Utah National Guard soldiers returning from Middle East
About 100 Utah Army National Guard soldiers are returning home following a deployment to the Middle East. ...
UK condemns Israel settlers’ killing of Palestinian in West Bank
Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt yesterday condemned a settler attack which left a Palestinian killed in the occupied West Bank. ...
Syria: Turkey must pull troops to revive historic security pact
Syria said on Saturday it was ready to revive a landmark security deal with Turkey that normalised ties for two decades before the 2011 conflict if Ankara pulled its troops out of the war-torn country and stopped backing rebels, according to a Reuters report. ...
Bomb attacks kill four policemen in northern Iraq
At least four policemen were killed and 11 wounded by two roadside bombs that targeted police convoys in separate attacks in northern Iraq on Sunday, the service and medical sources said. ...
US House approves new sanctions on Syria supporters
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously adopted a bill allowing President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on supporters of Syria’s energy, airspace and business sectors. ...
Pompeo/Bolton try to take control from Trump of Middle East policy
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded his 8-day tour of the Middle East mid-January. He visited Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. ...
UN warns of new war in southern Libya
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has warned of an impending conflict in southern Libya amid military incursions and statements by opposing parties. ...
Syria war: Israeli jets target Iranian positions around Damascus
Israel says it has hit Iranian targets around the Syrian capital, Damascus. The Israel Defense Forces say the overnight operation targeted the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as well as Syrian air defences. ...
Reports: Bomb explodes on southern edge of Damascus
A bomb exploded near a highway at the southern edge of Syria’s capital Damascus on Sunday morning, state media reported. ...
UAE said to lend $300m to crisis-hit Sudan
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. ...
Syria refugees burn clothes for heating
Syrian refugees are being forced to burn their clothes as a source of heating, as the cold weather snap continues to leave them in dire living conditions. ...
France will stay 'militarily engaged' in Middle East in 2019: Macron
France will remain "militarily engaged" in the Middle East through 2019 despite the announced US withdrawal from the coalition fighting Islamic State jihadists in Syria, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. ...
Blast claimed by Daesh kills US troops in Syria
A bomb attack claimed by Daesh killed two US troops and two civilians working for the US military in northern Syria on Wednesday, weeks after President Donald Trump said the group had been defeated there and that he would pull out all American forces. ...
An ideological struggle will shape Islamism in the Middle East
This year may see the resolution of the Middle East’s civil wars. Eight years on, the violent after-effects of the 2011 uprisings in the Arab world still wreak havoc on the populations of Yemen, Syria and Libya. These countries have, inevitably, become arenas where regional powers pursue their respective interests but an end may be in sight — at least in Yemen and Syria. ...
Sandstorms and hail hit Middle East
A harsh weather front has brought sandstorms, hail and rain to parts of the Middle East. In the Egyptian capital Cairo, visibility was low as an orange cloud of dust blocked out the sky and pedestrians covered their faces from the wind gusts. ...
US, Turkish presidents discuss creating 'security zone' in northern Syria
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump mooted Monday the creation of a "security zone" in northern Syria as tensions rose over the fate of Kurdish fighters in the war-torn country. ...
1.3 million Egyptians applied for US Green Card in 2018
A US Government report has shown that the number of Arab citizens who applied to the random US emigration visa programme known as the ‘lottery’ reached four million in 2018; they include an estimated 1.3 million Egyptians. ...
Trump’s Syria pullout begins as US armoured vehicles depart
US military confirms 10 battle trucks have crossed into Iraq but says no troops have left. ...
Pompeo hopes to establish coalition consisting of GCC states, Egypt and Jordan
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said on Thursday that the Trump administration hopes to establish a coalition consisting of the GCC states, Egypt, and Jordan, naming it the “Middle East Strategic Alliance”. ...
Boskalis wins Middle East subsea IRM work
Royal Boskalis Westminster has secured a three-year subsea services contract in the Middle East valued at $40 million, with an extension option. ...