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Iran, Russia say they support Syria in confronting rebels

Iran’s Abbas Araqchi told Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the attacks were part of an Israeli-U.S. plan to destabilise the region

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The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia voiced support for Syria on Saturday during a major attack by rebel groups, Iranian state media reported.

Iran's Abbas Araqchi told Russia's Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the attacks were part of an Israeli-U.S. plan to destabilise the region, state media said.

According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry about the call, both sides "expressed extreme concern about the dangerous escalation of the situation in Syria due to the terrorist offensive by armed groups in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces".

The ministers agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts aimed at stabilising the situation in Syria.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia's Lavrov spoke on the matter with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

 

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Four killed, 32 injured in explosion in Pakistan

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a post on social media, while the Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the attack.

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At least four people were killed and 32 others injured in an explosion in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, local media and officials said.

The incident happened in Turbat district of the province, where a convoy was attacked and a bus in it was struck during the assault, officials told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A senior police officer and his family members were injured in the attack and shifted to a nearby hospital, local reports said.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a post on social media, while the Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the attack.

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Syria to include all sectors in new government, foreign minister says

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Syria's foreign minister has told Saudi Arabian officials that the new leadership in Damascus wants to set up a government involving all parts of Syrian society following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad last month.

Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani was making the first foreign trip by a member of Syria's new administration as Western and regional powers seek signs on whether it will impose strict Islamic rule or show inclusivity in government, Reuters reported.

Al-Shibani and Syria's defence minister met with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in Riyadh on Thursday.

"Through our visit, we conveyed our national vision of establishing a government based on partnership and efficiency that includes all Syrian components, and working to launch an economic development plan that opens the way for investment, establishes strategic partnerships, and improves living and service conditions," Al-Shibani said in a post on X.

Since ousting Assad on Dec. 8, Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have sought to reassure Arab countries and the international community that they will govern on behalf of all Syrians and not export Islamist revolution.

HTS was al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate until it broke off ties in 2016.

Saudi Arabia backed the rebels who fought Assad at the onset of the Syrian civil war.

More recently, Riyadh had embarked on a path of normalising ties with the Assad government, paving the way for Syria to return to the Arab League in 2023, in an effort to reduce Iranian influence in the country and to stem the flow of drugs including the methamphetamine captagon.

A Saudi source close to the government told Reuters the kingdom was committed to safeguarding the peace in Syria and that fostering stability was a top priority.

"At this critical juncture, our focus is on delivering essential humanitarian aid to the people of Syria, and we are exploring opportunities for expanded assistance in collaboration with regional partners," the source added.

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Palestinian Authority suspends broadcast of Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV temporarily

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The Palestinian Authority temporarily halted operations of Qatar's Al Jazeera television in the territory including its broadcasts, citing the network's dissemination of "inciting material," the Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Wednesday.

The culture, interior and communications ministers made the decision jointly because the channel broadcast material that was "deceiving and stirring strife," WAFA said without providing details on the subject matter, Reuters reported.

The order said the decision was temporary but did not specify an end date.

The Palestinian Authority criticised Al Jazeera last week over its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Al Jazeera denounced Wednesday's decision as "an attempt to discourage it from reporting spiraling events in the occupied territories," according to a statement.

It called on the Palestinian Authority to rescind the decision and allow its journalists to report freely from the West Bank without intimidation.

The decision was not expected to be implemented in Hamas-run Gaza where the Palestinian Authority does not exercise power.

Fatah, the faction that controls the Palestinian Authority, said the broadcaster was sowing division in "our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular". It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.

The Israeli military in September raided Al Jazeera's bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah and ordered it shut.

Israel in May issued an order barring the channel from operating and broadcasting in the country, saying it posed a threat to Israeli security. A court subsequently upheld the ban.

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