Middle East

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to form an “emergency” government in May after three bitter and deadlocked election campaigns, the goal was to stabilize Israeli politics in the face of a global pandemic. But less than 100 days later, their fractious coalition government could …

Three Israeli battle tanks have encroached upon a technical fence that separates Lebanon from the occupied territories amid tensions between the Tel Aviv regime and Hezbollah resistance movement, whose member was martyred in an Israeli airstrike in Syria last month. Two tanks crossed the so-called Blue Line – the UN-recognized …

The illegal Zionist entity shuts down the Gaza Strip’s border crossing that hosts most imports into the Tel Aviv-besieged territory as a punitive measure against alleged launches of “incendiary balloons” from the Palestinian enclave towards the occupied territories. The Karam Abu Salem Crossing was closed on Tuesday after at least …

A court in the United States has summoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) based on a lawsuit initiated by a former senior Saudi intelligence official accusing the kingdom’s de facto ruler of an assassination attempt against him. The District of Columbia court on Friday issued the summons, just …

Tunisia prime minister-designate Hichem Mechichi said on Monday he will form a technocrat government without political parties, due to the disagreement between parties in the North Africa country. Mechichi’s decision will likely put him in confrontation with the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, the largest party in Parliament, which announced its …

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has announced his resignation almost a week after a massive explosion that devastated the capital, Beirut, killing some 200 people and wounding 6,000 others. Diab made the announcement in a televised address to the nation on Monday, saying he has come to the conclusion that …

They have been called an “extraordinary masterpiece” of early Islamic architecture, but after years of disrepair, the ravages of war and now months of heavy rains the ancient mud-brick houses of Yemen’s the UNESCO-listed Old City of Sanaa are collapsing. On Friday, August 7, one house partially collapsed as Sanaa …

Tehran has cautioned against politicizing the devastating blast in Beirut, arguing that Washington should drop sanctions on Lebanon if it is serious about helping the nation recover from the catastrophe. “If America is honest about its assistance offer to Lebanon, they should lift sanctions [against it],” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas …

A Palestinian media report has warned of an Israeli regime’s plan to build hundreds of new illegal settler units in the strategically sensitive E1 region of the occupied West Bank in East al-Quds. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements in a recent report …

Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement has warned that the responsibility for a possible explosion of an oil tanker stranded near the port city of Hudaydah falls on Saudi Arabian aggressors and the United Nations. The Movement’s Spokesman, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, rejected claims by Saudi Arabia and United Nations that Yemeni forces prevent UN …

Two key Lebanese ministers insist that the cabinet of Prime Minister Hassan Diab will remain in office to resolve the situation in the aftermath of a huge explosion that hit Beirut Port. Labor Minister Lamia Yammine and Minister of Industry Imad Hoballah made the assertion on Sunday amid apparent attempts …

US-based researcher says the armed group is ‘regrouping’ and remains a ‘persistent’ threat in the oil-rich nation. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) remains a “persistent threat” in Libya and could rise again unless the country’s long-running conflict is brought to an end, a new …

An emergency donor conference on Sunday for blast-stricken Lebanon raised pledges worth nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate humanitarian relief, the French presidency said. Those commitments would not be conditional on political or institutional reform, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. There were also pledges made for longer-term support …

Saudi Arabia has suspended the supply of oil to Pakistan as the latter complains about Riyadh’s foot-dragging on a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to address India’s contentious measures in Muslim-majority Kashmir region. In 2018, Pakistan borrowed a $6.2 billion loan from Saudi Arabia that included a …

The Lebanese army said Sunday that hopes have dwindled of finding survivors at the blast site in Beirut following days of search and rescue operations supported by international experts. “After three days of search and rescue operations we can say we have finished the first phase, which involved the possibility …

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for speedy international backing for disaster-struck Lebanon and urged its leaders to prevent “chaos” as he opened an emergency aid conference following Beirut’s deadly port blast. Macron hosted US President Donald Trump and other world leaders for the virtual conference to drum up …

Saudi Aramco’s net income plunged by 50% in the first half of the year, according to figures published Sunday, offering a revealing glimpse into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on one of the world’s biggest oil producers. Profits for the first six months of the year plunged to $23.2 …

Lebanon’s information minister resigned on Sunday as the country grapples with the aftermath of the devastating blast that ripped through the capital and raised public anger to new levels. The resignation comes as public anger is mounting against the ruling elite, blamed for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is …

Seismologists recorded a magnitude 5.0 earthquake on Sunday near the border between Iraq and Iran, according to European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. The epicenter of the tremors was located 121 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad at a depth of 48 km. There is no information about the victims and …

Thousands of Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Saturday as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus crisis. “Your time is up”, read the giant letters projected onto a building at the protest site, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and called …