Kurds gain ground against ISIS in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Kurdish forces said they drove ISIS militants out of villages near the oil city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday, in an offensive backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. The assault consolidated their control over Kirkuk and brought the peshmerga, the military forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region,...Saudi-led forces retake Red Sea strait in Yemen
ADEN — On Thursday, Loyalist Yemeni troops and Gulf Arab forces seized control of the Arabian side of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden from Houthi fighters, a spokesman for the Gulf-backed government said. Six months of war in Yemen has raised fears for the security of oil supplies through...Russia bombs group trained by CIA in Syria, Iran to commit ground troops
DAMASCUS — Hundreds of Iranian troops arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government, Lebanese sources said on Thursday, a sign the civil war is turning still more regional and global in scope. Russian warplanes, in a second day of strikes, bombed a camp run by rebels trained by...
The Russian intervention in Syria: A turning point in international relations
October 1st, 20150 "Even Turkey, whose prime minister once compared Assad to Hitler, is backtracking its position on the Syrian president."The direct Russian intervention in Syria is the peak of an increasingly aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East that the Kremlin has been undertaking since Vladimir Putin's rise to power 15 years ago. Russia's...
With peace prospects grim, Palestinians raise flag at U.N.
October 1st, 20150 The Palestinian flag flies at the UN Headquarters in New York after being raised by President Mahmoud Abbas UNITED NATIONS — With prospects for Middle East peace looking increasingly thin, Palestinian diplomats and officials cheered and applauded on Wednesday as their national flag flew for the first time at United Nations...Saudi airstrike kills at least 27 at Yemeni wedding
A resident said 12 women, eight children and seven men died in the attack. SANAA — A local official and residents said at least 27 people, mostly women or children, were killed on Monday in an air strike on a wedding party in southwest Yemen, but a Saudi-led coalition that has air supremacy over the country strongly denied any role.A...
ISIS suicide bomber kills 25 at Eid prayer in Sanaa
September 24th, 20150 Houthi militants inside the al-Balili mosque after a suicide bomber hit the mosque in Sanaa, Sept. 24. Photo: ReutersSANAA— A suicide bomber struck a mosque in Yemen's Houthi-held capital on Thursday, killing 25 worshippers during prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The Yemen-based ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility...
More than 717 pilgrims die in stampede in worst Hajj disaster in 25 years
September 24th, 20150 Medical staff carry an injured pilgrim after the stampede in Mina. Photo: ReutersAt least 717 pilgrims were killed on Thursday in a stampede outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said. It is the worst disaster to strike the annual Hajj pilgrimage in 25 years.At least 805 others were injured in the crush at Mina, a few...UN experts call on Saudi Arabia to cancel execution of young activist
Ali al-Nimr is set to be beheaded and crucified UNITED NATIONS — France and a group of U.N. experts have joined rights groups in calling on Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a an activist sentenced to death over his role in anti-government protests.Ali al-Nimr was given the death penalty in May after taking part in demonstrations...Egypt pardons Al Jazeera journalists
Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy before the verdict at a court in Cairo, Aug. 29CAIRO — Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners including three Al Jazeera television journalists on Wednesday, a day before he plans to head to the annual United Nations summit of world leaders.Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian...Yemen’s president returns to Aden
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi near Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir upon arrival at Khartoum Airport, Aug. 29 /Photo: ReutersADEN — Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi landed in Yemen's Aden on Tuesday, airport sources said, returning to the southern port city for the first time since he escaped to Saudi Arabia...Assad blames West for refugee crisis
DAMASCUS — Syrian President Bashar Assad has blamed Europe's refugee crisis on Western support for "terrorists", as people fleeing his country's civil war stream towards the European Union. In his first public comments on the mass migration, broadcast on Wednesday, Assad said Europe could expect more refugees. Countries including...Palestinians, Israeli police clash at al-Aqsa mosque
JERUSALEM — Israeli police armed with stun grenades and tear gas clashed with rock-throwing Palestinian youths who barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday, police and witnesses said. The violence had been ongoing for three days. Masked Palestinians hurled flares at the security forces, who said they were...32 nations criticize Bahrain’s human rights record
GENEVA — Thirty-two countries, including the United States and Britain, expressed concern on Monday about Bahrain's human rights record, urging the Western-allied kingdom to protect the right to peaceful assembly and address reports of torture. The letter, read out by Switzerland to the U.N. Human Rights Council, welcomed...Iceland’s capital passes motion to boycott Israeli products
Reykjavik — The city council in Iceland’s capital voted Tuesday to boycott Israeli imports.The Reykjavik municipality adopted the motion to ban Israeli products as long as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories continues, according to Iceland Magazine. Council members said the boycott represents Iceland’s support for......
