UN states urged to support call for International Court of Justice opinion on Israeli occupation

NEW YORK CITY: The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People met on Wednesday to discuss a UN request for the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory legal opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The request was prompted by a letter from the Palestinian government to the General Assembly.


US military targets top Al-Qaeda terrorist in Syria

BEIRUT: The US-led coalition carried out a drone strike on Wednesday in northwestern Syria targeting a senior Al-Qaeda leader, the US military said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a chicken farm near the town of Harem, killing one person. It said the dead man has not been identified yet.

The strike was the latest of a series of similar attacks over the past years that have killed senior members of the Daesh group or Al-Qaeda.



Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy

BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon on Wednesday said it was vital Lebanese political leaders elected a new president as soon as possible to safeguard the crises-hit country’s stability.

After meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, envoy Walid Al-Bukhari highlighted the need to “expedite the election of a president capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the Lebanese people.”

He added: “We do not accept the ongoing presidential vacuum that threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese people.”



UAE sends humanitarian aid for Sudanese refugees in Chad

DUBAI: A plane filled with food took off from the UAE on Tuesday bound for Abeche Airport in Chad, as part of an effort to provide urgently needed humanitarian aid for refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The aim of the Emirati initiative, carried out through the Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Foundation and the Emirates Red Crescent, is to provide food to alleviate the suffering of refugees who arrive at the border with Chad.



Fighting in Sudan traps victims of African conflicts in endless cycle of displacement

JUBA, South Sudan: Over the past two years, the world has been plagued by large-scale refugee crises, from Syria and Afghanistan to Ukraine and Myanmar. Last year, the UN estimated that over 100 million people worldwide were displaced. Now, the conflict between rival military factions in Sudan which began last month may see these numbers swell even further.