TEHRAN -- A senior Iranian military commander said on Saturday the country's armed forces are ready to give a "regret-inducing" response to any adventurism by the "enemies," according to the official news agency IRNA.
Deputy Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Ahmad Vahidi made the remarks at a national congress in the northwestern Iranian province of West Azarbaijan as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington over the latter's threats of intervention. (Iran-Official-Response)
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DAMASCUS -- Syria on Saturday extended a truce with Kurdish forces by 15 days to support the transfer of Islamic State (IS) detainees from Syria to Iraq, as tensions in the country's northeast continue, the Syrian defense authority said in a statement.
"The ceasefire across all sectors of Syrian army operations" has been extended by 15 days, starting at 11:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Saturday, according to the statement. (Syria-SDF)
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GAZA/JERUSALEM -- Three Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Saturday by Israeli army fire in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua that two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Basal added that a third Palestinian was killed and several others were wounded in Israeli shelling that targeted a gathering of civilians in Jabalia, also in the north of the enclave. (Gaza Strip-Hamas-Israel)
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ABU DHABI -- Russia and Ukraine held "direct engagement" during the talks concluded Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), even though no concrete agreements or joint statements were announced following the two-day meetings.
A UAE government spokesperson said that the talks included "direct engagement" between the two sides and were conducted in a "constructive and positive atmosphere." (UAE-Russia-Ukraine-Talks) ■
