Saturday, 23 Nov 2024

Middle East

Find breaking news, top stories and features from Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

In Syria desert, hundreds flee crumbling ISIS holdout

OMAR OIL FIELD, Syria (AFP) – Red-and-white scarves tied around their eyes, men suspected of belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group sit in the back of a pickup truck in the desert of eastern Syria. US-backed forces have singled them out from hundreds of men fleeing what remains of the […]

Yemen: More than two million displaced since conflict began

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Yemenis are trying to survive in camps without basic health and sanitation provisions. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Yemenis are trying to survive in camps without basic health and sanitation provisions. More than two million have been displaced since the war begin three and a half years ago. Al Jazeera’s […]

'Employ us or kill us': Tunisian youth on the margins

In one of the country’s poorest areas, young people describe the hardship and boredom of being out of work. Ettadhamen, Tunisia – Montasser Khedher turned 24 on Monday. But he didn’t have much to celebrate. Instead, he spent a large part of his birthday on a plastic chair on the curb, across from a cafe in […]

More protests expected in Tunisia after mass arrests

The UN says it is concerned about the number of arrests during anti-government demonstrations in Tunisia. More than 770 people have been arrested in Tunisia during nearly a week of protests against a government plan to raise taxes and prices of basic goods, according to the UN. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN human […]

Israel's new death penalty bill 'targets Palestinians'

Proposed changes would allow death penalty to be used against those convicted of ‘terrorist activity’. The Israeli government’s proposal to make it easier for judges to hand out the death penalty for “terrorist activity” has been condemned as “fascist” by Palestinian politicians and rights groups, who fear it will give Israel legal cover to target […]

One year of Trump: The effect on the Middle East

Is Trump’s foreign policy on Israel, Iran and the GCC all that different from previous administrations? Just over a year ago, the US government earned the wrath of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it ignored his demand to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian land. Netanyahu summoned the […]

Donald Trump threatens cutting off aid to Palestinians

Trump, whose move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital prompted global condemnation, suggests cutting aid to PA. US President Donald Trump, whose controversial decision last month to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital prompted global condemnation and widespread protests, has threatened to cut off aid to Palestinians. Trump said in a pair of Twitter posts on […]

Mike Pence: US embassy to open in Jerusalem in 2019

Scuffles erupt as Mike Pence tells the Knesset recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital chooses ‘fact over fiction’. The American embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of next year, US Vice President Mike Pence told Israeli parliamentarians to enthusiastic applause. Greeted by a standing ovation on Monday inside the Knesset, Pence’s […]

Syria's Ghouta: 'Nearly 180 killed' in two weeks

Monitor says 51 children among those killed in 15 days of Syrian and Russian air raids on rebel-held district. The number of people killed in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta has reached 179 after a little over two weeks of government and Russian bombardment, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). […]

Palestinians criticise US funding cuts to UNRWA

The US says it is withholding $65m of $125m it was going to give UNRWA, which provides a lifeline for some five million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Palestinians have denounced US President Donald Trump’s decision to hold back money needed for aid that would have helped millions of people. […]