Young girls were used as spies, guards, medics, and members of an all-female fighting force, with some sexually abused. UN-backed investigators have found evidence that rebels in Yemen recruited nearly three dozen teenage girls – some said to be survivors of sexual violence – as spies, medics, guards and members of an all-female force. The […]

High-ranking officials from all nations will be present for signing of the historic, controversial normalisation deal US President Donald Trump will hold a September 15 signing ceremony for the Middle East agreement normalising relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to reports citing senior US officials. The officials said senior delegations from both […]

As he moved to slow the pandemic, Dr. Ronni Gamzu kept butting heads with ultra-Orthodox leaders. Then Israel’s top virus fighter was suddenly undercut. By David M. Halbfinger and Isabel Kershner JERUSALEM — For a fleeting three days, it looked as if Israel had successfully rebooted its faulty fight against the coronavirus. Then politics intervened. […]

France, meanwhile, says sanctions against Ankara are on the table during European Council meeting later this month. Turkey’s armed forces on Sunday began annual exercises in the breakaway republic of Northern Cyprus – an entity recognised only by Ankara – as tensions continue to rise with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey’s hunt for gas […]

BEIRUT (REUTERS) – Rescue workers dug through the rubble of a Beirut building for a second day on Friday (Sept 4) in the hope of finding someone alive more than a month after it was destroyed by a huge port explosion that shattered the Lebanese capital. But by early evening on Friday, rescue workers including […]

Emir met Trump’s senior adviser in Doha following a US-brokered accord between UAE and Israel to normalise ties. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has told White House adviser Jared Kushner that Doha supports a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, to end the conflict with Israel. […]

RIYADH (BLOOMBERG) – Israeli airlines will be allowed to cross through Saudi Arabia on a regular basis, shattering a 72-year taboo as Gulf Arab nations and the Jewish state draw steadily closer together. On Wednesday (Sept 2), Saudi Arabia approved a United Arab Emirates request to use the kingdom’s airspace “for all flights coming to […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas said Monday (Aug 31) they had reached a Qatari-mediated deal with Israel to end more than three weeks of cross-border attacks. In the latest escalation, Israel has bombed Gaza almost daily since Aug 6 in response to airborne incendiary devices and, less frequently, rockets launched across the border. […]

JERUSALEM (AFP, REUTERS) – Israel is in secret talks with several Arab states on establishing ties, in addition to its US-backed deal struck with the UAE, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday (Aug 30). “There are many more unpublicised meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalise relations with the state of Israel,” he said […]

The UAE football federation protested that Sudan-born Ali was ineligible after a 4-0 defeat to Qatar in the Asian Cup. Qatar forward Almoez Ali, top scorer in last year’s Asian Cup with a record nine goals, is eligible to play for them, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Monday as it dismissed […]