NAJAF, IRAQ (AFP) – Mr Mohammad al-Bahadli dug into Iraq’s hot desert sand with bare hands to reach his father’s corpse. “Now he can finally be with our people, our family, in the old cemetery,” 49-year-old Mr Bahadli said, as relatives sobbed over the body, wrapped in a shroud. After restrictions were eased for the […]

GAZA (REUTERS) – Palestinians in Gaza burnt pictures of Israeli, US, Bahraini and United Arab Emirates leaders on Saturday (Sept 12) in protest over the two Gulf countries’ moves to normalise ties with Israel. Bahrain on Friday joined the UAE in agreeing to normalise relations with Israel, a move forged partly through shared fears of […]

Afkari was accused of stabbing a man in the southern city of Shiraz during the 2018 anti-government protests. Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari has been executed after being convicted of stabbing to death a security guard during anti-government protests in 2018, according to state media. “The retaliation sentence against Navid Afkari, the killer of Hassan Turkman, […]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Bahrain announced on Friday (Sept 11) it would become the latest Arab state to recognise Israel, a triumph both for the Jewish state and US President Donald Trump who is looking for pre-election wins. The deal is another step in a cherished dream by Israeli and US conservatives to win Arab recognition […]

JERUSALEM (REUTERS) – Bahrain is to normalise relations with Israel, the diplomatic correspondent for Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said in a tweet on Friday (Sept 11), without citing sources. Another Israeli reporter, Raphael Ahren of the Times of Israel, said US President Donald Trump would on Friday announce that Bahrain was joining the United Arab […]

Health ministry says death toll in the Palestinian territories rose to 224, while total infections reached 37,214. Palestine confirmed seven more deaths and 1,000 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours – the highest single-day jump since the outbreak began. The virus killed six more in the occupied West Bank, and one in the […]

The reforms will be put to a referendum on the anniversary of the start of Algeria’s war of independence from France. Algeria’s parliament has adopted draft constitutional reforms, an initiative of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune aimed at responding to the demands of the country’s “Hirak” protest movement. By a show of hands on Thursday, the amended […]

Huge fire at site of last month’s devastating explosion met with fear, anger and questions about incompetence. Beirut, Lebanon – A towering inferno at Beirut’s port has caused widespread panic in the Lebanese capital, just two days after another fire was put out at the site of a massive explosion that killed nearly 200 people […]

Top US diplomat for Middle East expresses cautious optimism that three-year siege of Qatar by Arab states may soon end. Progress may be made within weeks to end a three-year blockade of Qatar by Arab states, a senior US State Department official said on Wednesday, citing signs of “flexibility” in negotiations. David Schenker, the department’s top […]

CAIRO (REUTERS) – Palestinian leaders won renewed Saudi support for Palestinian statehood on Wednesday (Sept 9), but failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn last month’s normalisation deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. At a video conference of foreign ministers, the Palestinian leadership softened its own censure of the UAE for the […]