Middle East
Latest stories
Palestinians say 3 killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians and wounded eight others early Friday during a military operation in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The military said the troops traded fire with militants.

The Israeli military has been carrying out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank since a string of attacks earlier this year killed 19 people in Israel. Many of the arrest raids have been launched in and around Jenin, the hometown of several of the attackers.

W140 Full Story
Al Jazeera releases image of bullet it says killed reporter

The Al Jazeera news network has published an image of the bullet that it says killed its veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank last month.

It identified the bullet as a U.S.-made 5.56mm round fired from an M4 rifle, commonly used by Israeli forces. The Israeli military says Palestinian militants use the same ammunition.

W140 Full Story
Report: Israeli police clear officers at reporter's funeral

An Israeli police investigation has found that police engaged in misconduct during the funeral of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, but those who supervised the event will not face serious punishment, an Israeli newspaper has reported.

Israeli riot police pushed and beat mourners at the funeral, causing the pallbearers to nearly drop the casket in a shocking start to the May 14 procession in east Jerusalem.

W140 Full Story
Israel praises Argentina grounding plane with Iranian crew

Israel has praised Argentina for holding a Venezuelan plane that included Iranian crew, saying the flight shows Tehran is trying to expand its influence in South America.

Washington also made clear it is keeping close tabs on the investigation into the Boeing 747, which was loaded with automotive parts and raised questions because its 19 crewmembers is an unusually large number for a cargo plane.

W140 Full Story
Saudi crown prince to visit Turkey on June 22

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Turkey on June 22, a senior Turkish official told AFP Friday, as Ankara and Riyadh move on from the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It is Prince Mohammed's first visit to Turkey since the brutal killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which shocked the world and dealt a heavy blow to ties between the regional rivals.

W140 Full Story
Columbia District trolls Saudi embassy by naming street Jamal Khashoggi Way

One month ahead of President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia, the District of Columbia is renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy Jamal Khashoggi Way, trolling Riyadh for its role in the killing of the dissident Saudi activist and journalist in 2018.

With members of the D.C. Council in attendance, a Jamal Khashoggi Way sign was unveiled directly in front of the embassy's main entrance.

W140 Full Story
In Yemen, child soldiering continues despite Houthi promise

In the video, a man stands in front of a blackboard in a full classroom, teaching the parts of an AK-47 rifle. He then hands it over to a boy, showing him how to cock it.

Other children crowd around, many who appear to be no older than 10, asking for their turn. The video, leaked online this month, provides a rare window into child soldier indoctrination by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Local residents confirmed to The Associated Press that it was filmed in recent weeks in Yemen's rebel-held province of Amran, northwest of the capital, Sanaa.

W140 Full Story
Israel police close probe into Shireen Abu Akleh funeral violence

Israeli police said Thursday they had concluded an internal investigation into violence at the funeral of slain Al Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh -- without however releasing any findings.

The police launched the probe following an international outcry after the veteran reporter's coffin was almost dropped when police attacked the pallbearers during her funeral last month.

W140 Full Story
Public workers strike in Tunisia, signaling national crisis

Flights were cancelled, public transport ground to a halt and government offices were closed in a nationwide strike by Tunisia's main trade union confederation Thursday, that piled pressure on a president already facing a string of crises.

The powerful UGTT confederation had called on up to three million public sector workers to strike, halting work at 159 state agencies and public companies to demand concessions on salaries and threatened reforms.

W140 Full Story
Official says Yemeni journalist killed in explosion in Aden

A Yemeni journalist has been killed by a car bomb in the country's second city Aden, headquarters of the internationally recognized government, a security official told AFP on Thursday.

"Unidentified assailants had planted an explosive device in the vehicle of journalist Saber al-Haidari, who works for a number of foreign media outlets," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

W140 Full Story