Muslim World News

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday Israel must “complete” the defeat of Hamas to free hostages held in Gaza, a day after Israeli media reported the army could occupy the entire territory. “It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility.

LONDON: US House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican officials visited the occupied West Bank on Monday in support of Israeli settlements, The Guardian reported. Johnson met Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar before his visit to the Palestinian territory. The last high-profile American visit to the West Bank was in 2020, when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Psagot, an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

RIYADH: Non-oil business activity in the Middle East showed mixed trends in July, with Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar maintaining growth, while Egypt demonstrated signs of recovery and Lebanon remained under pressure. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index report released by S&P Global, Kuwait’s PMI ticked up to 53.5 in July from 53.1 in June, signalling a solid monthly improvement in the health of the non-oil private sector. 

KIGALI: Rwanda agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the United States under the Trump administration’s expanding third-country deportation program, its government said Tuesday. The US is seeking more deals with African countries to take deportees under President Donald Trump’s plans to expel people who he says entered the US illegally and are “the worst of the worst.” Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo confirmed the details in an email to The Associated Press. She didn’t immediately give a timeline for the deportations.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh received Sri Lankan Ambassador Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad and his accompanying delegation in Riyadh. The officials discussed various topics related to Islamic affairs and ongoing cooperation between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Speaking to the media after the meeting, the envoy praised the Kingdom’s leading role in supporting Islamic causes and promoting the values of tolerance and moderation globally, particularly in Sri Lanka.

ANKARA: A newly formed parliamentary committee tasked with overseeing a peace initiative with a Kurdish militant group held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, marking a further significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency. The 51-member committee, comprised of legislators from most major parties, has been charged with proposing and supervising legal and political reforms aimed at advancing the peace process, following the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK’s, decision to disband and lay down arms.

BAMAKO: Islamic State-affiliated militants have released four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped in January, Mali said late on Monday, according to state media, highlighting growing intelligence cooperation between the two countries. The men and their three trucks disappeared in January while crossing without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area known for jihadist threats, a diplomatic source said at the time.

MADINAH: The Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission has empowered the nation’s authors and publishers at the fourth Madinah Book Fair, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The week-long event, held from July 29 to Aug. 4, hosted more than 300 local and international publishing houses and agencies across more than 200 exhibition booths. Abdullatif Alwasel, the commission’s CEO, thanked the Kingdom’s leaders for their continued support of the nation’s arts and culture sector.

MADRID: Spanish airline Iberia said Tuesday that it had opened an investigation after a passenger who requested a kosher meal received his food tray with the words “Free Palestine” written on the packaging. Several other Jewish passengers on the flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid received meal trays marked with the initials “FP” for “Free Palestine,” according to DAIA, the umbrella organization of Argentina’s Jewish community, calling it a “serious act of antisemitism.”

RIYADH: Vibes AlUla, an entrepreneurship and innovation hub launched in partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla, has opened registration for a sustainable tourism hackathon, set for Aug. 10 to 12. The hackathon is aimed at empowering national talent and fostering innovative solutions to support AlUla’s tourism sector, according to a Saudi Press Agency report. Participants will benefit from a comprehensive training program, including specialized workshops, mentoring sessions, and expert guidance in innovation, tourism, and entrepreneurship.