Middle East

A US military MQ-9 drone was shot down in Yemen’s Dhamar governorate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, Reuters reported two US officials as saying on Wednesday. The officials confirmed that the drone was shot down late on Tuesday. A Houthi military spokesman had earlier been quoted by the rebels’ …

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has fired all of his advisors amid a financial crisis in the occupied West Bank that has led to deep salary cuts. Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing a statement by the Palestinian leader’s office, announced the news on Monday, saying he sacked all of his advisors …

Jordan summoned Israel’s ambassador on Sunday in protest over “violations” at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the foreign ministry said. It summoned envoy Amir Weissbrod to voice its “condemnation and rejection of Israeli violations” at the highly sensitive site, where Israeli security forces clashed with Palestinian worshippers last week. Jordan, …

Yemen’s Houthi group said on Saturday it had attacked oil facilities at Shayba in Saudi Arabia with 10 drones, according to Masirah TV. The facilities attacked included a refinery and oil storage, it said. Shayba is located in eastern Saudi Arabia. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation or comment.

Israeli warplanes have conducted fresh airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip, shortly after Israeli troops attacked and injured dozens of Palestinians during anti-occupation protests near the fence separating the coastal sliver from the occupied territories. According to a statement by the Israeli military, Israeli fighter jets struck on Friday two …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif once again rejected claims by the British government that the Iranian oil tanker had overturned European embargo laws. This came in a tweet to the Iranian Foreign Minister on the social networking site “Twitter” I attached two pictures of the letters from the Iranian …

Authorities in Gibraltar have released the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, after receiving assurances that its cargo is not destined for Syria. The US had formally requested them to detain the vessel for a further period. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo agreed to lift the detention on the ship, however, …

Tunisia’s electoral commission said on Wednesday it had approved 26 candidates including two women for next month’s presidential election and had rejected 71 other applicants. The Sept. 15 vote follows the death at age 92 last month of Beji Caid Essebsi, the first president to be democratically elected in Tunisia …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States on Monday of turning the Gulf region into a “matchbox ready to ignite”, according to Al Jazeera television. Oil tanker traffic passing through the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz has become the focus of a U.S.-Iranian standoff since Washington …

Yemeni sources said five members of one family were killed and others were injured on Sunday when their house was bombed in the northwestern province of Hajja. The Yemeni Health Ministry said in Sanaa that the shelling hit a house in the village of al-Sawamal Directorate “Mustaba” near the Saudi …

Israeli police clashed with Muslim worshipers on the Temple Mount, local media report. The confrontation erupted after Muslim and Jewish holidays coincided on Sunday, resulting in a heated conflict over admittance rights. Images posted on social media showed some people injured in the wake of the confrontation. Footage from the …

Yemen’s Houthis launched a drone attack against Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport, the movement’s Al-Masirah TV said on Saturday, citing a military spokesman. They targeted the airport’s fuel depot and control tower, he said. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities but a Saudi-owned, Dubai-based TV channel, al-Arabiya, said air traffic …

Two million Muslims gathered at Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Saturday amid the summer heat and regional tensions for a vigil to atone for their sins and seek God’s forgiveness as part of the annual haj pilgrimage Pilgrims clad in white robes signifying a state of purity spent the night …

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday condemned a U.S. blueprint to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and called on haj pilgrims to oppose it. “The trick called ‘Deal of the Century’, which is being pushed by an oppressive America and its traitorous companions, is a crime against human …

France said Friday that it “needs no permission” to work towards easing tensions between Iran and the US after President Donald Trump accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of meddling in the dispute. “On Iran, France speaks with complete sovereignty. It is working hard for peace and security in the …

Yemen’s Interior Ministry says Ibrahim al-Houthi, the brother of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has been assassinated. “The treacherous hands affiliated with the US-Israeli aggression and its tools assassinated Ibrahim Badreddin al-Houthi,” a statement from the ministry, cited by al-Masirah TV, said on Friday. The statement did not provide any further …

More than 300 children have been killed across Yemen in a year since the coalition airstrike on a school bus in Saada province, killing 41 children and wounding nearly 600, Oxfam International said today. International arms sales to the coalition countries. A total of 335 children have been killed since …

  It is certain that ending the war in Yemen will be a turning point for the countries of the region,” Zarif told a news conference on Monday. Zarif said: “From the very beginning, we stressed that the issue in Yemen is not militarily resolved and now they have to …

A number of Yemeni civilians were wounded, some of them seriously, on Monday, as a result of raids by the Saudi-American aggression on the city of Amran. According to “Al-Masriya Net,” Air Force launched four raids on the city of Amran, which led to the injury of a number of …

At least 19 people were killed and 30 people were injured in multiple car explosion outside Egypt’s National Cancer Institute, the Ministry of Health said, according to state-run Al-Ahram on Monday. A car driving against traffic collided with three cars on Sunday night on Nile Corniche street in the capital …