Middle East

On the first anniversary of the deadly Beirut port explosion, the Lebanese diaspora – along with supporters across the world – are using social media to mourn and call for justice. Lebanese have taken to social media to remember the Beirut port explosion, which took place one year ago on …

Seven African Arab states have rejected a recent decision by the African Union (AU) Commission to grant the Israeli regime an observer status at the continental body. Several Arab media outlets, including London-based al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported that the embassies of Algeria, Egypt, Comoros, Tunisia, Djibouti, Mauritania, and Libya in Ethiopia …

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday seek to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors’ conference marking the anniversary of the Beirut port blast, and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class. One year since an explosion ripped through the capital’s port …

One person died and three were injured when a fire broke out on a bus in a heavily fortified army compound in Damascus early on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. One source at the site of the explosion suggested an electrical fault had set the petrol tank on …

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed rumors about the entry of the country’s military forces into foreign ships passing in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, warning against such false reports propagated by the Western and Zionist media. Saeed Khatibzadeh, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, made the remark in …

Iran will not continue with its plans for prisoner swaps with the United States, an unnamed Iranian official told the semi-official Nour Newsagency on Tuesday, accusing Washington of “breaches” against efforts to free the detainees. “With the continuing Biden administration … breaches, there is no incentive on Iran’s part to …

Ebrahim Raeisi is now officially the 8th president of the Islamic Republic of Iran after his mandate was endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in Tehran, weeks after the ex-Judiciary chief won the country’s 13th presidential election by a landslide. Ayatollah Khamenei’s …

The Lebanese army has detained two men wanted over a deadly attack on Shia mourners at a funeral in a town south of the capital Beirut. In a deadly incident on Sunday afternoon, armed assailants attacked a convoy of mourners in the town of Khaldeh, shooting down at least three …

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Monday he had hoped for a quicker pace towards the formation of a new government and that his efforts would not be open-ended. “I had hoped for a pace that was faster than this in the government (formation). It is a bit slow,” …

Israeli authorities are plotting to confiscate more Palestinian land to expand settlements in the occupied al-Quds, as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its land grab policies in the Occupied Territories. Abdullah Seyam, the Palestinian Authority’s Deputy Governor of al-Quds said that the Israeli projects in al-Quds were part …

An online debate has erupted on social media over a historical territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar. The decades-old territorial dispute between Qatar and Bahrain over Hawar Islands and Zubarah fort has resurfaced online over the past days triggering heated debates among users from the two countries on Twitter, according to Doha News. …

The authorities in Saudi Kingdom are making strenuous efforts to cover up the country’s poverty crisis as the ruling family, seeped in corruption, continues to grow wealthy, according to a new report. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QIRS), a US-based think tank, said the ordinary Saudi citizens are grappling with …

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza has warned that power shortages pose a threat to the health and daily life for the population of the besieged Gaza Strip, saying 80% of Gazans live much of their day in the dark. In a new study, the ICRC found that …

Egypt’s military says almost 90 fighters were killed in northern Sinai, where fighters loyal to ISIS operate. Eight Egyptian army soldiers have been killed in recent “anti-terrorism operations”, the armed forces said. According to a statement by the armed forces on Sunday, most of the fighting took place in the …

The death toll from wildfires on Turkey’s southern coast rose to eight on Sunday as firefighters battled for a fifth day to contain blazes still raging in coastal resort towns. Two more people died on Sunday due to wildfires in the southern town of Manavgat, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, …

France has now added Bahrain to its list of green countries, starting August 1, Bahrain state news reported on Saturday. Vaccinated Bahrain residents wishing to travel to France will need to provide proof of vaccination status, a declaration attesting that they are experiencing no COVID-19 symptoms and that they have …

The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry says recent accusations leveled against Tehran by Israel and the United States about attacking an Israeli-owned merchant ship in the Sea of Oman are “childish” and influenced by the Zionist lobby in the United States. Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks in a Sunday press briefing …

A Bahraini protest movement has denounced the acquittal of a high-ranking military official and member of the kingdom’s ruling Al Khalifah regime, who has been found guilty of shooting dead a female sports journalist in front of her young son more than five years ago. The February 14 Youth Coalition — named after …

Israeli forces launch another crackdown on a demonstration staged by residents of the holy occupied city of al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against Tel Aviv’s decision to expel them from their homes there. Footage provided by the Palestinian Shehab news agency showed the forces strutting through the neighborhood and forcing one …

Jordan will temporarily close the Jaber border crossing with Syria for the movement of goods and passengers “as a result of developments in the security situation on the Syrian side”, state news agency Petra said on Saturday, citing an Interior Ministry official. The official added that the crossing will be …