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Netanyahu's move to fire security agency chief threatens new crisis in Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to dismiss a top security official has threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis, with opponents on Monday organising protests and a former court president warning against the "dangerous" move.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, following a similar bid by the government to oust the attorney general.

Ronen Bar has suggested political motives behind Netanyahu's decision to dismiss him

Sudan army makes gains as battle for Khartoum intensifies

Sudanese army forces advancing on Khartoum converged on Monday with troops in the capital's centre, a military spokesman said, increasing pressure on rival paramilitaries and inching closer to retaking the city.

The latest push by the army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, comes after troops had broken prolonged sieges on key military sites after months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum.

A fighter in front of a burnt military vehicle in Khartoum North

Stench of death as Sudan army, paramilitaries battle for capital

In a war-ravaged neighbourhood of Sudan's capital Khartoum, the stench from a gaping sewage pit is unbearable as Red Crescent workers pull a bloated body from deep underground.

The volunteers say 14 more remain below.

"They were shot in the head, some have crushed skulls," Hisham Zein al-Abdeen, head of forensic medicine at Sudan's health ministry, told AFP at the scene.

The victims, he said, were either shot or beaten to death before being thrown in.

Nearly two years of war have left large swathes of the capital unrecognisable

'More and faster': UN calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint

Countries must move rapidly to slash CO2 emissions from homes, offices, shops and other buildings -- a sector that accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas pollution, the United Nations said Monday.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector rose around five percent in the last decade when they should have fallen 28 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The buildings sector consumes 32% of the world's energy and contributes 34% of CO2 emissions

Huthis announce new attack on American warships, fresh US strikes

Yemen's Huthis said on Tuesday they carried out their third attack on American warships in 48 hours, following US strikes on the Iran-backed rebels that sparked mass protests in areas under their control.

The rebels also condemned Israel's wave of strikes on Gaza, which the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 400 people, vowing to escalate their own operations in support of ally Hamas.

The Huthis had targeted ships in the Red Sea after the start of the Gaza war and until a January ceasefire, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

The Huthis called out huge crowds to the capital Sanaa to protest against US strikes on Yemen

Donors pledge 5.8 bn euros for Syria, down on last year

The EU led the way as donors on Monday pledged $5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria at a conference in Brussels -- but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster fell short of last year as US support dries up.

Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.

For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual aid conference in Brussels -- with interim foreign minister Assaad al-Shibani attending.

Syria's interim foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani attended the EU-convened donors' conference, where he is pictured speaking to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen

UNRWA chief confident he is on 'right side of history'

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini acknowledges that it has been "stressful" leading the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, but says he is confident he is "on the right side of history".

The 61-year-old head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has, along with his organisation, withstood a barrage of criticism and accusations from Israel since Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel and the devastating war in Gaza that followed.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called a press conference in Geneva

NGOs fear new rules will make helping Palestinians 'almost impossible'

Aid workers in the Palestinian territories told AFP they are concerned that rules recently floated by Israel could make already difficult humanitarian work "almost impossible".

Since the war in Gaza broke out with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, aid organisations have been contending with a "slippery slope" when it comes to Israeli authorities' tolerance for their work, said one senior NGO staffer.

Israel controls the access points for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip

Israel's Netanyahu seeks to fire internal security agency chief

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was seeking to dismiss the head of Israel's internal security agency, who swiftly called the move political and said the premier expected "personal loyalty".

Netanyahu and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar have been engaged in a public spat in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, which has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in Gaza.

Shin Bet agency chief Ronen Bar's ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were strained even before the Hamas attack

US vows 'unrelenting' campaign to halt Huthi ship attacks

US officials on Sunday vowed further strikes in Yemen until the Huthi rebels decide to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping, while also threatening action against the group's backer Iran.

In a wave of strikes on Saturday, the first against the rebel group since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, several Huthi leaders were killed, the White House said.

The airstrikes "actually targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out," National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News.

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz (C) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) are seen at a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on March 13, 2025