Latest in Region Highlight
Latest in Region
Jihadists seize hostages at campus in Iraq’s Ramadi
The attack came a day after violence, including heavy fighting between militants and security forces and twin suicide bombings targeting a minority group, killed at least 36 people in the northern province of Nineveh.
Suicide bomber kills three at Libya ex-general base
Ex-general Khalifa Haftar was in the base at the time but escaped unharmed.
Fresh clashes in Benghazi kill 10 people
AFP – Clashes between Islamists and Libyan troops loyal to a rogue general pressing an offensive against jihadists killed 10 people Monday in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, medics said. The Islamists, including Ansar al-Sharia militants, attacked a base of elite special forces supporting renegade general Khalifa Haftar, triggering the fighting, said the commander …
Nine dead in Iraq attacks as unrest spikes
South of Baghdad, a roadside bomb near a secondary school in Mahmudiyah killed a male pupil, and a car bomb near a Shi’a mosque in Iskandiriyah killed two people.
Syrian babies ‘born refugees’ in Lebanon
Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees from Syria’s devastating war. Half of them are children, the United Nations says, warning they risk becoming a “lost generation”.
Al-Qaeda urges Libyans to fight rogue general
AFP – Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb urged Libyans to fight a rogue general who is pressing an offensive against Islamist militias in the country’s east, labelling him an “enemy of Islam”. Last month, ex-general Khalifa Haftar unleashed forces from his so-called National Army on Islamist militias in Benghazi in a campaign dubbed “Operation Dignity”. …
Israel denies future Palestinian ministers West Bank entry
Gaza’s Islamist rulers and the Western-backed Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is dominated by Abbas’s secular Fatah party, signed a surprise reconciliation agreement in April to end years of rivalry.
Sudan mother facing apostasy death sentence to be freed soon: Official
AFP – A Christian Sudanese woman sentenced to hang for apostasy will be “freed within days”, a foreign ministry official told AFP Saturday, after her case triggered an international outcry. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was condemned to death on 15 May under the Islamic Sharia law that has been in place since 1983 and outlaws …
British PM appalled by ‘barbaric’ Sudanese death sentence
The Christian Sudanese woman, who was sentenced to hang, was incarcerated with her 20-month-old toddler according to rights activists, and gave birth this week to another baby in jail.
US confirms American carried out Syria suicide bombing
The confirmation came amid growing fears over the flood of foreigners into Syria, with no end in sight in the three-year war that has already left 162,000 people dead.
Syrians stream to embassies to vote in controversial poll
Of the estimated three million Syrians living abroad, including both refugees and peacetime residents, only around 200,000 were entitled to vote on Wednesday, in 39 embassies abroad
Iran slams Syrian opposition chief, confirms poll monitors
Jarba is not running against Assad in a 3 June presidential vote but Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian hit out regardless.
Libya navy chief ‘wounded in attack on convoy’
AFP – The Libyan navy’s chief of staff, his driver and two guards were wounded on Wednesday when gunmen attacked his convoy in Tripoli, the navy spokesman said. Rear Admiral Hassan Abu Shnak was on his way to work when gunmen blocked his convoy in a western district of the capital and opened fire, Colonel Ayub Kassem …
Fighting in Sudan Darfur city kills 4: Medic
A medical source said the bodies of four people were brought to hospital in the town. Three of the dead were “soldiers” but it was not clear from which force.
Elite Libya unit boosts rogue general’s Islamist hunt
Gunmen stormed the GNC in southern Tripoli on Sunday, two days after an anti-Islamist offensive launched by a rogue general in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Israel, Palestinians eye political gain from papal visit
In fact, the pope’s “pilgrimage of prayer”, which begins in Jordan on Saturday, will leave a relatively faint footprint in Israel.
Libya parliament attacked, Benghazi Islamists targeted
AFP – Armed groups attacked Libya’s interim parliament and an air base in the east Sunday, adding to turmoil in the troubled country where a rogue general has launched an offensive against Islamists in the city of Benghazi. A colonel claiming to speak on behalf of the army declared that parliament had been suspended. “We, …
BREAKING: Saudi closed Libya embassy, evacuates diplomats
AFP – Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Tripoli on Monday and evacuated all its diplomats over “security” concerns in Libya, the SPA state news agency reported. The Saudi ambassador to Libya Mohammed Mahmud al-Ali told SPA the kingdom’s consulate in Libya was also closed “due to the current circumstances and the security situation.” He said all diplomats in …
Syria war toll over 162,000: NGO
Among them were 53,978 civilians, including 8,607 children.
Deadly clashes in Libya as rogue general accused of leading coup
Haftar says his campaign against the Islamists aims to purge the restive city of “terrorist” groups, but he has been denounced by the authorities in Tripoli of trying to stage a coup — a charge he denies
UN council to vote on taking Syria before criminal court
Next week’s Security Council vote comes amid growing suspicions that Syria has been using chemical weapons on its own people.
Ben Ali security chief walks free after sentence cut
Seriati had been in jail ever since Ben Ali fled into exile in Saudi Arabia in January 2011 following the first of that year’s Arab Spring uprisings.
Brahimi departure, election double blow to Syria peace hopes
The international standoff was underlined Wednesday with Damascus reacting to Lakhdar Brahimi’s announcement that he will step down on May 31 by accusing him of bias and interference in domestic politics.
Qatar to end sponsorship system for foreign workers
Sponsorship systems for foreign workers exist in most Gulf countries, which employ millions of foreigners, especially from Asia.
Baghdad bombs against Shi’a kill 25
At least nine car bombs went off throughout the morning, when the city is typically gridlocked.
Former Israel PM Olmert gets 6 years jail for bribery
Olmert is the first former prime minister of Israel looking at a prison term for corruption.
Kidnapped Jordan envoy freed in swap for jihadist
A plane carrying Aitan touched down at Marka military airport in Amman, and he was greeted by relatives and officials led by Prince Faisal bin Hussein, the brother of King Abdullah II.
ISIL slams Qaeda chief, refuses to quit Syria
AFP – A powerful jihadist group battling Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria has sharply criticised the global terror network’s leader in a statement, rejecting his call for them to leave the war-ravaged country. The audio recording, purportedly made by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant spokesman Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani, also urged Ayman Al-Zawahiri to remove …
Migrant boat sinks off Italy, several dead: Report
AFP – Several people were reported killed on Monday after a boat packed with around 400 migrants sank off the coast of southern Italy, Italian media reported, adding that around 200 of the passengers had already been rescued. ANSA news agency said the incident happened some 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres, 115 miles) from the …
Syria rebels to free 1,500 families for food, prisoners: Report
While the edges of Adra are under government control, the interior of the town, which has Sunni, Alawite and Christian communities, is in rebel hands.