declaration of Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the fast. Although only a narrow band of North America experienced a total eclipse, the phenomenon reduced lunar visibility elsewhere, experts said. In Saudi Arabia, an authority on religious observances for many Muslims, the government called on all Muslims throughout the kingdom to look for the crescent moon on Monday. When it was not reported seen, the Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that Eid would be celebrated beginning on Wednesday.

Persons: Eid Organizations: North America, Supreme Locations: North, Kerala, India, New Delhi, Saudi Arabia

☆ 5 desserts for celebrating Eid al-Fitr
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Jocelyn Solis-Moreira | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ramadan is coming to an end, which means it’s time to plan to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. A number of desserts make up the table during Eid al-Fitr. Arindam Dey/AFP/Getty ImagesA classic Eid al-Fitr dish is sheer khurma. Helou said these desserts are eaten all year round, but they are ever more present during Ramadan and Eid. iStockphoto/Getty ImagesA popular Eid al-Fitr dish is a sweet milk-based dumpling called rasmalai.

Persons: Ramadan, Eid, Sweets, Anissa Helou, Ma’amoul, ” Helou, Arindam Dey, Helou, Mehmet Akif Parlak, “, ”, it’s, Karolia, James Nielsen, Jocelyn Solis, Moreira Organizations: CNN, Getty, Anadolu Agency, Houston Chronicle Locations: Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian, Agartala, India, AFP, Gaziantep, New York

☆ Iran Pardons 4 Environmental Activists to Commemorate Eid al-Fitr, Lawyer Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Yonette Joseph | Leily Nikounazar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran has pardoned and begun freeing four environmental activists who spent several years in prison on espionage charges, Iranian state media said on Monday. The pardons were granted to commemorate Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday celebrated at the end of Ramadan, according to their lawyer. Iran has a tradition of freeing prisoners, but not political ones, around religious holidays. Mr. Bayani and Mr. Jokar were freed on Monday, according to images posted by their families on social media. A lawyer for the activists, Hojjat Kermani, said he expected the other two to be freed at a later time.

Persons: Eid, Morad Tahbaz, Niloufar, Sepideh Kashani, Taher Qadirian, Houman Jokar, Bayani, Jokar, Hojjat Kermani Locations: Iran, United States, Iranian

☆ Middle East Crisis Amid Fears of Expanded War, U.S. Renews Push for Hostage and Cease-Fire Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the aid group said, it had delivered more than 43 million meals there. Mr. Al-Asaad knows many people relied on meals from World Central Kitchen, which often consisted of rice and beans and sometimes meat or chicken. His family rarely got the meals “because the demand was more than the supply,” Mr. Al-Asaad said in an interview on Friday. “Eggs cost more than gold,” Mr. Al-Asaad, 45, wrote in the caption. The World Food Program, an arm of the United Nations, says that famine is imminent in northern Gaza.

Persons: Suhail Al, Asaad, José Andrés, Mr, Biden, Israel, ”, Mohammad al, Masri, doesn’t Organizations: Mr, Food Program, United Nations, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza City, Rafah, Gaza, WhatsApp

“Continuing his tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan, President Biden will host a meeting with Muslim community leaders to discuss issues of importance to the community,” a White House official said. Vice President Kamala Harris, senior Muslim administration officials, senior members of Biden’s national security team and fewer than a dozen invited guests are expected to attend the meeting, per a senior administration official. White House officials have held several meetings with prominent Arab American and Muslim leaders in various cities. Last month, senior White House officials met with Arab, Muslim and Palestinian American community leaders in Chicago. Tom Perez, the White House director of intergovernmental affairs, and Steve Benjamin, director of public engagement, participated in the meeting, among others.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, ”, “, Eid, Kamala Harris, Ramadan, Tom Perez, Steve Benjamin Organizations: Washington CNN, White, CNN, “, White House, American, Democratic Locations: Israel, Gaza, Northern Gaza, ”, White, Palestinian American, Chicago, Michigan

