Blinken calls on Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza‘The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of disease, famine and violence’ according to aid agenciesTue Nov 05 2024 - 16:42
UN agencies forced to postpone second round of polio shots in northern Gaza amid Israeli attacks and mass displacementVaccinations postponed due to Israeli attacks, widespread displacement and difficulty accessing locationsThu Oct 24 2024 - 19:00
What next for Hamas? Assassination of leadership by Israel taking heavy tollMany Palestinians now questioning wisdom and conduct of October 7th operation, which precipitated Israel’s total war on GazaFri Oct 18 2024 - 15:41
Iranian foreign minister holds talks with Egyptian president Sisi After the first visit to Cairo in 13 years by Iran’s top diplomat, Mr Araghchi flew on to Turkey, the ninth stop on his regional tour amid rapidly rising regional tensionsThu Oct 17 2024 - 16:56
Humanitarian agencies fear Gaza-type scenario in LebanonUnicef and World Food Programme call for urgent funds as Lebanon suffers ‘same trauma, same fear’ as in GazaWed Oct 16 2024 - 18:01
UN agencies begin second stage of polio vaccinations in Gaza under Israeli bombardmentAttacks continued on Tuesday while children lined up to receive the vaccine and vitamin A to protect them from diseases which can be contracted from raw sewage and uncollected rubbishTue Oct 15 2024 - 17:37
Fate of Iran Revolutionary Guards commander uncertain amid conflicting reportsEsmail Qaani has been variously reported as being in line for a medal, or as having been detained for questioning over Israeli infiltrationFri Oct 11 2024 - 16:04
Saudi Arabia fails in bid to get seat on top UN human rights bodyRelaxations of social and cultural restrictions under crown prince Mohamed bin Salman have not ended rights abuses in the kingdomThu Oct 10 2024 - 17:01
Iran foreign minister travels to Gulf nations to discuss regional tensionsAbbas Araqchi warns Gulf states not to allow use of their airspace or US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates in the event of an Israeli attack against TehranWed Oct 09 2024 - 18:01
Gaza humanitarian crisis: For the people still alive, things are getting worseAbout 1.2 million people have been forced to go an Israel-designated ‘safe zone’ that has no shelters, sewage or water. The IDF has bombed it six timesTue Oct 08 2024 - 16:10
Israeli tactics echo 1982 invasion of LebanonBombing of south, Beirut and Bekaa Valley, divisional deployment and compelling civilians to flee reveal extent of ‘limited’ incursionsThu Oct 03 2024 - 19:47
Pragmatic Iran has been keen to avoid direct confrontation with Israel over Lebanon US says Tehran is preparing to launch ballistic strikes at Israel, in what would amount to reversal of Iran’s longstanding policyTue Oct 01 2024 - 14:58
Nasrallah assassination marked by declarations of days of mourning and widespread condemnationIran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urges Muslims to stand with Hizbullah in ‘confronting’ IsraelMon Sept 30 2024 - 16:47
Assassination of leader always loomed as Hizbullah looks to successor for Nasrallah Nasrallah’s cousin Sayyed Hashem Safieddine is the most likely successor to the Israeli-killed secretary general of HizbullahSun Sept 29 2024 - 19:02
Extent of US military and economic aid reveals Israel’s reliance on Washington Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has received $310bn in US assistance, making Jewish state the largest recipient of US foreign aidFri Sept 27 2024 - 15:55
‘Israel bombs whole villages to hit one Hizbullah’ One family’s struggles a typical tale as thousands forced to flee for their safety due to widespread Israeli bombardment of LebanonThu Sept 26 2024 - 19:10
Israel’s Lebanon offensive against Hizbullah leaves Iran in difficult situationFiring Iranian ballistic missiles at Israel risks massive Israeli-US retaliation against Iran’s infrastructureTue Sept 24 2024 - 14:46
Russia and Iran sign partnership agreementDeal lays out two decades of co-operation in political, defence, regional and international affairsMon Sept 23 2024 - 21:16
Palestinian president welcomes toughening of Saudi position against normalising relations with IsraelMahmoud Abbas praises what he sees as a unified Arab and Muslim stand on Palestinian statehoodFri Sept 20 2024 - 16:28
Lebanon explosions: Hizbullah faces huge dilemma over response to attacksMovement must retaliate strongly for losses and humiliation, but cannot risk full-scale war with IsraelWed Sept 18 2024 - 17:19
Pezeshkian calls for warmer relations with Saudi Arabia as Iran aims to end regional isolationAt his first press conference since taking office in July, Iran’s president said the US ‘must show they are not hostile towards us’Tue Sept 17 2024 - 17:04
Some 625,000 Palestinian face second year without schoolUnrwa official says a million Gazans will not have enough food this month because Israel has blocked entry to lorries carrying essential suppliesMon Sept 16 2024 - 03:05
Rolling crises propel Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood to largest number of seats in election Gaza war, economic crisis, corruption and electoral reforms contribute to brotherhood’s achievementThu Sept 12 2024 - 18:41
Jordan investigates delivery drivers en route to West Bank after Israeli security guards killedJordan’s Muslim Brotherhood party chief lauds shooting attack carried out by ‘this noble Jordanian hero’ while Hamas calls it a normal response to Israeli ‘crimes’Mon Sept 09 2024 - 20:01
Israel pre-empts ceasefire proposals by ordering army to handle aid in Gaza StripIsraeli military appointed brigadier general Elad Goren to manage aid efforts and affairs of 2.3m Palestinians during and after warThu Sept 05 2024 - 16:32
