World

The statements made following an emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers on Thursday in Riyadh had one clear subject: Iran. The previous day, in a major escalation of the war which started at the end of February when the US and Israel attacked Iran, the Iranians targeted a major energy hub in Qatar. That followed an Israeli strike against Iran’s South Pars ​gas field.  Saudi Arabia's patience is running out, the country's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said at a press conference after the meeting. His country would prefer a diplomatic solution and has made it clear it wouldn't allow Saudi territory to be used to launch attacks on Iran, the senior Saudi said. But Saudi Arabia would also use every lever they had to get Iran to stop targeting neighboring countri...

US President Donald Trump's demand for European allies to help secure the passage of oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was a major talking point at today's meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels. Some member states indicated that they do not want NATO to be involved in guarding the strait, which was closed by Iran to most traffic in reponse to the US-Israeli bombing campaign.  Europeans are unwilling to deploy troops to secure the Strait of Hormuz, "because that adds them to the list of potential targets" for Iran, Charles Hecker, Associate Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told DW. At the start of the meeting the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallass said it was in the bloc's "interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that's w...

Kosovo, Europe’s youngest country and the second-smallest nation in the Western Balkans with a population of 1.7 million, has fallen short of political and institutional stability for more than a year. Following two parliamentary elections in 2025, which Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his left-leaning Self-Determination party, Vetevendosje, won decisively, it is now the presidential election that is fanning the crisis. Current President Vjosa Osmani's term ends on April 4. A new head of state must be elected by the parliament. However, the opposition parties in parliament are refusing to cooperate. Kurti, they say, already leads the government and also appoints the Speaker of Parliament from within his party's ranks. Now, they fear their country may additionally get a head of state from...

Bombs, government oppression and fear are wearing down Iranians. How does trauma accumulate? And what can help people endure constant stress?

In a temporary easing of sanctions on Russia's oil, the US Treasury Department issued a new ⁠license allowing the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products for 30 days. The oil products must have been loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 a.m. Washington time, March 12 (0401 GMT/UST March 13), the license text says.  The permit authorizes the sale of petroleum products for 30 days, or until April 11. The move comes as energy prices soar amid the US-Israel war with Iran. The Iranian blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has stopped one fifth of the world's oil supply from reaching global markets.  Announcing the measure, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed it wouldn't be of much financial help to Russia. "This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in ...