Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Beirut, Lebanon CNN – Iran-backed Hezbollah lost its parliamentary edge in a high-stakes election last weekend. For Lebanon, this could mean everything, or nothing at all. The … Read more
Labor’s shadow minister for the Middle East and North Africa has joined other members of parliament in calling for the UK government to demand an independent investigation into the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh that has triggered an outpouring of global condemnation. Abu Akleh, 51, was shot in the head while … Read more
The troops held her husband and daughter at gunpoint, but the 48-year-old told CNN she knew it was her they’d come for. As a school principal, she believes they saw her as the enemy. “They were searching everywhere, even the drains and outdoor toilet,” she explained. “They found schoolbooks and tutorials for Ukrainian language.” Nina … Read more
Ukraine’s general staff says Russian troops were pulling back from the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin tells Finland joining NATO would be ‘a mistake’. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says “very complex negotiations” with Russia are under way to get fighters out of the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Ukrainian forces are on … Read more
The 11th week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw Kyiv’s forces mount a counteroffensive. Ukrainian troops have recaptured towns to the north and east of the country’s second city Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. Hundreds of civilians were evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Russian-occupied port city of Mariupol, and the European … Read more
The European Union is proposing a comprehensive oil embargo against Russia for the first time, as Moscow continues its war on Ukraine. The bloc hopes Europe will stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year. However, questions remain. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the details of a planned sixth package … Read more
CNN has identified the vessel as the bulk carrier Matros Pozynich. On April 27, the ship weighed anchor off the coast of Crimea, and turned off its transponder. The next day it was seen at the port of Sevastopol, the main port in Crimea, according to photographs and satellite images. The Matros Pozynich is one … Read more
CNN – A Russian merchant ship loaded with grain stolen in Ukraine has been turned away from at least one Mediterranean port and is now in the Syrian port of Latakia, according to shipping sources and Ukrainian officials. CNN has identified the vessel as the bulk carrier Matros Pozynich. On April 27, the ship weighed … Read more
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s natural gas pipeline operator on Wednesday stopped Russian shipments through a key hub in the east of the country, while its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Kyiv’s military had made small gains, pushing Russian forces out of four villages near Kharkiv. The pipeline operator said Russian shipments through its Novopskov hub, … Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) – An interminable and unwinnable war in Europe? That’s what NATO leaders fear and are bracing for as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds into its third month with little sign of a decisive military victory for either side and no resolution in sight. The possibility of a stalemate is fueling concerns that Ukraine … Read more
