There have been 200 air strikes on opposition-held territory in northern Syria in the last three days, mainly targeting civilians, the US has said. Special envoy James Jeffrey told reporters the attacks in Idlib province had been carried out by the Syrian government and its ally, Russia. In one of the latest raids, 11 civilians were killed in reported Russian… Read more »
Lebanon‘s new government is looking to secure $4-5bn in soft loans from international donors to finance purchases of wheat, fuel and medicines, according to local media reports, amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Lebanon formed a new cabinet on Tuesday following three months of political deadlock after the cabinet of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned amid unprecedented… Read more »
The Libyan capital’s only operational airport has closed again after threats by forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, dealing another setback to peace efforts. Despite repeated appeals from the United Nations, the airport has been hit multiple times since the start of an offensive in April by fighters led by eastern-based commander Haftar to seize Tripoli from the UN-recognised… Read more »
Saudi Arabia has denied that its crown prince was responsible for hacking Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ phone. A message from a phone number used by the prince has been implicated in the data breach, according to reports. The kingdom’s US embassy said the stories were “absurd” and called for an investigation into them. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Mr Bezos… Read more »
Lebanon has formed a new government, ending months of deadlock that have left the country adrift as an economic crisis deepens. Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister in October in response to mass protests over corruption and mismanagement. The Hezbollah movement and its allies chose university professor Hassan Diab to replace him last month, but they could not agree the… Read more »