Gulf News, Latest Middle East News Headlines & Live News Updates - Times of India

"A Palestinian opened fire at a bus stop killing 2 Israelis, and injuring others at Asaf Junction, north of Jerusalem," the Israeli military said on its Twitter account. An army spokesperson was unable to confirm reports that the assailant targeted Israeli soldiers.

Western nations are pressing the Iran-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-backed government to agree confidence-building steps for a political process to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen towards famine.

Islamic State group's deliberate destruction of agriculture in northern Iraq has hindered return of hundreds of thousands of residents, Amnesty International said. IS fighters burnt or chopped down orchards, sabotaged wells and stole or destroyed vital farming equipment. Amnesty is calling on the government to repair rural infrastructure and compensate the displaced.

Mediators are seeking a de-escalation of violence in two flashpoint cities: rebel-held Hodeida, a port city vital to the supply of humanitarian aid, and Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, scene of most intense fighting. Both govt and rebel representatives have rejected multiple draft proposals over two weeks. The UN-brokered talks on Yemen have 24 hours left.

A quarter of a million Syrian refugees could return home next year, despite massive hurdles facing returnees, the UN said. There are currently 5.6 million Syrian refugees living in the region. The agency said that 117,000 refugees had returned to Syria since 2015, including 37,000 this year.

Mark Lowcock, who recently returned from Yemen, told reporters there has been "a significant, dramatic deterioration" of the humanitarian situation in the country and "it's alarming.".

The government declared victory last December after a grueling three-year war in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. Entire towns and neighborhoods were reduced to rubble.

The transcript of the gruesome recording includes descriptions of Khashoggi struggling against his murderers, CNN said, and references sounds of the dissident journalist's body "being dismembered by a saw." The transcript made clear the killing was premeditated, and suggests several phone calls were made to give briefings on the progress.

The UN has begun sending desperately needed aid from Jordan to hundreds of thousands of civilians in war-torn Syria. The UN's humanitarian office said that 369 trucks will carry one month's worth of supplies to Syria. It's the first cross-border aid shipment since the Syrian govt recaptured a trade crossing with Jordan from Syrian rebels and reopened it in October.

Other leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council descended down a golden escalator and were greeted by Saudi King Salman ahead of Sunday's summit. Qatar sent a lower-ranking official.

Jihadist separatist group Ansar al-Furqan has claimed responsibility for Thursday's assault in which an explosives-laden car was driven into a police station in the port city of Chabahar.

The soldiers "spotted three suspects, apparently Hezbollah activists, attempting to approach" an area where the army was carrying out engineering work in bad weather, the Israeli military said in a statement.

According to the IPC — whose analysis is necessary to decide whether to declare famine in countries — the 20 million people facing "severe acute food insecurity" represent 67 per cent of Yemen's population. Already 15.9 million people wake up hungry in Yemen. Unemployment is running at over 30% and inflation is projected at around 42%.

Netanyahu said this week that the tunnels were meant for use by Hezbollah fighters to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon and carry out attacks. The Israeli military sent mechanical diggers, troops and anti-tunneling equipment to the border to shut them down.