World / Middle East

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos makes first public appearance in nearly a year 19 Nov 2016 - 12:08 am

MUSCAT: Omani leader Sultan Qaboos made his first public appearance in nearly a year on Friday, attending annual National Day celebrations. Wearing a...

Uprooted by IS, Iraq's Yazidis yearn to rebuild lives 18 Nov 2016 - 09:56 pm

Sharia, Iraq: Cramped in a tarpaulin tent with his family of nine, Ali Mahmud remembers his spacious ancestral home in the northern Iraqi...

Israeli army kills Gazan in border clashes: ministry 18 Nov 2016 - 09:23 pm

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: Israeli troops shot dead a young Palestinian during clashes along the Gaza border on Friday, the health ministry in...

Watchdog probing over 20 reports of alleged Syria chemical attacks 18 Nov 2016 - 09:16 pm

The Hague: The global watchdog tasked with destroying chemical weapons is probing more than 20 reports of the alleged use of toxic arms...

Insight: Far from Mosul, Islamic State close to defeat in Libya’s Sirte 18 Nov 2016 - 07:46 pm

SIRTE, Libya: After six months of heavy fighting, Libyan forces have advanced so deep into the strategic city of Sirte that they can...

Abuse victims confront Tunisia's demons 18 Nov 2016 - 05:23 am

Tunis: Victims of murder, rape and torture under successive dictatorships started testifying on live television Thursday as Tunisia -- in a rare move...

In battered town seized from IS, Iraq’s Yazidis dream of return 17 Nov 2016 - 07:32 pm

BASHIQA, Iraq: For the first time since Islamic State militants swept into Bashiqa two years ago forcing him to flee, 61-year-old Barakat has...

Regime bombardment kills 25 civilians in east Aleppo: monitor 17 Nov 2016 - 07:09 pm

Aleppo, Syria: Syrian air strikes and shelling killed 25 civilians in eastern districts of Aleppo on Thursday, a monitor said, on the third...

Israel says Jewish birthrate same as Arabs for first time 17 Nov 2016 - 05:27 pm

Jerusalem: The Jewish birthrate has drawn level with that of Arabs in Israel for the first time since the state was founded in...

PKK/PYD captures 8 villages in Syria’s Aleppo province 17 Nov 2016 - 04:19 pm

ALEPPO, Syria: The PYD, the PKK group’s Syrian affiliate, has captured eight villages between the cities of Manbij and Al-Bab in Syria’s northwestern...

Car bomb rocks Syria’s Azaz, killing ten 17 Nov 2016 - 04:07 pm

AZAZ, Syria: Ten people were killed Thursday when a car bomb rocked the city of Azaz in Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province near the...

Winter worries for migrant rescue ships off Libya 17 Nov 2016 - 04:00 pm

Rome: The wave of migrant dinghies across the Mediterranean continues relentlessly, but the aid group rescue boats which have spent the year saving...

Iraqi army, militias capture villages, base near Mosul 17 Nov 2016 - 03:34 pm

NINEVEH, Iraq: Iraqi army troops and Shia militiamen have captured six more villages near Mosul -- along with a military base -- from...

Islamic State killed 300 former policemen south of Mosul, HRW says 17 Nov 2016 - 10:33 am

BAGHDAD: Islamic State militants probably killed more than 300 Iraqi former police three weeks ago and buried them in a mass grave near...

Russia strikes kill at least 30 jihadists in Syria: ministry 17 Nov 2016 - 09:57 am

Moscow: Russian air strikes have killed at least 30 jihadists in rebel-held Idlib province in northwestern Syria, the defence ministry said in a...

In battered town seized from IS, Iraq's Yazidis dream of return 17 Nov 2016 - 09:05 am

BASHIQA, Iraq: For the first time since Islamic State militants swept into Bashiqa two years ago forcing him to flee, 61-year-old Barakat has...

Turkey detains mayor, appoints administrators in southeast - sources 17 Nov 2016 - 08:47 am

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: Turkish police detained the mayor of the southeastern city of Van on Thursday, security sources said, a day after arresting two...