Middle East

Aug 23: A month after protests over new Israeli security measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound rocked occupied East Jerusalem, the tension between the Old City's Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces is still simmering due to Israel's policy of collective punishment. According to prisoner rights group Addameer, 425 Palestinians were arrested from East Jerusalem in July alone. The

Iraq, Aug 20: Iraqi forces have launched a ground offensive to retake a key ISIL-held area in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said. "You either surrender, or die", Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the operation early on Sunday. He was addressing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters, who have been in control of the city

New York, Aug 19: Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was installing four cranes at three ports in Yemen to help boost humanitarian aid deliveries and was ready to assist with installing cranes at the key port of Hodeidah once it was under control of a neutral party. The Saudi mission at the UN said in a statement that the cranes were being installed at the ports of Aden, Mukalla and Al-Mokha — which

Jeddah, Aug 18: The first batch of 100 Qatari pilgrims crossed into Saudi Arabia through the Salwa border crossing, and was welcomed by officials. The pilgrims were allowed in without Hajj permits, and will be treated as guests of King Salman, with all expenses paid. The king instructed that transport be made available to them from Dammam and Al-Ahsa airports on Saudi Arabian Airlines free of

Jeddah, Aug 17: King Salman has approved a plan to open the Salwa border crossing to Qataris performing Hajj this year, the Saudi Press Agency said late Wednesday. The King has also ordered that a private aircraft belonging to the Saudi Arabian Airlines be dispatched to Doha Airport to fly all Qatari pilgrims to Jeddah. SPA said the plan was submitted to the King by Crown Prince Mohammed bin

Jeddah, Aug 16: A fire took hold of six buildings, three of which collapsed completely, in Jeddah’s historic center Tuesday, forcing 60 people to evacuate, officials said. “Rescue teams managed Tuesday evening to evacuate about 60 people to safe areas, while firefighters extinguished the blaze that broke out at the front of six buildings, all of which were populated and within the historic area,”

Erbil, Aug 15: Iraq has begun an aerial bombardment of Tal Afar, a town under Daesh control west of Mosul, Baghdad-based Al-Sumariya TV said on Tuesday, citing an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman. The ground attack to try to take the city should start when the air campaign is over, the spokesman, Mohammed Al-Khodari, said, according to the TV channel. Iraqi authorities had said Tal Afar, 80 km (50

Riyadh, Aug 14: Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution has issued an order to summon a group of Twitter users and others who have been charged with criminal offenses of harming public order "by influencing the integrity and moderation of the intellectual curriculum of the society with harmful participation that took the seriousness of extremism leading to the misguided campaign of thought." Judicial

Iran's parliament has overwhelmingly voted to increase spending on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and the elite Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for new sanctions imposed by the United States. In a session on Sunday, a total of 240 politicians out of 244 present voted to allocate $520m to develop the country's missile programme and boost foreign operations of the paramilitary troops, with

Riyadh, Aug 12: A 58-year-old Saudi man and a 50-year-old male expatriate died Thursday of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) in Hail and Khamis Mushayt, respectively, the Health Ministry said Friday. Two new cases, female expatriates aged 38 and 42, were diagnosed with the virus in Dawmat Al-Jandal in Al-Jouf province Earlier this week, the ministry reported nine new cases: Seven