BEIRUT (REUTERS) – A popular children’s song became a rallying cry in Lebanon after protesters in Beirut spontaneously sang the hit to calm a toddler caught in the midst of a noisy demonstration. When driver Eliane Jabbour was surrounded by a rally in the capital last weekend, she asked protesters if they could stop shouting […]

Guardian Council approves legislation first passed by Iranian parliament in May. Iran’s legislative vetting body has ratified a bill that allows children born to Iranian women and foreign men to obtain Iranian nationality, according to state media. The approval was announced by Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodai on Wednesday, more than four months after the proposal was […]

Israel’s long-standing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he cannot form a government, handing the opportunity to his political rival. Mr Netanyahu has been in power for the past decade but was unable to secure a majority after September’s elections failed to produce a clear winner. His rival Benny Gantz of the Blue and White […]

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel abandoned his latest attempt to form a government on Monday, clearing the way for his chief rival to take a shot but leaving a divided country no closer to knowing who its next leader would be. It remained to be seen whether the move was the beginning […]

NUSAYBIN, Turkey — Smears of fresh black asphalt covered the blood stains from a deadly mortar strike on a quiet neighborhood in Nusaybin, Turkey, just two blocks from the Syrian border. Turks, Kurds and Syrians were all cut down in the same attack, one of dozens that have hit the border towns in Turkey’s southeast […]

Ankara’s military action against Kurdish forces has drawn criticism and prompted NATO countries to suspend arms sales. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied any territorial ambition in the military operation in Syria, calling the accusation an “insult” to him. Speaking at a forum on Monday, Erdogan also criticised Ankara’s allies for not supporting what he calls a […]

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, her office said.  Pelosi, who travelled to Afghanistan after a stop in Jordan on Saturday, met President Ashraf Ghani and visiting US  Defense Secretary Mark Esper as well as top US military commanders […]

WASHINGTON — Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants more than control over a wide swath of Syria along his country’s border. He says he wants the Bomb. In the weeks leading up to his order to launch the military across the border to clear Kurdish areas, Mr. Erdogan made no secret of his larger ambition. […]

Hundreds of thousands take to streets in the biggest protests in four days threatening the coalition government. Hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets of Lebanon on Sunday in the biggest protests in the last four days, demanding an end to economic woes and perceived government corruption. Protests have grown steadily across the Mediterranean country since […]

All US troops withdrawing from northern Syria are expected to be relocated to western Iraq, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed. Mr Esper told reporters that, under current plans, about 1,000 soldiers would be redeployed to help stop the resurgence of Islamic State (IS). President Donald Trump has previously pledged to bring US troops home. […]