Middle East

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Saturday for “decisive” action by Pakistan against a militant group behind a deadly suicide attack in a border area, saying failure to act could jeopardize relations. Rouhani’s remarks were made during a telephone conversation with neighboring Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, who said he …

The federal budget deficit is ballooning on President Donald Trump’s watch and few in Washington seem to care. And even if they did, the political dynamics that enabled bipartisan deficit-cutting deals decades ago has disappeared, replaced by bitter partisanship and chronic dysfunction. That’s the reality that will greet Trump’s latest …

Forces from eastern Libya who have swept through the south and taken control of remaining oilfields in recent weeks have now reinforced a base in the center of the country and signaled to the capital Tripoli that it may be next. The United Nations, stunned by the southern advance, is …

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi said on Wednesday that his country will stand by Iran’s side as Tehran has been put under unilateral sanctions by the United States. In a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in Tehran, Halbousi said “Just as Iran had positive stance in …

The Syrian military has mounted air strikes against Islamic State militants and clashed with the ISIS in central Syria. The flare-up in the area of al-Sukhna, between Palymra and Deir al-Zor, on Monday points to the foothold the ultra hardline Islamist group still has west of the. The Syrian air …

As Algeria’s long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to submit a formal application to run for a fifth term on Sunday, people around the country have mobilized to protest his bid. Tens of thousands of Algerians have taken to the streets across the country to protest against what they claim …

International human rights groups have censured Saudi Arabia over its decision to put on trial women’s rights activists detained in last year’s crackdown, after holding them for nearly a year without charge. The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday that the ultra-conservative kingdom’s public prosecutor was preparing the …

The German government on Friday said it would decide before the end of March whether to extend its halt on weapons shipments to Saudi Arabia, making it likely the embargo will continue beyond the current deadline of March 9. A source said the freeze in arms shipments to Saudi Arabia …

Israel’s attorney general intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. Netanyahu faces possible charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three cases. The prime minister is alleged to have accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favours to try to get more positive …

United Nations investigators said on Thursday Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in killing 189 Palestinians and wounding more than 6,100 at weekly protests in Gaza last year. The independent panel said it had confidential information about those it believes to be responsible for …

A mass grave containing the bodies of dozens of people who may be Yazidis enslaved by Islamic State has been found in territory recently seized by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an SDF official said on Thursday. Many of the bodies found in the Baghouz area were those of …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Tehran on Monday. Rouhani stressed Iran’s commitment to supporting the Syrian government and nation in the fight against terrorism, pointing to Iran’s seriousness for cooperating with and helping the Syrian government in the process of reconstruction of Syria and …

Police and the Rapid Action Battalion have arrived at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, responding to reports about a plane hijacking attempt, Gulf News reported. Local media outlets have announced that one crew member was shot during the alleged attack. However, no official statements from the authorities have …

Egypt’s foreign ministry on Sunday condemned the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for criticizing trials that led to the execution of nine people last week. Nine men were executed on Wednesday over the 2015 killing of the country’s chief prosecutor amid a surge in …

  Israeli police in Jerusalem arrested on Sunday a senior Muslim cleric attached to the sacred compound in the Old City, two days after he re-opened a mosque sealed by Israel during a Palestinian uprising in 2003. Sheikh Abdel-Azeem Salhab, who sits on the religious council appointed by Jordan to …

Russian military police could be deployed in a proposed “safe zone” along Syria’s northern border with Turkey, Russian news agencies cited foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as saying to Chinese and Vietnamese media on Sunday. The suggestion is unlikely to appeal to Ankara, which is keen to set up the zone …

Security forces fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who marched and chanted anti-government slogans following Friday prayers at a major mosque near the Sudanese capital, eyewitnesses said. The demonstration in the city of Omdurman outside Al-Sayed Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi mosque, which has ties to the opposition Umma party, was …

Iran on Friday began large-scale naval drills at the mouth of the Gulf, which will feature its first submarine cruise missile launches, state media reported, at a time of rising tensions with the United States. More than 100 vessels were taking part in the three-day war games in a vast …

Hezbollah hit back on Thursday against U.S. condemnation of its role in Lebanon on Thursday, calling it a “violation of sovereignty”, after the United States expressed concern over the organization’s expanding influence. After meeting Lebanon’s prime minister on Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador said the United States was worried about the …

The U.N.’s human rights chief said Tuesday she is concerned about the condition of some 200 families trapped in the last remaining area held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, where they are mixed with hundreds of militants. In Idlib, government forces shelled a bakery killing at least …