Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Iran's Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani warned that a proposed U.S.-backed multinational task force to protect shipping in the Red Sea would face "extraordinary problems", official Iranian media reported on Thursday.

Ashtiani's comments came after the United States said last week it was in talks with other countries to set up a task force following a spate of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea.

ANKARA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - An opposition Turkish lawmaker died on Thursday, two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament as he finished a speech criticising the government's policy toward Israel.

Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks.

DUBAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Iran said it was lifting visa requirements for 33 countries, including Gulf states like Saudi Arabia with which Tehran had frosty relations for years until a recent rapprochement, the Iranian Students News Agency said on Thursday.

"The ministry of tourism believes that an open-door policy will showcase Iran's determination to engage with different countries of the world," the semi-official ISNA reported.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until it crushes Hamas after one of the deadliest single battles of the war for its soldiers, even as it faces mounting international calls for a cease-fire and unease on the part of its closest ally, the United States.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until it crushes Hamas after one of the deadliest single battles of the war for its soldiers, even as it faces mounting international calls for a cease-fire and unease on the part of its closest ally, the United States.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — United Nations climate negotiators directed the world on Wednesday to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels in a move the talks chief called historic, despite critics worries about loopholes.

Within minutes of opening Wednesday’ session, COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber gaveled approval of the central document – the global stocktake that says how far the world is off-track it climate-fighting goals and how it is going to get back – without asking for comments. Delegates stood and hugged each other.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least seven Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Gaza City, Israeli media reported Wednesday, as the army continued to meet heavy resistance in an offensive against Hamas that has drawn international outrage and rare U.S. criticism over the killing of thousands of civilians.

ANKARA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Company announced Tuesday that it had received permission from Turkish authorities to commission the first power unit of the country's first nuclear power plant being built by Russia.

With the permission, the start-up, adjustment and operation processes, which are the final phase of the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, can be started, according to a statement from the company.

SANAA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday said they attacked with a naval missile a Norwegian ship loaded with oil and heading for Israel in the Red Sea.

"We did not resort to targeting the Norwegian ship until its crew rejected all our warning calls," Yehya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

DUBAI, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing UN climate talks in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, were extended Tuesday beyond the scheduled host-set deadline of 11:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) as parties to the COP28 climate conference failed to reach a consensus on the draft text of a hoped-for final agreement.

"We would all like to finish on time, but we want the most ambitious outcome," said COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi while briefing media on the latest developments.

Al Suwaidi said, "We are facing the most demanding COP agenda of all time."