Lebanon: Former central bank governor arrested on suspicion of embezzling $40mRiad Salameh (73) stood down from country’s central bank last year amid allegations of corruptionWed Sept 04 2024 - 18:01
Hamas warns hostages will be killed if Israeli army gets too closeHamas spokesman says ceasefire deal is only way to secure hostages’ livesTue Sept 03 2024 - 16:18
UN begins ‘race against time’ to vaccinate Gazan children against polio Roll-out urgent after 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abu-Jedian became Gaza’s first case in 25 yearsMon Sept 02 2024 - 15:49
Israeli military incursion into the West Bank the largest since 2002Israeli assault force targeting a variety of militant groups in Palestinian cities and refugee camps in West BankThu Aug 29 2024 - 17:19
Iran ready to negotiate nuclear deal in return for end of sanctionsAyatollah Ali Khamenei gives go-ahead for talks as sanctions cripple Iranian economyWed Aug 28 2024 - 14:39
Taliban ban on hearing women’s voices gives ‘distressing vision’ for Afghanistan, says UN officialTaliban’s first formal legislation since returning to power three years ago covers every aspect of Afghan lifeMon Aug 26 2024 - 15:34
Netanyahu’s refusal to yield on Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors key to reported collapse of Gaza ceasefire talks Fears of immediate wider regional war and retaliatory attacks by Iran and Hizbullah on Israel lessen for time beingFri Aug 23 2024 - 16:59
Distance between Israel and Hamas has not been narrowed by US amendmentsGaza ceasefire remains elusive following US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s ninth regional shuttleWed Aug 21 2024 - 14:50
UN warns of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen’s government-held areasSharp increase is due to the combined effects of epidemics, food insecurity, limited access to clean water, and economic decline, UN taskforce saysMon Aug 19 2024 - 21:50
Hizbullah leader holds back on retaliation against Israel and urges ceasefire in GazaHassan Nasrallah vows response for assassination of strategist Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, but says it will be incremental and gradualThu Aug 15 2024 - 20:28
Iran monitoring progress in Gaza ceasefire talks as it delays retaliation against Israel Iran's foreign ministry restates right under international law to respond to Israel’s violation of its sovereignty by assassinating Hamas leader in TehranWed Aug 14 2024 - 17:36
Diplomatic efforts continue to avert escalation of Gaza conflictTalks involving US, France and Iran aimed at securing a Gaza ceasefire and reducing the imminent threat of Iranian and Hizbullah retaliation for Israeli assassinationsMon Aug 12 2024 - 17:15
Harris’s choice of Walz inspires hope in Middle East of change in US policyMinnesota governor has demonstrated political independence on issue of Gaza warWed Aug 07 2024 - 18:01
Israeli rights group claims Palestinian prisoners are subjected to systematic abuseThousands of Palestinians arrested and detained without trial in a dozen overcrowded civilian and military prisons since start of Gaza warTue Aug 06 2024 - 16:18
Fears mount that counterstrikes against Israel over assassinations may spark all-out war Elements backed by Iran seeking to restore deterrence with measured actions that avoid devastating response from Jewish stateThu Aug 01 2024 - 18:27
Assassinations by Israel of Hamas and Hizbullah leaders leaves Middle East shocked and unsettledHamas, Hizbullah and Iran have vowed revenge, although a miscalculation could consign the region to all-out warWed Jul 31 2024 - 17:14
Turkish parliament passes law to round up stray dogs despite oppositionControversial legislation is aimed at tackling the estimated four million stray dogs across the countryTue Jul 30 2024 - 17:05
Wider Druze community reeling in shock over 12 deaths in missile strike Missile attack on Majdal Shams exposes the sensitive situation of the Levant’s Druze community across the entire region as Israel vows retaliation for deadly strikeMon Jul 29 2024 - 16:20
How Kamala Harris is viewed in the Arab worldHopes rise in Middle East that the potential election of Democratic presidential candidate could help to reset problematic Arab-US relationsWed Jul 24 2024 - 20:33
Hamas and Fatah among those signing accord on Palestinian control of Gaza after war endsChina brokers deal for temporary national unity government of factions to exercise authority ‘over all Palestinian territory’ occupied by Israel in 1967Tue Jul 23 2024 - 17:58
Cypriot memories jolted on 50th anniversary of Greek coupCyprus remains the EU’s sole divided country and Nicosia its only divided capitalSun Jul 21 2024 - 09:00
Trump’s Middle East policy laid bare by new documentRepublican Party policy document calls for resumption of Trump’s ban on the entry to the US of citizens from certain Muslim countriesWed Jul 17 2024 - 16:47
Israel to resume talks on ceasefire and release of hostagesIsraeli defence minister tells families of hostages that a deal is closeTue Jul 16 2024 - 18:22
Number of Palestinians killed in Gaza may reach 186,000, three academics sayThe Lancet warns ‘conservative estimate’ could be exceeded amid destroyed infrastructure, shortages of food, water and shelter, and losses of funding for UnrwaMon Jul 08 2024 - 16:28
Election of a reformist president brings hope for change in Iran Masoud Pezeshkian has promised closer ties with Iran’s Arab neighbours and the resumption of nuclear talks, but his room for manoeuvre will be constrained by the cleric-led regimeSun Jul 07 2024 - 19:00
