RAMALLAH: The UN has expressed concern about an Israeli decision to refuse entry visas to its staff.

The organization warned that that the move may affect humanitarian work in Palestine and the ability of the humanitarian community to support Palestinians.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the decision significantly impacts the humanitarian community’s ability to support Palestinians.

“We are, of course, still in contact with the Israeli authorities on this matter, and we hope it will be resolved,” Dujarric said.

AMMAN: Jordan has warned that military escalation by Israel against Palestinians threatens to trigger a new wave of violence where everyone will pay.
The ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates denounced ongoing Israeli incursions and repeated attacks on Palestinian cities, the latest of which was in Jenin early Thursday.
Sinan Majali, the ministry’s spokesman, said that violence will only generate more violence, reported Jordan’s News Agency on Friday.

ANKARA: Turkiye is confident its long-awaited $6 billion deal to buy F-16 fighter jets will go ahead after the US House of Representatives introduced an amendment to the annual defense budget bill removing a series of hurdles to the sale.
On Tuesday, lawmakers in the US Senate and House reached an agreement on the annual defense policy bill.
The Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act is set to pass by the Senate and House of Representatives this month before being sent to the White House.

LONDON: Women are being targeted at anti-regime protests by Iranian security forces focusing their shotgun fire at faces, breasts and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country.

Doctors and nurses, working in secret to avoid arrest and potential punishment, said they have noted the practice after noticing women arriving for treatment with different wounds.

The medics said men more commonly had shotgun wounds to their legs, buttocks and backs, while shots to the eyes of women, men and children were also common.

RIYADH: Yemeni experts and officials have called on China to do more to help bring an end to the country’s civil war by helping peace talks and by increasing economic and humanitarian aid.

“Yemen needs China’s assistance,” Najeeb Ghallab, undersecretary at Yemen’s Information Ministry and a political analyst, told Arab News.

“Achieving peace in Yemen is in China’s interest because it will revitalize Yemen’s ports, which would aid China’s Belt and Road Initiative and open the nation to Chinese businesses.”