Latest in Region Highlight
Latest in Region
Key court ruling puts Kuwait democracy on the line
Sunday’s verdict could restrict the emir’s authority in issuing legislation and lead to parliament being dissolved for the second time in a year.
Tunisia rapper jailed for two years
Several cases relating to the freedom of expression have sparked outrage in the North African country since Ennahda’s rise to power
US pledges military aid to Syria rebels as battles rage
Obama’s administration announced Thursday it had conducted a review of intelligence reports and concluded that Syrian regime forces had used banned arms, including sarin nerve gas
Christian graves vandalised in cemetery: Israel police
Police said they suspected Jewish religious extremists of spraying the Hebrew-language insults at the site
Israel pushes plans for 1,100 W. Bank homes
Details of the plans emerged as US Secretary of State John Kerry makes an intensive effort to rekindle dormant peace talks
Assad gains sharpen focus on arming Syrian rebels
Hague and Kerry made a passionate plea for Europe, the US and its allies to do more for “the innocent victims of war and repression.”
Iran media praises heated presidential debate
Reformist daily Arman hailed the discussions, saying they “showcased differences.”
UN launches record $5.2 bn Syria aid appeal
In the latest appeal, the UN said that a total of $3.8 billion was needed to help Syrian refugees who have spilled across the country’s borders to escape fighting in their homeland.
UN Golan force in crisis after Austria pullout, casualties
The move by Austria is “significant” because it provides such a large amount of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) force
Tunisia bomb attack kills two soldiers: Military
Mount Chaambi is in rugged area close to the border with Algeria where the Tunisian military has been hunting Qaeda-linked militants
Turkey protesters demand sacking of police chiefs
The meeting was held as thousands of striking workers from various unions began demonstrating in major cities nationwide in solidarity with the protesters.
Main events in Turkey unrest
Timeline outlining latest clashes in Turkey
Kurd rebels and Turkish military exchange shots: army
Kurdish rebels shot at a Turkish army base
Young demonstrator killed by car in Istanbul: medics
Demonstrator killed by car in Turkey
Turkey president says protesters’ message ‘received’
Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul urged calm on Monday
In Pictures: Turkey police pull out of Istanbul square occupied by protesters
Thousands of demonstrators flooded the site as police lifted the barricades around the park and began withdrawing from the square.
Police clash with protesters at Istanbul’s Taksim Square
Dozens were injured in the demonstration
UN adds Syrian militants Al Nusra to sanctions list
The group, a feared force battling President Bashar al-Assad, is now subject to an international asset freeze and arms embargo
Lebanon parliament extends mandate as Syria war rages
The term of the mandate of the legislature will be modified on an exceptional basis to end on November 2014 rather than this June as scheduled
Tunisia topless protester faces new charges
Amina Sboui, better known by her pseudonym Tyler, will be charged under the “criminal conspiracy” section of the penal code
Rebels boosted as Assad forces close in on Qusayr
Rebels said hundreds of fighters had broken through army lines to join the battle.
Assad threatens Israel with renewed fighting
There was no immediate comment on Assad’s remarks from Israel
Iran amends law on stoning for adultery
The controversial practice has provoked outcries from human rights organisations, international bodies and Western countries urging Iran to abandon it
Assad implies Syria received Russia missiles: TV
Israel has warned it “will know what to do” if Russia delivers promised anti-aircraft missiles to its war-torn ally Syria
Gulf states may place Hezbollah on terror list: report
Bahrain will ask foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss “placing Hezbollah on the terror list” at a meeting in Saudi Arabia
Israel to build 1,000 new homes in E. Jerusalem
The news came less than a week after Kerry’s latest round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on his fourth visit to the region since he took office in February
Iraq attacks kills 28
Violence has killed more than 570 people in Iraq so far in May and over 1,000 in less than two months
UN World Food Programme struggles to feed Syrians
Ongoing civil war hampers efforts to provide food for millions of Syrians
3 Femen women held in Tunis after baring breasts: AFP
The women, two French and the other German, shouted: “Free Amina,” in reference to the young Tunisian woman imprisoned for protesting against hardline Islamists and awaiting trial for illegally possessing pepper spray.
Iran, an increasingly burning issue for world powers
Iran is accused by Western and Arab countries which back rebels fighting al-Assad of supplying weapons and sending military forces to the Syrian military, in a conflict that has claimed some 94,000 lives since 2011.