The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Abu Dhabi for the latest leg of his Middle East tour. It comes as fears grow that Israel's war in Gaza may spill into the wider region, after one of Hamas' senior leaders was killed last week. 

Abu Dhabi

The U.S-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

Blinken on fourth Middle East tour in three months

After last week's bombing of southern Beirut, and the killing of a senior Hamas leader, the risk of Israel's ruthless war on Gaza spilling over is at an all-time high. Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets to Israel in retaliation for the escalation, and a larger threat of Iranian involvement looms large. This has prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to embark on a fourth tour of the Middle East in three months. On Sunday, Blinken was in the Jordanian capital Amman, where he met King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. The state secretary held talks with Israel and Palestine's next-door neighbors, and toured one of the World Food Program's warehouses tasked with distributing aid to Gaza. He then jetted off to Qatar, where he continued his high-level talks. He stressed the importance of containing the violence, and rejected statements from Israeli lawmakers which would further root tensions. This is a conflict that could easily catastrophize, causing even more insecurity and even more suffering. So, from day one, among other priorities, we have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading. We reject the statements by some Israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for a resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. These statements are irresponsible, they're inflammatory. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had some words of his own following Blinken's remarks in Doha. We are not stopping the war until victory, until we achieve all of our goals. The elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. I say this to both our enemies and our friends. This is our responsibility, and this is our commitment. Every other consideration must be set aside. Meanwhile, Qatar's Prime and Foreign Minister, Mohamed bin Abd al-Rahman al-Thani, shed some notes of optimism that an agreement may be imminent. The senior leader of Hamas being killed is something that can affect such a complicated process. Yet, we are not giving up, we are moving forward, we are continuing our discussions with the parties, and trying to achieve as soon as possible an agreement that can bring a ceasefire and humanitarian relief and the release of the hostages. Blinken arrived in Abu Dhabi late on Sunday where he will meet UAE leaders. He will then go to Saudi Arabia for more diplomatic talks before he ends his Monday with a late night flight to Israel. Malek Vooda, TRT World.

President Trump intensified his pressure campaign on Venezuela on Saturday. He posted that the airspace around the country is "closed in its entirety." It comes amid growing pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step down.

Caracas

Trump declares Venezuela's airspace closed

Negotiators for Ukraine are headed to Florida for further peace talks with Trump administration officials. The visit comes amid new deadly air assaults across Ukraine.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Deadly Russian air assaults hit Ukraine amid peace talks

Approximately 24 million people across the U.S. are under winter storm alerts. Dave Malkoff and Andrew Kozak have the details on this holiday weekend's forecast and the impact.

Chicago

Major storm blasts Midwest, impacting holiday travel

Ukraine’s security services say that domestically made naval drones struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, involving vessels described as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine strikes Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea

From Rome to Berlin, from São Paulo to Istanbul: the demonstration in the Italian capital, led by Global Movement to Gaza, reflects a global protest for Gaza, with thousands of people united in solidarity and justice

Rome

Thunberg joins pro-Palestine march in Rome

US President Donald Trump has said the airspace above Venezuela is to be closed. With a US task force already in the Caribbean, land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers could soon begin.

US military threat fuels fear and uncertainty in Venezuela

More than 150 people have been killed as Cyclone Ditwah has been battering Sri Lanka with torrential rains that triggered flooding and landslides. Authorities declared a state of emergency.

Colombo

Cyclone Ditwah pounds Sri Lanka with deadly force

Investigators in Hong Kong are gathering evidence at the site of the apartment block fire that killed at least 128 people. At least 150 are missing, and 11 people involved in the renovation of the complex have been arrested.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong apartment fire survivors share how they escaped

United States President Donald Trump has said the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed “in its entirety”, as tensions between the countries escalate. There was no immediate response by Venezuela to Trump’s social media post on Saturday.

Trump says Venezuela airspace to be shut as tensions rise

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque, officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as part of his trip to Turkey.

Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV visits Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Turkey trip

The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members will face first-degree murder charges for an attack that prompted President Donald Trump to declare he would freeze migration from "Third World Countries" to the U.S.

Washington

National Guard shooting suspect to face murder charges

President Trump announced Thursday that he would "permanently pause" immigration from "Third-World Countries." The declaration comes as the Trump administration takes aim at U.S. immigration policies in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump says he plans to end immigration from "Third-World Countries"

Europe's Airbus says it is ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely-used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States.

Leiden

Airbus issues major A320 recall, threatening holiday travel

Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies in an intensive search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, bringing the death toll to 128 with many more unaccounted for. Authorities arrested another eight people involved in the towers' renovation.

Hong Kong Island

More arrests made in Hong Kong as fire's death toll rises to 128

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's powerful chief of staff, a close ally of the president who has headed Ukraine's negotiation team at fraught U.S.-backed peace talks, quit on Friday (November 28), after anti-corruption agents searched his home.

Ukraine's top peace negotiator quits after raid by anti-graft police

At least thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria, Syrian state media reported, with Damascus accusing Israel of a "criminal attack" in a village where Israel said its troops came under fire during an operation to arrest militants.

Damascus

Israel launches deadly raid on southern Syria, Syrian media reports

The Department of Homeland Security says the agency is reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration in wake of Wednesday's attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump admin orders review of approved Biden-era asylum cases

Two Palestinian men were shot dead during an Israeli raid in Jenin on Thursday moments after appearing to surrender, prompting condemnations as footage of the incident sparked widespread outrage.

Jerusalem

Israel forces kill two Palestinians seen surrendering in West Bank

One of the U.S. National Guard members ambushed in Washington, D.C., has died, President Trump announced Thursday. CBS News' Kamal Afzali reports.

One National Guard member dies after D.C. shooting

U.S. President Donald Trump says Sarah Beckstrom, one of the National Guard members shot in Washington, has died and the other, Andrew Wolfe, is fighting for his life. The suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is in 'serious condition.'

Trump says one National Guardsman has died after Washington shooting

Video has emerged of two Palestinian men surrendering to the Israeli military with their hands up, before being shot dead in Jenin.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Two unarmed Palestinians killed in Jenin by Israeli military

Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe were wounded in a shooting that the FBI is investigating as ‘terrorism’.

National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, attack identified

The Russian president reiterated his maximalist demands over occupied areas of Ukraine, and insisted Moscow has no plans of slowing down its full-scale invasion or even negotiating with Kyiv.

Putin demands Kyiv withdraw from Eastern Ukraine

The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members led a team in the Afghanistan war and worked with U.S. and British forces, according to a former Afghan commando colleague. A DHS official says he was granted asylum earlier this year on humanitarian grounds.

West Virginia

Suspect in National Guard shooting granted asylum earlier this year

Firefighting and rescue missions continued into Thursday for a second day after a massive fire broke out in Hong Kong, gripping a complex of seven high-rise residential buildings. At least 55 people were killed and dozens more were injured in what is the worst fire to hit the territory in decades.

Tai Po District

Death toll rises to 55 as blaze rips through Hong Kong tower complex

A Peruvian court on Wednesday (November 26) sentenced former President Martin Vizcarra to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of taking bribes years before he took office, adding to a list of former leaders jailed for corruption.

Lima

Peru sentences ex-President Vizcarra to prison for corruption

Two National Guard members were shot dead near the White House in Washington D.C. A suspect was taken to hospital with injuries related to a gunshot.

Two National Guardsmen in critical condition after Washington shooting

A suspect is in custody and the scene is secured after a shooting mere blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C., police said Wednesday. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said two National Guardsmen had been shot.

Suspect in custody after National Guardsmen shot in Washington, D.C.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup, after he exhausted all appeals.

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's Bolsonaro begins 27-year jail term for coup bid

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 25) ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to begin a prison sentence of more than 27 years for plotting a coup in 2022, according to a court document.

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Middle East Conflict