Egypt killed 55 militants in Sinai, two soldiers also slain
CAIRO — Egyptian security forces killed 55 militants in Sinai on the ninth day of an operation against Islamists in the area, the military said in a statement on Tuesday. It was not possible to independently confirm the figure. The insurgency, mounted by ISIS' Egyptian affiliate, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has...Palestinians, Israeli police clash at al-Aqsa mosque
Israeli police detain a Palestinian protester in Jerusalem's Old City, Sept. 15JERUSALEM – Israeli police armed with stun grenades and tear gas clashed with rock-throwing Palestinian youths who barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday, police and witnesses said, in the third day of violence at the sacred......
32 nations criticize Bahrain’s human rights record
A Bahraini anti-government protester, Aug. 13, 2013. Photo: APGENEVA — Thirty-two countries including the United States and Britain expressed concern on Monday about Bahrain's human rights record, urging the Western-allied kingdom to protect the right to peaceful assembly and address reports of torture.The letter, read out by...Egyptian security forces kill 8 Mexicans, 4 Egyptians “by accident”
The Egyptian western desert and the Bahariya Oasis, May 15 Photo: ReutersCAIRO — Egyptian security forces killed 12 people and wounded 10 "by accident" when they mistook a convoy of mostly Mexican tourists for a group of militants they were hunting in the desert, the interior ministry said on Monday.At least two...Sandstorm kills 12 in Lebanon and Syria
BEIRUT — An unseasonable sandstorm has hit Lebanon and Syria, leaving at least 12 people dead and sending hundreds to hospitals for breathing difficulties. At least three refugee women died in Lebanon on Tuesday where at least 750 others were hospitalized for asphyxiation or shortness of breath, the health ministry said. The...Egypt sends up to 800 ground troops to Yemen’s war
SANAA – As many as 800 Egyptian soldiers arrived in Yemen late on Tuesday, Egyptian security sources said, swelling the ranks of a Gulf Arab military contingent which aims to rout the Houthi group after a five-month civil war. It was the first reported deployment of ground troops there by Egypt, which has one of the Arab world's......
Palestinians set to raise flag at UN
UNITED NATIONS — Palestine's flag will fly at United Nations headquarters after the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a Palestinian resolution, infuriating Israel with a move that Palestinians described as a step toward U.N. membership. There were 119 votes in favor out of 193 U.N. members. The United States and Israel...Russia raises stakes on Syriaa head of U.N. meeting
DAMASCUS – By refusing to clarify the scale of its military presence in Syria, Russia keeps the West fearing a considerable build-up to win a stronger bargaining position when world powers sit down to talks on the conflict, Western diplomats in Moscow said. Those discussions could take place as soon as this month, when Russian......
Mother of burned Palestinian baby dies of wounds
September 7th, 20150 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha pictured with his father Saad and mother Riham RAMALLAH — The mother of an 18-month-old Palestinian baby burned to death in an arson attack in the occupied West Bank, has herself died from injuries sustained during the attack.Reham Dawabsheh, 26, who died on Sunday night in an Israeli hospital, had...Palestinians push to fly their flag at the U.N.
RAMALLAH — Israel complained to the United Nations on Tuesday about a Palestinian initiative to fly the Palestinian flag alongside those of full member states at the world body's headquarters, calling it "another cynical misuse of the U.N. by the Palestinian Authority." Currently, only member states' flags fly at the U.N.......