Yemen Houthis fire missile in retaliation for Saudi “war crimes”
SANAA — Yemen's Houthi forces fired a ballistic missile on Thursday in retaliation for attacks by a Saudi-led coalition, a source in the Iranian-allied group said, and a Houthi-linked television station said a Scud missile had been fired at a Saudi air base. Al-Masirah television reported that the Scud, a powerful Cold War-era...Israeli man stabs fellow Israeli Jew after ‘mistaking him for Arab’
A bus window after an attack in Jerusalem Tuesday, Oct. 13/ReutersHAIFA, Israel – An Israeli man was stabbed Tuesday afternoon after another Israeli Jew mistook him for an Arab. The stabbing comes after a wave of attacks by Palestinians and amid increasing tension and violence in the country.The victim, who has not yet been...Israeli forces kill Palestinian youth in Jerusalem
Undercover Israeli security personnel (R) and Israeli soldiers detain a wounded Palestinian protester during clashes near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Bet El, Oct. 7.RAMALLAH — A Palestinian youth was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest in Jerusalem, Palestinian medical sources said. Ahmad Bitawi, the director of...HRW urges release of Bahraini political prisoners
NEW YORK — Bahrain should immediately release two "unjustly imprisoned" regime opponents, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, urging the kingdom's allies London and Washington to intervene on their behalf. Ibrahim Sharif, an activist who spent four years in jail over his involvement in 2011 anti-government protests, has been on trial...Rocket attacks kill 22 at Yemeni wedding
SANAA — Three brothers waiting to get married were killed in a rocket attack alongside at least 22 other people in southwest Yemen on Thursday, residents and medics said. Local people told Reuters jets from a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen were probably to blame, but the coalition's spokesman said it had...Backed by Russia, Syria extends major offensive in west
DAMASCUS — Syrian troops and allied militia backed by a fresh wave of Russian air strikes and cruise missiles fired from warships attacked rebel forces on Thursday as the government extended an offensive to recapture territory in the west of the country. The assault focused on western areas where rebel advances earlier this year had...Kurds gain ground against ISIS in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Kurdish forces said they drove ISIS militants out of villages near the oil city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday, in an offensive backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. The assault consolidated their control over Kirkuk and brought the peshmerga, the military forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region,...Saudi-led forces retake Red Sea strait in Yemen
ADEN — On Thursday, Loyalist Yemeni troops and Gulf Arab forces seized control of the Arabian side of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden from Houthi fighters, a spokesman for the Gulf-backed government said. Six months of war in Yemen has raised fears for the security of oil supplies through...Russia bombs group trained by CIA in Syria, Iran to commit ground troops
DAMASCUS — Hundreds of Iranian troops arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government, Lebanese sources said on Thursday, a sign the civil war is turning still more regional and global in scope. Russian warplanes, in a second day of strikes, bombed a camp run by rebels trained by...
The Russian intervention in Syria: A turning point in international relations
October 1st, 20150 "Even Turkey, whose prime minister once compared Assad to Hitler, is backtracking its position on the Syrian president."The direct Russian intervention in Syria is the peak of an increasingly aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East that the Kremlin has been undertaking since Vladimir Putin's rise to power 15 years ago. Russia's...
With peace prospects grim, Palestinians raise flag at U.N.
October 1st, 20150 The Palestinian flag flies at the UN Headquarters in New York after being raised by President Mahmoud Abbas UNITED NATIONS — With prospects for Middle East peace looking increasingly thin, Palestinian diplomats and officials cheered and applauded on Wednesday as their national flag flew for the first time at United Nations...Saudi airstrike kills at least 27 at Yemeni wedding
A resident said 12 women, eight children and seven men died in the attack. SANAA — A local official and residents said at least 27 people, mostly women or children, were killed on Monday in an air strike on a wedding party in southwest Yemen, but a Saudi-led coalition that has air supremacy over the country strongly denied any role.A...
ISIS suicide bomber kills 25 at Eid prayer in Sanaa
September 24th, 20150 Houthi militants inside the al-Balili mosque after a suicide bomber hit the mosque in Sanaa, Sept. 24. Photo: ReutersSANAA— A suicide bomber struck a mosque in Yemen's Houthi-held capital on Thursday, killing 25 worshippers during prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The Yemen-based ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility...
More than 717 pilgrims die in stampede in worst Hajj disaster in 25 years
September 24th, 20150 Medical staff carry an injured pilgrim after the stampede in Mina. Photo: ReutersAt least 717 pilgrims were killed on Thursday in a stampede outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said. It is the worst disaster to strike the annual Hajj pilgrimage in 25 years.At least 805 others were injured in the crush at Mina, a few...UN experts call on Saudi Arabia to cancel execution of young activist
Ali al-Nimr is set to be beheaded and crucified UNITED NATIONS — France and a group of U.N. experts have joined rights groups in calling on Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a an activist sentenced to death over his role in anti-government protests.Ali al-Nimr was given the death penalty in May after taking part in demonstrations......
Egypt pardons Al Jazeera journalists
Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy before the verdict at a court in Cairo, Aug. 29CAIRO — Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners including three Al Jazeera television journalists on Wednesday, a day before he plans to head to the annual United Nations summit of world leaders.Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian...Yemen’s president returns to Aden
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi near Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir upon arrival at Khartoum Airport, Aug. 29 /Photo: ReutersADEN — Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi landed in Yemen's Aden on Tuesday, airport sources said, returning to the southern port city for the first time since he escaped to Saudi Arabia...Assad blames West for refugee crisis
DAMASCUS — Syrian President Bashar Assad has blamed Europe's refugee crisis on Western support for "terrorists", as people fleeing his country's civil war stream towards the European Union. In his first public comments on the mass migration, broadcast on Wednesday, Assad said Europe could expect more refugees. Countries including...Palestinians, Israeli police clash at al-Aqsa mosque
JERUSALEM — Israeli police armed with stun grenades and tear gas clashed with rock-throwing Palestinian youths who barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday, police and witnesses said. The violence had been ongoing for three days. Masked Palestinians hurled flares at the security forces, who said they were......
32 nations criticize Bahrain’s human rights record
GENEVA — Thirty-two countries, including the United States and Britain, expressed concern on Monday about Bahrain's human rights record, urging the Western-allied kingdom to protect the right to peaceful assembly and address reports of torture. The letter, read out by Switzerland to the U.N. Human Rights Council, welcomed...Iceland’s capital passes motion to boycott Israeli products
Reykjavik — The city council in Iceland’s capital voted Tuesday to boycott Israeli imports.The Reykjavik municipality adopted the motion to ban Israeli products as long as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories continues, according to Iceland Magazine. Council members said the boycott represents Iceland’s support for......
Egypt killed 55 militants in Sinai, two soldiers also slain
CAIRO — Egyptian security forces killed 55 militants in Sinai on the ninth day of an operation against Islamists in the area, the military said in a statement on Tuesday. It was not possible to independently confirm the figure. The insurgency, mounted by ISIS' Egyptian affiliate, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has...Palestinians, Israeli police clash at al-Aqsa mosque
Israeli police detain a Palestinian protester in Jerusalem's Old City, Sept. 15JERUSALEM – Israeli police armed with stun grenades and tear gas clashed with rock-throwing Palestinian youths who barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday, police and witnesses said, in the third day of violence at the sacred......