Middle East
Latest stories
Algeria Protest Movement Marks Six Months, at an Impasse

Algerians launched an unprecedented protest movement in February, filling the streets of cities across the country and forcing the president out of office.

W140 Full Story
China Warns on IS Revival in Syria

China's Syria envoy said Tuesday that "terrorist organisations" including the Islamic State group are being revived in the war-ravaged country, urging the international community not to ignore the "early warning" signs. 

Xie Xiaoyan, Beijing's pointman for the Syrian conflict, made the comments after meeting in Geneva with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen.

W140 Full Story
Yemen Separatists Surround Two Govt Camps in South

Separatists surrounded two government military bases in Yemen's south and demanded elements inside surrender, sources on both sides said Tuesday, ten days after the secessionists seized defacto capital Aden.

The flare-up, in Abyan province, comes after the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) partially withdrew from key sites it occupied in Aden, and the Saudi-led military coalition -- which backs the government -- said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had "succeeded in calming the situation".

W140 Full Story
Turkey Warns Syria 'Not to Play with Fire' after Strikes, Says Minister

Turkey warned Damascus on Tuesday "not to play with fire" a day after a Turkish military convoy was cut off by an air strike in northwest Syria.

"The regime should not play with fire... As we have previously said, we will do whatever is necessary to ensure the security of our soldiers and observation posts," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.

W140 Full Story
Anti-Assad Fighters Withdraw from Key Area in Northwest Syria

Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad's forces pressed an offensive against the jihadist-run Idlib region, a war monitor said.

The town of Khan Sheikhun on the region's southern edge has been a key goal for the government as it lies on the main highway through Idlib province connecting the capital Damascus with second city Aleppo.

W140 Full Story
Macron Tells Putin Ceasefire in Syria's Idlib Must be Respected

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "profound worry" about the bombing of the Syrian town of Idlib, telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that it was "urgent" that a ceasefire went into force.

W140 Full Story
Palestinian President Fires Advisers as Financial Crisis Hits

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has fired all of his advisers, his office said Monday, amid a financial crisis in the occupied West Bank that has prompted deep salary cuts.

W140 Full Story
Bahrain to Join U.S.-Led Efforts to Protect Gulf Navigation

Bahrain said Monday it would join U.S.-led efforts to protect shipping in the Gulf amid tensions between Washington and Tehran after a series of attacks on tankers.

W140 Full Story
Yemen President Calls on Citizens to Back Govt over Separatists

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi called Monday on people to back his government over southern separatists, who took control of his administration's de-facto capital of Aden.

W140 Full Story
Netanyahu Visits Ukraine ahead of September Poll

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked Sunday on an official visit to Ukraine -- from which many Israelis hail -- a month ahead of Israel's elections.

W140 Full Story