French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Tunisia this week, but analysts say the visit is ‘just business as usual’. Emmanuel Macron will be in Tunisia this week where the French president is expected to address parliament, attend an economic summit, and hold discussions on trade and security cooperation between the two countries. But analysts […]

Palestine Liberation Organisation reconsiders its recognition of Israel until Israel recognises the State of Palestine. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) is considering the “suspension” of its recognition of Israel, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official said Tuesday. “There is no alternative for the Palestinians but to suspend their recognition of Israel,” Saeb Erekat, a […]

TEHRAN — Stepping from a car into a muddy industrial site in the Iran desert, the 22-year old European Bitcoin investor raised his voice to be heard over the roar of a gas-fired generator. His Iranian counterparts — a bespectacled information-technology specialist, a self-described ‘‘hard-core Bitcoiner’’ and the businessman running the site — walked their […]

LONDON (REUTERS) – Two sound bombs exploded in front of a police station in the city of Zahedan in southeastern Iran, local officials told state media on Tuesday (Jan 29), causing minor injuries to three police officers. The deputy governor of Zahedan was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying both explosions were caused by […]

JERUSALEM — The government of the Palestinian Authority tendered its resignation on Tuesday, a move that reflected rising public discontent and the failure of efforts to reunite the West Bank, where the authority is based, and the Gaza Strip, controlled by the militant Islamist group Hamas. The departing prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, a former university […]

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and memoranda of understanding late Monday, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal aimed at strengthening cooperation between Damascus and one of its key allies in the civil war that has torn the country apart. The agreements covered a range of fields including economy, culture, education, […]

DAMASCUS (AFP) – The wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has undergone a “successful” operation as part of treatment for early-stage breast cancer, the presidency said on Sunday (Jan 27). “Asma al-Assad continues her treatment against the malignant tumour,” it said on its Facebook page. “Breast surgery at the Damascus military hospital has been successful,” […]

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Qatar said on Saturday (Jan 26) it will no longer fund salaries of Hamas employees in Gaza but will still give aid to poor families, after the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist rulers refused to accept wage payments over conditions allegedly attached by Israel. We “will not pay the salaries of […]

Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never obtained a permanent nation state. Where do they come from? The Kurds are one of the indigenous peoples of the […]

BRUSSELS/RIYADH (REUTERS) – The European Commission has added Saudi Arabia to an EU draft list of countries that pose a threat to the bloc because of lax controls against terrorism financing and money laundering, two sources told Reuters on Friday (Jan 25). The move comes amid heightened international pressure on Saudi Arabia after the murder […]