BAGHDAD (AFP) – Thousands of Iraqi mourners Sunday (Jan 3) condemned the “American occupiers” one year after a US drone strike killed Iran’s revered commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant, Mr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The anniversary of their deaths in Baghdad – which brought arch enemies the United States and Iran to the brink of […]

RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi Arabia on Sunday (Jan 3) announced the reopening of borders and the resumption of international flights after a two-week suspension aimed to stem the spread of a new Covid-19 strain. The government ordered the lifting of “precautionary measures related to the spread of a new variant of coronavirus”, the Ministry of […]

JERUSALEM (REUTERS) – An Israeli official on Sunday (Jan 3) dismissed as “nonsense” an allegation by the Iranian foreign minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into waging war on Iran. It was Israel that needed to be on alert for possible Iranian strikes on the one-year anniversary on Sunday of the […]

DOHA (AFP) – A bitter feud between Qatar and a Saudi-led alliance may finally be nearing its end, as Gulf Arab leaders prepare to meet on Tuesday. Here is a look back at the dispute that has divided the region for three and a half years, setting key Western allies at odds. Ultimatum to Doha […]

JERUSALEM — Preventive diplomacy, by its nature, does not often lead to splashy headlines for the practitioner. In his nearly six years as the top United Nations envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay E. Mladenov worked quietly behind the scenes to help keep the Gaza Strip from boiling over, preserve the possibility of a two-state […]

ADEN, Yemen — A large explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden killed at least 16 people on Wednesday, shortly before a plane carrying new government officials landed there, officials said. The source of the blast was not immediately clear, and no group claimed responsibility for the explosion. No one on […]

JERUSALEM — Jonathan J. Pollard, the American who served 30 years in prison for spying for Israel in a Cold War-era espionage case that had been a thorn in relations between the two allies, arrived in Israel early Wednesday to a carefully staged, if relatively subdued, hero’s welcome from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The predawn scene unfolded […]

JERUSALEM (REUTERS) – Israel will enter what officials hope will be its last coronavirus lockdown on Sunday (Dec 27) as they ramp up vaccinations to a pace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said may allow an emergence from the pandemic by March. If realised, that could help Mr Netanyahu’s re-election hopes after missteps that include lifting […]

JERUSALEM — With Israel heading to its fourth election in two years after the collapse of its government, many in the country are wondering whether it’s a case of too much democracy. The last three ballots ended inconclusively, with no single candidate able to muster the parliamentary majority required to form a government. The stalemate […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel was headed Tuesday (Dec 22) for its fourth election in less than two years, with parliament set to dissolve at midnight after lawmakers rejected a last-ditch effort to salvage Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractured ruling coalition. Mr Netanyahu’s government has been inching towards collapse for weeks and now the right-wing incumbent […]