One soldier killed, two injured after incident in northeastern Syria. Two US helicopters attacked a Syrian army checkpoint, killing one soldier and injuring two others, state media reported. The incident in northeastern Syria, near the largely Kurdish city of Qamishli, happened shortly after a US patrol was prevented from passing by an army checkpoint in […]

TEHERAN (NYTIMES) – Iran’s foreign minister flew to Beirut this past week to bolster Lebanon and Hizbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political group that plays a powerful role in the government. Both the militia and the government had been caught in a ferocious public backlash over the explosion that destroyed much of the city. But […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – The agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise ties would kill the two-state solution, strengthen “extremists” and undermine the “possibility of peace”, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday (Aug 16). The fractured Palestinian leadership – from the Palestinian Authority led by Mr Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied […]

TEHERAN (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) – The United Arab Emirates has made a “huge mistake” in reaching a deal towards normalising ties with Israel, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Saturday (Aug 15). He warned the Gulf state against allowing Israel to have a “foothold in the region”. The UAE-Israel agreement, announced on […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday (Aug 13) he agreed to delay annexation in the occupied West Bank as part of a normalisation deal with the UAE but the plans remain “on the table”. Netanyahu said that in agreement with US President Donald Trump he had “delayed” West Bank annexation plans, […]

Video released by state media apparently aimed to dispel rumours about the king’s health after he had surgery. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman arrived at a planned Red Sea megacity to “rest and recuperate”, state media said on Thursday, after the 84-year-old ruler underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder. The kingdom has sought to quell […]

Ankara says cross-border offensive will not stop even after drone attack kills senior Iraqi military officers. Turkey will continue its cross-border operations against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq if Baghdad continues to overlook the rebels’ presence in the region, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, urging Iraqi authorities to cooperate with Ankara. Turkey has regularly […]

The two leaders also discussed ways to achieve a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya. The United States embassy in Libya has announced President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed in a phone call the steps necessary to achieve a demilitarised zone in central Libya. The two leaders […]

TEL AVIV (REUTERS) – Israel said it thwarted a cyber attack on its defence industry by a hacking group known as Lazarus, which the United States says is run by North Korean intelligence. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday (Aug 12) that hackers posing as potential employers sent job offers to defence workers trying to […]

BEIRUT (REUTERS) – Lebanese security officials warned the Prime Minister and President last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources. Just over two weeks later, the industrial chemicals exploded […]