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Voice of America
Israel Launches Operation at Gaza City Hospital
Categories: Iraq
Iran Inks Big Contracts to Increase Oil Production
Tehran — Iran on Sunday sealed contracts worth billions of dollars with domestic companies to boost its oil production in the face of Western sanctions.
In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, the oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields.
Shana, the official news agency for the oil industry, labelled the deals as Iran's "biggest oil contracts in the past decade" and said they aimed to add 350,000...
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Greece Alarmed by Rising Tides of Migrants
Athens — Greece is facing increasing illegal immigration as the Gaza crisis continues. The trend has Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and senior European Union officials heading to Egypt Sunday to sign an aid package worth just over $8 billion intended to help ease migration.
A surge in illegal migration has seen numbers entering Greece swell by more than 400% in the last month alone.
Palestinians rank high in these flows but Egyptians are increasingly following suit.
“There is no...
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European Union Announces $8 Billion Package of Aid for Egypt
Cairo — The European Union on Sunday announced a $8 billion aid package for cash-strapped Egypt amid concerns that economic pressure and conflicts and chaos in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores.
The deal is scheduled to be signed during a visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus and Greece, according to Egyptian officials.
The package includes both grants and loans over the next three...
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Airstrikes in Syria Hit Several Sites, Wound Soldier, Military Says
beirut — Airstrikes hit several sites in southern Syria early Sunday wounding a soldier, Syrian state media reported.
State news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, said air defenses shot down some of the missiles, which came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights around 12:42 a.m. local time. The strikes led to "material losses" and the wounding of a soldier, the statement said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an...
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Indian Navy Frees Cargo Ship From Somali Pirates After Shootout
Washington — The Indian navy has freed the hijacked MV Ruen cargo ship in Somalia's Puntland region Saturday after a 24-hour standoff and shootout, and it has detained 35 pirates, according to Puntland Ports Minister Ahmed Yasin Salah. The crew is reported to be unharmed.
The pirates — who allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel on December 14 — exchanged heavy gunfire with the Indian navy Friday.
"The Indian navy successfully conducted the operation, which has...
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US Sanctions Network Smuggling American Tech to Iran's Central Bank
Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled sanctions against a network of companies and individuals for facilitating illegal technology transfers from dozens of U.S. firms to Iranian entities, including the country's central bank.
The sanctions relate to Informatics Services Corporation (ISC), the technology arm of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the Treasury Department said in a statement Friday.
It also sanctioned a number of alleged ISC subsidiaries and front companies...
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Cease-Fire Talks With Israel and Hamas Expected to Resume Sunday
CAIRO — Stalled talks aimed at securing a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials.
The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders join the indirect negotiations since the start of Ramadan. International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before the Muslim holy month started earlier this week, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn't lead to a permanent...
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Germany Calls for More Aid to Gaza as Scholz Heads to Israel
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Israel on Saturday to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East.
Scholz will travel to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba on Saturday to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday before flying to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It is necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now. That will be a topic that I also have to talk about,"...
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Syria’s Plight Seems Forgotten as Nation Enters 14th Year of Civil War
GENEVA — As Syria enters its 14th year of civil war with no political resolution in sight, United Nations aid agencies are appealing to the international community to remember the plight of millions of people who continue to suffer from violence, devastation, destitution and abuse.
Thirteen years of crisis have taken an unimaginable toll on the Syrian people, and U.N. agencies warn the crisis continues to wreak havoc on the population, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
In...
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Violence in Syria Rising, Aid Flagging as Civil War Enters 14th Year
AL-NAYRAB, Syria — For years, Syria’s civil war has been a largely frozen conflict, the country effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus government of President Bashar al-Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.
But as the conflict entered its 14th year on Friday, observers say violence has been on the rise again while the world’s attention is mostly focused on other crises, such as Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In the...
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Exclusive: Leaked Iranian Government Documents Reveal Orders to Conceal Protester Killings
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Hamas Lashes Out at Abbas' 'Unilateral' Designation of New PM
cairo — The Islamist group Hamas on Friday criticized the "unilateral" designation by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of an ally and leading business figure as prime minister with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA) and rebuild Gaza.
Mohammad Mustafa's appointment comes after mounting pressure to overhaul the governing body of the occupied Palestinian territories and improve governance in the occupied West Bank where it is based.
Hamas said the...
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Tanker in Red Sea Attacked, 2 Explosions Reported, Security Firm Says
CAIRO — A Marshall Islands-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tanker reported two explosions near the ship as it traveled off the coast of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, the third merchant vessel attack of the past 48 hours, British security firm Ambrey said Friday.
The master of a merchant vessel located in a similar area reported an explosion a distance off the vessel's starboard beam, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Reuters was not immediately able to...
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US Sets Sail to Build Floating Pier for Gaza Aid
The United States is sending an Army team to construct a floating pier for aid into Gaza, but as VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports, that mission will take weeks to complete.
Categories: Iraq
China-Russia-Iran Maritime Drills Send Signal to West
tel aviv, israel — China conducted joint military drills this week with Russia and Iran in the Gulf of Oman, a critical water conduit near the entry to the Persian Gulf.
The five-day exercise, "Maritime Security Belt 2024," involved both naval and aviation forces, with the primary objective of enhancing the security of maritime economic activities, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense.
The drills may have been planned long in advance of the current Israel-Hamas war, but...
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US, G7 Allies Warn Iran: Drop Plans to Provide Ballistic Missiles to Russia
washington — The United States and allies warned Iran on Friday that major Western economies would pile new sanctions on Tehran if it moved forward with a plan to provide ballistic missiles to Russia for its war with Ukraine.
The Biden administration has raised alarms for months that Russia is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish its dwindling supplies.
The U.S. has yet to confirm that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia. But U.S....
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