UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations launched an appeal for $1 billion Thursday to help Turkiye’s victims of the catastrophic earthquake that killed thousands of people and left millions more in desperate need of aid.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the funds would provide humanitarian relief for three months to 5.2 million people.
The money would “allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up vital support,” including in the areas of food security, protection, education, water and shelter, he added.

LONDON: Tehran has identified a significant number of diaspora Jews worldwide to assassinate in the event of a war with Israel, a French journalist specializing in Iranian affairs has warned.

Catherine Perez-Shakdam — who has met both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, and has contributed to pro-Tehran media outlets — told the Jewish Chronicle she had learned that Iran had “mapped” a significant number of Jews to be targeted in the event of it being attacked by Israel.

RAMALLAH: Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have launched a protest campaign against punitive measures brought in by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Widespread demonstrations have led to increased tensions in prisons, and a situation that Palestinian prisoner affairs officials on Thursday warned could boil over if not addressed.

Protests erupted after the Israeli Prisons Administration began imposing collective punishment against Palestinians including by closing canteens and other facilities on Friday and Saturday.

CAIRO: A concert held on Monday at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, southern Egypt, in the presence of 3,000 people, has sparked widespread controversy on social media.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities organized the event, with some calling it an effective way to promote tourism, but others saw it as extremely harmful to the area not befitting its prestige. 

WASHINGTON: As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt worldwide, countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which was already the most water-scarce region in the world, are facing ever-greater depletion of their water resources.

Meanwhile economic instability often stands in the way of effective water-related development and management programs.

These were among the key messages from an online panel discussion hosted by Middle East Institute in Washington on Wednesday.