TEHERAN (AFP) – Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said any negotiations with the United States would be “futile” as he delivered his first major speech to the conservative-dominated chamber on Sunday. Mr Ghalibaf, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force, was elected speaker on Thursday after February elections that swung the balance in […]

DOHA (AFP) – Qatar denied on Thursday (May 28) that it plans to quit the Gulf Cooperation Council as it prepares to mark three years of isolation led by the regional bloc’s heavyweight Saudi Arabia. However, the gas-rich state cautioned that the effort by three of the GCC’s six members to isolate Doha economically and […]

Tripoli forces reportedly seize control of parts of al-Watiya, captured in 2014 by renegade commander Khalifa Haftar. Soldiers from Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) attacked an airbase controlled by the forces of renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.  The operation was launched early on Tuesday by troops loyal to the Tripoli-based GNA, which […]

Opening session of new legislative body dominated by 220 conservatives takes places under strict health protocols. Iran has held the opening session of its new Parliament under strict health protocols, more than three months after an election in February was swept by conservative candidates. During the first session of the 290-member body on Wednesday, the […]

Global rights group calls on Egyptian authorities to stop censorship, harassment and intimidation of journalists. Journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent, Amnesty International has said in a new report. As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues […]

Army spokesman says casualties include an officer but did not provide details on the number of those killed or wounded. Ten soldiers have been killed or wounded in a blast targeting an armoured vehicle in the restive northern Sinai on Thursday, Egypt’s army said. Army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said the casualties from the incident in the […]

JERUSALEM (AFP, REUTERS) – China’s ambassador to Israel was found dead in his home in a Tel Aviv suburb on Sunday (May 17), Israeli police said.  Mr Du Wei, 57, who had arrived in Israel in mid-February, was found dead in his Herzliya home, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, adding that police were investigating. Mr Du’s […]

Quds Day rallies are held in towns and cities across Iran to express solidarity with the Palestinians. Rallies next week in Tehran to mark the annual Quds Day against Israel will involve Iranians driving in vehicles rather than marching through the streets to avoid spreading the coronavirus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said. The elite […]

For the 72nd Nakba anniversary, Palestinians took to social media and digital initiatives to commemorate the day. Demonstrations across Palestinian cities and towns to commemorate the Nakba have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic this year. Instead, Palestinian activists took to social media to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba, or Day of […]

Government had imposed a curfew and lockdown in March in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Tunisia has shortened its nightly curfew after three consecutive days without recording any new coronavirus cases and as the government relaxes a general lockdown. The North African democracy imposed the curfew in March, aiming to slow […]