Author: Prima News

The UN warned Wednesday that more than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon as Israeli strikes escalated across the country, with nearly one-third of those uprooted being children. “Overnight and into the early morning, Israeli strikes on central Beirut reportedly caused additional casualties,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said during a news conference, adding that residential areas were struck, causing a multi-story building to collapse. Pointing to Israeli attacks on health care facilities, Haq said: “Earlier today, authorities reported significant damage sustained by three government hospitals following Israeli strikes, injuring health care workers.” He added that “more than one…

Saudi Arabia will host ​a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from ‌a number of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss ways to support regional security ​and stability given the Iran war, the ​kingdom’s foreign ministry said. A Turkish diplomatic source ⁠said separately that representatives from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, ​Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey and the United ​Arab Emirates would attend the meeting. There are scant signs of de-escalation nearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ​that has engulfed the region and caused unprecedented ​disruption to global energy supplies. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who intends…

When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global ​effort against Iran and deploy ships to prise open the Strait of Hormuz, whose near closure has held the global economy in a vice, he was rebuffed by some of America’s closest allies. Merz told German ‌lawmakers on Wednesday he agreed Iran must not be allowed to pose a threat to its neighbours but expressed doubts about the rationale behind the U.S.-Israeli war. “To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary,” he told…

U.S. presidential envoy John Coale met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday on ‌his latest mission to try to negotiate the release of political prisoners. Coale has been tasked by U.S. President Donald Trump with trying to free what human rights groups say are more than 1,100 Belarusians currently behind bars because of political or human rights ​activity. Lukashenko, greeting him with a hug, said he was ready to “discuss any issues and answer any questions”, ​but also wanted to talk about the wars in Ukraine and Iran. “I think my ⁠perspective on global issues, especially the situation…

China, home to the world’s biggest oil refining sector, said it was ready ​to work with Southeast Asia in addressing energy problems ‌stemming from the war in Iran and called on the parties involved to immediately cease military operations. China’s show of willingness to work with the ​region of more than 700 million people would be ​welcome relief to Southeast Asian oil importers after an order ⁠by Beijing earlier this month to ban Chinese exports of diesel, ​gasoline and jet fuel. The ban would worsen shortages and further hike ​prices for some of China’s strategic partner-nations in Southeast Asia, which have already…

The United States hosted representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, with talks ​centering on the stalled peace process in eastern Congo. It marked the ‌first encounter between the parties since the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior officers on March 2. Washington has blamed Rwandan support for the M23 rebel ​group for continued violence in eastern Congo. Rwanda denies backing M23. ​M23 staged a lightning advance in eastern Congo in January 2025 ⁠and still holds large swathes of territory. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and ​Rwanda “agreed…

The German government has set a mid-April deadline for reaching ​an agreement with France on ‌the crisis-hit FCAS fighter programme, a government official said on Thursday. “Germany and France have ​agreed on a final attempt ​at mediation between the industries, to ⁠be carried out by experts,” ​the official said. “Due to the upcoming decisions ​on the federal budget, a result must be reached by mid-April,” they added. The news ​comes after French President Emmanuel Macron ​and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met late Wednesday ‌ahead ⁠of a March 19-20 EU leaders’ summit. Plans to develop a futuristic air combat system together…

Iran seeks compensation from the ​United Arab Emirates, ‌accusing it of enabling U.S. attacks against Iranian ​territory, Iran’s U.N. ​Ambassador told the UN ⁠Secretary General in ​a letter according to ​a Nournews report published on Thursday. In the letter, ​Amir Saeid Iravani ​said the UAE’s decision to ‌allow ⁠its territory to be used for the strikes constituted “an internationally ​wrongful act ​that ⁠entailed state responsibility.” Tehran said the ​UAE had an ​international ⁠responsibility to provide reparation, including compensation for ⁠all ​material and ​moral damages incurred.

European Union leaders piled pressure on Hungarian ‌Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift his blockade on a vital 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) EU loan to Ukraine to keep up its fight against Russia’s invasion. EU leaders agreed to the loan in December but Orban, who has cordial ties with Russia and has clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, blocked ​its implementation last month, citing a dispute over a war-damaged pipeline. Orban’s stance has angered other EU leaders as Kyiv ​could run short of money in weeks if it does not receive new funding and his ⁠U-turn has called into question the credibility…

A forthcoming Italian referendum on judicial reform will test right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s political strength and could give the ​fragmented opposition the impetus to forge a broad alliance ahead of next year’s general election. Italians will vote on ‌March 22-23 on a proposal to separate the careers of judges and public prosecutors, splitting the self-ruling High Council of the Judiciary (CSM) into two bodies whose members would be chosen by lot rather than elected. Though centred on the governance of the judiciary, the referendum has become a political showdown between the government-backed ‘Yes’ ​camp and the opposition, which supports ‘No’. There is no…