☆ Egypt Receives Hamas Response to Gaza Truce Proposal, Working to Reach Final Formula
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian officials said on Tuesday they have received Hamas' response to a framework ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip, a statement from Egypt's State Information Service said. "We will discuss all the details of the proposed framework with the concerned parties to reach an agreement on the final formula as soon as possible," Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, was quoted as saying. Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Hamas' response showed flexibility, asking for a specific timeline for the ceasefire to end after the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday in early April. "Egypt will continue to exert its utmost efforts in order to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip soon," Rashwan said. War in Israel and Gaza View All 194 Images(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Nafisa ElTahir; Writing by Adam Makary; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)

Persons: Rashwan, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Nafisa, Adam Makary, Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Service, State Information Service, Reuters Locations: CAIRO, Gaza, Egypt, Israel

☆ Opinion | A Dispatch From the Muslim Girl Scouts of Astoria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Mara Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

At a meeting of the Muslim Girl Scouts of Astoria last week, a young woman bounded into the room, asking whether her fellow scouts had secured tickets to an Olivia Rodrigo concert. “It’s no conflict at all,” Ms. Rayan told me of Islam and the Girl Scouts. “You want a strong Muslim American girl.”At the Girl Scouts meeting, Amira and her friends discussed their plans to protest the war in Gaza. In 1948, Ms. Rayan told me, her grandfather lost his home and land in Jaffa to the state of Israel. Ms. Rayan said those killed in her family included six cousins and their children, who were as young as 2.

Persons: Amira Ismail, Amira, ’ ” Amira, ‘ That’s, ”, “, ” Amira, Eid, Dianne Morales, Abier Rayan, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Ms, Rayan, There’s, “ I’m, John Lewis, Amira waded Organizations: City Hall, Palestinian, United, New, Muslim Girl Scouts, Scout, Girl Scouts, Gaza Health Ministry, Hamas, Yorkers, Brooklyn Locations: New York, Queens, New York City, Palestinian American, United States, Israel, America’s, Astoria, Gaza, Egypt, Jaffa, Gaza City, Brooklyn

On a quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted basis, GDP expanded 3.86%, compared with the poll's prediction of 3.72% growth. Meanwhile, exports contracted 2.75% in the second quarter on a yearly basis, in stark contrast to last quarter's growth of more than 10%. Myrdal Gunarto, economist with Maybank Indonesia, said he might raise his bank's full-year 2023 GDP growth outlook of 5.05%, but described the second quarter data as "a sign that economic activities had peaked". The better-than-expected data may spur monetary policymakers to shift their focus from growth to the current account, as strong domestic demand typically leads to rising imports, said Fakhrul Fulvian, economist with Trimegah Securities, who maintained his full-year 2023 GDP growth outlook at 5%. The government is targeting the same growth rate for 2023.

Persons: Eid, Joko Widodo's, Myrdal Gunarto, Myrdal, Fakhrul Fulvian, Radhika Rao, Stefanno Sulaiman, Fransiska Nangoy, Gayatri Suroyo, Martin Petty, Sonali Paul Organizations: Asia's, Statistics, Reuters, Maybank, Trimegah Securities, U.S ., Bank, DBS Bank, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Statistics Indonesia, Maybank Indonesia, Indonesia, Bank Indonesia

☆ Where a Photographer’s Curiosity Became a Two-Year Commitment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( John Otis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Though he grew up just a few miles away, Jonah Markowitz, a photographer and documentarian based in Brooklyn, knew little about the neighborhood of Kensington before 2021. That’s when he noticed, in New York City data from the year before, that an outsize portion of applications for new business licenses came from the area that included Kensington. So he began to check out the neighborhood, which had been a hub of Bangladeshi life in the city since the 1970s. Mr. Markowitz expected to start a project about economic trends in an immigrant community. Instead, he spent almost two and a half years visiting the same corner in Kensington, working on a portrait of the quiet transformation of a New York City neighborhood.

Persons: Jonah Markowitz, Markowitz Organizations: Metro Locations: Brooklyn, Kensington, New York City

Ms. Hanif’s family history illustrates how Bangladeshi Kensington came to be. While the corner is often a male-dominated space, she and other Bangladeshi American women have carved out their own places there. Ms. Saeed wants to buy a house, but real estate in Kensington has become far too expensive. Ms. Saeed also faced opposition as she was growing up, from relatives on her mother’s side who frowned upon dance. With other public spaces so dominated by men, Ms. Ferdous sees it as vital that women gather to keep their traditions alive.

