عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Slovenia Declares Two Israeli Ministers Persona Non Grata

Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Slovenia Declares Two Israeli Ministers Persona Non Grata

Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)

Slovenia declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata on Thursday, the first European Union country to do so, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.

The government accused Israel's national security minister Ben-Gvir and finance minister Smotrich - both West Bank settlers - of making "genocidal statements" and inciting violence against Palestinians.

There was no immediate reaction from Israel's government which has regularly rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, and says it is acting in self-defense following the deadly October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas gunmen.

Fajon said Slovenia had decided to make the move after EU foreign ministers did not agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.

"Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers... unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia," Fajon told a news conference.

"This kind of measure is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are breaking new ground," she said. Other measures were being prepared, she added, without going into detail.

Slovenia's government issued a statement saying the ministers "publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population".

Last year, Slovenia recognized an independent Palestinian state.

In June, Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, imposed sanctions on the two Israeli ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Israeli tallies, and 251 people were taken to Gaza and held hostage.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats in Coming Days, Foreign Minister Says

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot arrives to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot arrives to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats in Coming Days, Foreign Minister Says

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot arrives to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot arrives to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

France will expel two Iranian diplomats in the coming days in response to an incident in July involving two staff of the French embassy in Tehran.

"I had announced that this intolerable act would have consequences. And ‌so it has. ‌Two Iranian diplomats in ‌France will ⁠be expelled in ⁠the very near future," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a post on X.

Last month, the French ministry said the two French embassy staff had been detained and physically intimidated by ⁠Iranian security services in Tehran.

Barrot had ‌summoned the ‌Iranian charge d'affaires in Paris in protest following ‌the incident on July 19.

Barrot's comments ‌came one day after the Iranian ministry said two French embassy employees, who were involved in July in a diplomatic dispute ‌in Tehran, would not be allowed to return to Iran.

Iranian Foreign ⁠Ministry ⁠spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the two French staff had violated the Vienna Convention, which defines the rules and privileges of diplomatic missions, by engaging in activities supporting Iranian civil society.

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said in a statement that "the Iranian authorities have chosen to make completely false accusations against our agents and to fabricate a case of interference to justify their actions."

World

US Expands Charges Against Iranians in Massive Hacking Scheme

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters)
A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
TT

US Expands Charges Against Iranians in Massive Hacking Scheme

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters)
A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters)

US authorities expanded its prosecution of a sprawling Iranian hacking network Tuesday, bringing to 17 the number of indicted suspects for an alleged campaign against universities, companies, and government agencies.

The Department of Justice unveiled a new indictment targeting eight additional individuals, with nine of the 17 defendants having already been indicted in 2018.

Prosecutors are offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the prosecution of five of them, identified as Behzad Mesri, Mojtaba Galekuhi, Arman Kahzadian, Keyvan Fayaz, and Saber Shahbazi Ballojeh.

All are linked to the Mabna Institute, an organization based in Iran that is said to have carried out hacking operations on behalf of the Iranian government and the Revolutionary Guards, prosecutors said.

The campaign, carried out mainly between 2013 and 2017, was aimed in particular at stealing scientific data and intellectual property.

The expanded case now covers the hacking of 144 US universities and 178 foreign universities, as well as at least 42 US companies, 11 foreign firms, five US government agencies, and two NGOs.

The hackers are said to have targeted more than 100,000 accounts belonging to professors, the Justice Department said.

They are believed to have stolen some 31.5 terabytes of data, including scientific articles, dissertations and other research work.

"More than eight years after making the original indictment public, these charges make clear that the passage of time will not deter us from identifying and pursuing those who target the United States from abroad," said US Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York.

The US Treasury announced in 2018 that it had imposed sanctions on the nine individuals initially indicted, as well as on a tenth suspect who was allegedly involved in an attempted extortion case against HBO, from which he had stolen the script of an unaired episode of the hit series "Game of Thrones."

World

Liberia Says Taking up to 1,200 US Deportees

Migrants deported months ago by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, July 18, 2025. (AP)
Migrants deported months ago by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, July 18, 2025. (AP)
TT
TT

Liberia Says Taking up to 1,200 US Deportees

Migrants deported months ago by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, July 18, 2025. (AP)
Migrants deported months ago by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, July 18, 2025. (AP)

Liberia said Tuesday it would receive up to 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the United States, as President Donald Trump pursues an unprecedented immigration crackdown.

The Trump administration has launched a sweeping expansion to deportations where the government has argued it can send people to a country that is not their home nation.

"Liberia intends to accept up to 1,200 persons to be transferred from the United States of America within a year," the Liberian government said in a statement.

A first group of 20 deportees would arrive Thursday in the West African nation, it said, adding that they were "free to depart the country when they so desire" or apply for asylum.

The Trump administration has said it wants to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who became a symbol of mass deportations, to the country after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, the New York Times reported.

In Africa, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea have become key transit points in the US immigration crackdown -- even as authorities there quickly send people onwards to their home counties.

Two former State Department officials told AFP that the United States is using visa bans and restrictions on African countries to strongarm them into taking people from third countries.

The Liberian government said it "has not demanded or received any compensation or promise of rewards in exchange for its consent to participate in the program".

"Liberia will receive support to help manage the program and strengthen its migration system more broadly, it said, insisting the arrangement was "entirely humanitarian".

The US State Department refused to comment on the scheme.

Liberia as a nation was founded in the early 19th century by a society which advocated for the return of former slaves and freeborn African-Americans from the United States.