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  • Israel says no change in defense policy for ‘now’

Israel says no change in defense policy for ‘now’

Israel says no change in defense policy for ‘now’
A man carries the body of a girl killed during Israeli bombardment on the Al-Nassr school that houses displaced Palestinians, West of Gaza city, on August 4, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant Hamas group. (AFP)
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Updated 05 August 2024
AFP
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Israel says no change in defense policy for ‘now’

Israel says no change in defense policy for ‘now’
  • Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's killing last week has triggered fears of regional conflict
  • Israel’s statement comes amid warnings of retaliation from Iran, Lebanon-based Hezbollah 
Updated 05 August 2024
AFP
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JERUSALEM: Israel’s army said Sunday it had not changed “as of now” its policy for protecting civilians, as Iran and Hezbollah are expected to avenge killings blamed on Israel of two senior members.
“I would like to refer tonight to the various reports and rumors that we are on alert for the enemy’s response to the territory of the State of Israel,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an online briefing to journalists.
“I emphasize that as of now there is no change in the Home Front Command’s defense policy,” he said of a branch of the army that deals with the protection of civilians in times of war and emergency, including natural disasters.
Hagari and other top Israeli military and government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said the country is prepared for any attack.
But Hagari said that Israel’s protection is not “hermetic.”
“We strive to give you the necessary warning to prepare for any threat,” he said.
“The protection is not hermetic. Therefore, every citizen is required to know what the instructions are, wherever he is and to be vigilant.”
Hagari also announced that the Home Front Command has launched a new system to alert citizens in the event of any emergency.
“The alert will be sent to mobile phones in the area under threat,” he said.
“This is done without the need for an application and without any action on the part of the citizen.”
Fears that the almost 10-month-old Gaza war could become a regional conflict after the killings Tuesday of Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut suburb and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh the following day in Tehran.
Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have vowed to avenge the deaths which they blame on Israel.
Israel has claimed responsibility for killing Shukr but remained silent on Haniyeh’s death.
Hezbollah has been trading near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since war erupted in Gaza on October 7 following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel.

Topics: Israel

Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results

Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results
Updated 28 sec ago
AFP
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Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results

Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results
Updated 28 sec ago
AFP

ALGIERS: Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has won a second term with 84.3 percent of the votes in last week's election, according to final results announced Saturday by Omar Belhadj, president of the constitutional court.
Preliminary results issued by the North African country's electoral authority ANIE on Sunday gave the incumbent nearly 95 percent of the votes, prompting other candidates to challenge the tally.

Topics: Algeria Election Vote

Turkiye arrests suspected Istanbul church attack planner linked to Islamic State

Turkiye arrests suspected Istanbul church attack planner linked to Islamic State
Updated 7 sec ago
Reuters
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Turkiye arrests suspected Istanbul church attack planner linked to Islamic State

Turkiye arrests suspected Istanbul church attack planner linked to Islamic State
  • One Turkish citizen was killed by two Daesh gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January
Updated 7 sec ago
Reuters

ANKARA: Turkish authorities have arrested a Daesh militant believed to be involved in planning an attack on the Santa Maria Italian Church in Istanbul earlier this year, the country’s intelligence agency said on Saturday.
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said the suspect, whom it identified as Viskhan Soltamatov, was believed to be the key figure behind the Jan. 28, 2024 attack. He was detained by MIT and police during a joint operation in Istanbul, the agency said.
MIT said Soltamatov was also believed to have supplied the weapon used in the assault.
One Turkish citizen was killed by two Daesh gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January.
The church attack was orchestrated by IS-linked operatives from the group’s Khorasan Province (ISKP), a faction active in Afghanistan. In April, Turkiye had arrested 48 people believed to be linked to the attack.

Topics: Turkiye

Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates

Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates
Updated 2 min 21 sec ago
Reuters
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Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates

Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates
  • The move by the Administrative Court comes amid growing political tension in the North African country
  • Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets on Friday in the country’s biggest march in two years
Updated 2 min 21 sec ago
Reuters

TUNIS: Tunisia’s highest court on Saturday ordered the electoral commission to reinstate two candidates for a presidential poll in October, warning that failure to do so could jeopardize the legitimacy of the election.
The move by the Administrative Court comes amid growing political tension in the North African country and fears from the opposition and civil society groups about a rigged election that would lead to President Kais Saied winning a second term.
Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets on Friday in the country’s biggest march in two years, protesting against restrictions on freedoms and the undemocratic electoral climate.
The protesters chanted slogans including “Out with dictator Saied.”
Tensions mounted after the electoral commission earlier this month rejected the court’s decision to restore the candidacy of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi and Imed Daimi ahead of the Oct.6 race, citing alleged irregularities in their candidacy filings.
Major parties and civil society groups said that the commission, whose members were appointed by the president himself, had became a tool in the hands of the president against his rivals.
The head of the commission Farouk Bouasker has denied the accusations and said that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election.”
But the court said on Saturday that the commission is obligated to implement its decision and, if necessary, to review the electoral calendar. It is not clear if this means postponing the election or extending the campaign timeframe.
“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process,” it said.
The court asked Znaidi and Mekki to be included in the race, after they filed a new complaint against the commission’s decision. The third candidate, Daimi, has not filed a second appeal yet.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019, but then tightened his grip on power and began ruling by decree in 2021 in a move the opposition has described as a coup.

Topics: Tunisia

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Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels
Updated 14 September 2024
AP
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Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels
  • EU’s Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion
Updated 14 September 2024
AP

DUBAI: A new attempt has begun to try to salvage an oil tanker burning in the Red Sea after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Saturday.
The EU’s Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion.
The mission has “been actively involved in this complex endeavor, by creating a secure environment, which is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation,” the EU said.
A phone number for the mission rang unanswered Saturday.


The Sounion came under attack from the Houthis beginning Aug. 21. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti.
The Houthis later planted explosives aboard the ship and detonated them. That’s led to fears the ship’s 1 million barrels of crude oil could spill into the Red Sea.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. One of the sunken vessels, the Tutor, went down after the Houthis planted explosives aboard it and after its crew abandoned it due to an earlier attack, the rebel group later acknowledged.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Topics: Yemen Houthi Red Sea

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Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet

Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters
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Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet

Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet
Updated 14 September 2024
Reuters

CAIRO: Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree naming former communications minister Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali to form a new cabinet, state media said on Saturday.
The new cabinet will replace an outgoing administration which has been serving in a caretaker role since parliamentary elections in mid-July.
Al-Jalali served as communications minister from 2014-2016. He has been subject to EU sanctions. 
since 2014 for his “responsibility for the regime’s violent repression of the civilian population.”
According to UN figures, at least 350,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 from an uprising against Assad’s rule. 

Topics: Syria Assad Cabinet

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