Persons: Shahana Hanif, Hanif’s, Hanif, Radhuni, Ms, Mir Hossain, Hossain, “, ”, Sala Miah, Rubel, Tarek Aziz, Uddin, Farojan Saeed, Syed Rehan, Saeed, Annie Ferdous, Ferdous, Eid, Mr, Mahmud Organizations: Young, City Council, Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts, Bangladeshi Institute of Performing Arts, McDonald Locations: Kensington, Bangladesh, Pakistan, “, United States, America, Bengal, Noakhali, Chittagong, Sandwip, Brooklyn, East, South America, Colombia, Panama, Dhaka, Bangladeshi, Manhattan, East New York, Jackson Heights, Ozone, New York, Motiul, Philadelphia, Jessore District, Jamaica, Queens

☆ Biden nominates four more judges in D.C., Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden hosts a reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, at the White House, in Washington, U.S., May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File PhotoWASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden nominated another four federal judges on Wednesday, including two women of Asian descent who would be the first such U.S. judges on their court or in their state. The Senate, which Biden's fellow Democrats narrowly control, must approve the candidates, who were nominated to posts in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., according to a White House statement. Republicans had blocked Democrats' efforts to temporarily replace Feinstein on the committee, which approves federal judges before they go for a vote before the full Senate. So far, the Senate has confirmed 122 of Biden's nominees to lifetime posts on the federal courts, according to the White House.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Iran to reopen embassies 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday in a sign of warming relations after the two countries closed their missions seven years ago. "During the last phone call between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia on Eid al-Fitr, we agreed to work in the next coming days on the reopening of the Iranian and Saudi embassies in Tehran and Riyadh," Amirabdollahian said, according to an official Arabic translation. Their relationship started deteriorating in 2015 following the intervention of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Yemen war, after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement toppled the Saudi-backed government and seized control of the capital Sanaa. The Iranian foreign minister confirmed President Ebrahim Raisi would visit Syria in "the near future" without providing details. The visit would be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

☆ Iran foreign minister says embassies in S.Arabia, Iran to open 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will open embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday as the relationship between the two regional rivals warms up after years of hostility. The Iranian and Saudi embassies in the respective countries have been closed since 2016. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of providing weapons to the Houthis who attacked Saudi cities with armed drones and ballistic missiles. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed last month to end their diplomatic raw and restore diplomatic missions under a deal brokered by China. The visit will be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

CNN —The World Health Organization warned Tuesday of a “huge biological risk” after Sudanese fighters seized the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum, as foreign nations raced to mount rapid evacuation efforts from the country and violence punctured a fragile US-brokered ceasefire. Seized laboratory a potential ‘germ bomb’A high-ranking medical source told CNN that the lab, which contains samples of diseases and other biological material, had been taken over by RSF forces. Navy PhotoAs many as 500 people fleeing the fighting have begun boarding the French frigate “Lorraine” in Port-Sudan on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the French Chief of Defense Staff told CNN. “Shops are running out of food completely” and several food factories in the state had been looted, the witness, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told CNN. On Monday, the Sudanese military claimed that the RSF killed an Egyptian diplomat, while the RSF claimed the army targeted civilians in an airstrike on a Khartoum neighborhood.

☆ US and France evacuate diplomats from Sudan as battles rage on
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan," Biden said in a statement. It pits Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who jointly staged a coup in 2021 but fell out during negotiations over a plan to form a civilian government and integrate the RSF into the armed forces. Saudi Arabia has already evacuated Gulf citizens from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 650 km (400 miles) from Khartoum. Egypt, which has more than 10,000 citizens in Sudan, urged its nationals outside Khartoum to head to its consulate in Port Sudan, and to a consular office in Wadi Halfa on the border with Egypt, in preparation for their evacuation. It encouraged those in Khartoum to shelter in place and wait for the situation to improve.

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