Latest in Region Highlight
Latest in Region
Beirut blast killed Lebanese security officer
The explosion happened at around midnight near an army checkpoint and a cafe where football fans were watching a World Cup match.
Hamas chief says unaware who snatched Israeli teens
Meshaal said the Palestinian Authority should abandon security coordination with Israel.
Mauritanian leader wins new term as main rivals boycott polls
The former general campaigned strongly on his success in fighting armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda at home and in neighbouring Sahel nations.
Kerry in Iraq as Sunni militants seize strategic town, airport
Kerry met with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and was to hold talks with Iraqi leaders across the political and communal spectrum.
Israel launches air raids on Syrian positions in Golan
The air raids came after the 13-year-old son of an Israeli defence ministry contractor was killed on the Golan on Sunday morning.
Syrian fire kills teen on Israeli-held Golan
AFP – The teenage son of an Israeli defence ministry contractor was killed on the Golan Sunday in the most serious incident on the plateau since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. Israel’s defence ministry and the army said the 15-year-old was killed when a blast hit the car he was travelling in with …
Israeli troops kill 2 West Bankers in teen manhunt
Israel has seized on the opportunity presented by the operation to try to rupture a reconciliation agreement between Abbas and Hama infuriating Israel.
Second day of protests over Afghan election fraud claims
Supporters in the western Afghan city burnt their voter registration cards in protest against alleged irregularities in the contest between the former foreign minister and rival Ashraf Ghani.
Shi’a rebels wound 17 Yemen police in ambush
AFP – Some 17 Yemeni policemen were wounded in an ambush by Shiite Huthi rebels as fighting between government forces and the rebels neared the capital, officials said on Sunday. The Huthis – also known as Ansarullah – have been pushing out of their northern mountain strongholds towards Sanaa in a suspected bid to expand …
Iraq militants ‘turning back clock’ in captured Mosul
Security forces in Mosul wilted in the face of the onslaught, in some cases abandoning uniforms and even vehicles in their haste to flee.
Sunni militants take control of Iraq-Syria border point
An army major confirmed that the town and its surrounding areas were in insurgent hands.
Mauritanian leader set to win new term amid poll boycott
The ex-army general has campaigned strongly on his success in fighting armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda at home and in neighbouring Sahel nations.
‘Systematic’ chemical weapons use in Syria: watchdog
AFP – Chemical weapons such as chlorine have likely been used in a “systematic manner” in Syria, according to a report by a team from the world’s watchdog investigating alleged attacks there. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission said evidence “lends credence to the view that toxic chemicals, most likely pulmonary …
Militants hit main Iraq refinery as PM sacks officers
The crisis threatens to carve up the country while the assault on the Baiji oil refinery early Wednesday will likely further spook international oil markets.
Fighting nears Baghdad as UN warns crisis ‘life-threatening’
Iraqi officials have insisted they are making progress in repelling the fighters, who are led by the powerful Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group, but have continued to lose ground.
Palestinian killed in Israeli crackdown over missing 3
The army says more than 150 Palestinians have been arrested in the search for the three youngsters Israel says were kidnapped by Hamas militants from a settlement bloc in the southern West Bank on Thursday night.
Syria government retakes strategic town on Turkey border: State TV
AFP – Syrian government forces on Sunday recaptured the strategic town of Kasab, near the only border crossing with Turkey in northwestern province of Latakia, state television reported. “Units from the army are reestablishing security in the province of Latakia after killing a large number of terrorists and destroying their weapons,” the television said, referring …
South Sudan crisis ‘deteriorates’ after six months of war
War in the young nation has already killed thousands and forced more than 1.5 million people from their homes, and aid agencies warn of the risk of famine should fighting continue.
Iraq presses counter-offensive as US deploys warship
The militants, spearheaded by the powerful jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), have overrun all of one province and chunks of three more since they launched their offensive late last Monday.
50,000 children facing death in war-torn South Sudan: UN
War in the young nation has already killed thousands and forced more than 1.5 million people from their homes, and aid agencies warn of the risk of famine should fighting continue.
Syria TV says 30 killed in blast near Iraq border
AFP – A bomb attack targeting a weapons bazaar in eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border killed 30 “terrorists” on Saturday, state television reported. “A big explosion hits a terrorist arms market in Mayadeen, killing 30 terrorists and wounding dozens of others,” the television reported. Just 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Iraqi border, …
Obama rules out sending troops as cleric calls Iraqis to arms
Washington spent billions of dollars training and equipping Iraqi security forces before withdrawing its troops in 2011.
Syria prisoner releases begin after amnesty: Lawyer
The releases came a day after Syrian state television reported that Assad had declared an unprecedented amnesty, extending for the first time to those accused under the country’s anti-terrorism legislation.
South Sudan rivals are warmongers, mediators say
The comments came just hours before Kiir and Machar were set to hold a rare face-to-face meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Suspected jihadists seize Iraq’s Nineveh province
Military units first withdrew from the city’s east, heading to its west, and then began leaving the city, along with thousands of residents, he said.
Checkpoint blasts kill 15 in northern Iraq: official
AFP – A roadside bomb followed by a suicide bomber detonating an explosives-rigged truck at a police checkpoint in northern Iraq killed 15 people on Monday, a local official said. The official, Shallal Abdul Baban, told AFP the blasts in Tuz Khurmatu also wounded 115 people and caused “great destruction”. The police checkpoint that was …
Court rules election of Libya PM Miitig unconstitutional
Outgoing prime minister Abdullah Al-Thani had refused to recognise Miitig’s government, saying he would await the judiciary’s decision before handing over power.
In Syria’s ‘Berry Place,’ residents dodge bullets
The area is an island in the eastern district of Jobar, where rebels hold the east and the army controls the west.
Israel backs law to block Palestinian prisoner releases
The amendment would give the courts power to prevent Israel’s president from granting clemency or shortening the jail term of anyone imprisoned for murder.
Bomb attacks on Kurd party kill 17 in latest Iraq unrest
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though suicide bombings are a tactic mainly employed by Sunni Muslim militants in Iraq.