Israel says it retaliated against shots fired from Syria at military drone

JERUSALEM: Israel retaliated against shots from fired Syria at a surveillance drone, the Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday.
“IDF Machine Gun fire was directed toward the originating area of the shots in Syria,” a statement from the military said. “The drone successfully completed its mission and no damage was caused.”
Israel has for years been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar Assad in the civil war that started in 2011.



Clashes erupt in Sudan’s capital threatening to shatter cease-fire deal

DUBAI: Clashes between rival military factions broke out on Wednesday in Sudan’s capital, residents said, threatening to shatter a fragile cease-fire designed to allow for the delivery of aid and lay the ground for a more lasting truce.
The cease-fire deal, which is being monitored by Saudi Arabia and the United States as well as the warring parties, comes after five weeks of intensive warfare in the capital Khartoum and outbursts of violence in other areas of the country, including the western region of Darfur.



UAE’s campaign for gender equity in private sector attracts 64 firms

DUBAI: Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, president of the UAE Gender Balance Council, said that equity is becoming more deeply rooted in various sectors of the nation as a result of the government’s progressive policies, Emirates News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The UAE GBC announced that eight major national and international companies operating in a variety of fields in the country have now joined the “SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector” initiative. This falls under the auspices of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5.




Will Sudan crisis trigger a fresh wave of migrants and refugees out of Africa?

JUBA, South Sudan: Thousands of civilians in towns and villages across Sudan have been forced to flee in recent weeks to escape the worsening conflict in the country, which has entered its second bloody month, leading to fears of a new global refugee crisis.

Initial clashes between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces have escalated into heavy combat, displacing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.




Photo exhibition reveals lives of women in Iran

MILAN: A photograph of a woman, wearing a white chador with an ornate pattern and standing in front of a hanging Persian rug, is perhaps the most striking image of a new exhibition in Milan that aims to shed light on women’s lives in today’s Iran.

The woman is photographed from behind and the pattern of her chador, which completely covers her, seems to intertwine with the dense floral design of the rug.

The image is part of the first solo exhibition by Iranian photographer Farnaz Damnabi, which opened at Milan’s 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery on Tuesday.