middle-east - INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Iran petrol price hike: Protests erupt over surprise rationing

Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it was rationing petrol and increasing its price. At least two people have been killed. ...

Israel-Gaza ceasefire holding despite rocket fire

A ceasefire between Israel and militants in Gaza appears to be holding, despite the launch of several rockets hours after it took effect. ...

Van crash in south-east Iran kills 28 Afghan nationals

At least 28 Afghan nationals have been killed in a crash in Iran, according to the country's Ilna news agency. ...

Israel-Gaza fighting continues for second day after militant's death

Cross-border violence between Israel and militants in Gaza is continuing, a day after an Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander. ...

Israel-Gaza violence spirals after killing of top Palestinian militant

Israel has carried out fresh strikes on targets in Gaza as militants there stepped up rocket attacks following the killing of one of its leaders. ...

Iraq's elite rallies around Iran-backed plan to hang on to power

Iraq’s ruling parties appear to have rallied behind a strategy, blessed by Iran, to try to survive a mass anti-government uprising by containing protests on the streets of Baghdad while offering a package of political reforms and elections next year. ...

Iraq protests: UN and US call for reforms to help end unrest

The UN and US have urged the Iraqi government to stop using violence against protesters, pass electoral reforms and hold early elections. ...

Turkey starts sending Islamic State fighters back to home countries

Turkey says it has sent back to the US an American belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group, as part of a drive to repatriate captured jihadist fighters. ...

Iraq protests death toll rises to 319 with nearly 15,000 injured

At least 319 people have been killed in Iraq since the start of anti-government protests in October, according to the Iraqi Parliamentary Human Rights Committee. ...

Russia deploys helicopter patrols along Syria, Turkey border

On Friday Russian forces deployed helicopters to patrol the Syrian-Turkish borders along the area where Turkey carried out the operation to evacuate People’s Protection Units (YPG) terrorists, Russian news agency, Interfax, reported. ...

Iran earthquake: Five killed and hundreds injured

At least five people have been killed and hundreds more injured in an earthquake in north-western Iran, officials say. ...

Iran cancels accreditation of IAEA nuclear inspector

Iran has cancelled the accreditation of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector who was prevented from entering a nuclear facility last week. ...

Young Iraqis and Lebanese aren't just demanding better societies. They're creating them at protest sites

An elderly woman in an SUV snakes through a crowd of young people on Beirut's main highway, known as "the Ring." "You shouldn't have let her pass!" protester Amir Baroudy, 26, yells at a group of youths, apparently distracted from the task at hand: forcing a road closure. ...

Protest Roadblocks in Lebanon Disrupt Traffic, Force School Closures

From taxi drivers to frustrated parents hoping to get their children to school, people in Lebanon have found that protesters' roadblocks have changed their daily lives since the start of the uprising three weeks ago to oust the political elite blamed for corruption and poor public services. Lebanese troops deployed Tuesday throughout the country to reopen roads and main thoroughfares closed by anti-government protesters. ...

Protests in Iraq reveal a long-simmering anger at Iran

In years past, Iraqis have beaten their shoes against portraits of Saddam Hussein in a sign of anger and insult. In 2008, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at a ducking President George W. Bush during a news conference to vent his outrage at the U.S.-led invasion. ...