Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Fidan and Blinken met on the margins of the meeting of the Contact Group on Gaza, the ministry posted on social media platform X.

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday demanded a halt to all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 people.

Middle East leaders and Iran's president meeting in the Saudi capital Saturday roundly condemned Israel's actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza, as fears mount the conflict could draw in other countries.

(L-R) The flags of Finland, NATO and Sweden are seen during the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bucharest, Romania, 29 November 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/Robert Ghement

"The Swedish government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Turkey will continue to lend a support to Palestine's legitimate struggle, Turkey's top diplomat has said, as a senior Turkish delegation was scheduled to hold talks with their Israeli counterparts for the normalization of ties between the two states.

At least 12 Israeli soldiers were injured in a car-ramming attack in Western Jerusalem on Feb. 6 morning, Israeli army said.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces said a "Palestinian" rammed his car into a group of IDF soldiers in Jerusalem.

The International Muslim Minorities Congress is taking place May 8 - 9 in Abu Dhabi with the participation of 400 Muslim leaders and government officials from 140 countries; the event is intended as a platform aimed at combating Islamophobia and religious extremism faced by Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries.

Muslim nations must press the world to recognise East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, Turkey said on Wednesday as it opened an Islamic summit called in response to a U.S. decision to recognise the city as Israel's capital, reported Reuters.

Albanian athletes will be participating for the first time in this year's Islamic Solidarity Games, which take place Baku in Azerbaijan in May.

The Saudi secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) resigned on Oct. 31 for health reasons, according to a statement from the organization.

Iyad Madani, 70, had held the post since 2014. A statement by the IOC said Saudi Arabia had nominated Yusuf al-Othaimeen, a former minister of social affairs, as his replacement, Reuters reported.