Middle East

Kabul, Jul 24: At least 24 people have been killed and more than 40 wounded after a suicide car bomb targeted Afghanistan's capital Kabul, police said. The target of Monday's attack was unclear, Najib Danish, a police spokesman, told AFP news agency, adding that the casualty toll could rise. The attack came just before 7am and took place close to the house of Hazara leader Mohammed Mohaqeq. Al

Jerusalem, Jul 23: Two Palestinians have died in separate incidents after clashes with Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Oday Nawajaa, 17, died of his injuries on Saturday after being hit by Israeli live fire at al-Eizariya town east of Jerusalem, the ministry said. Palestinian leader freezes contact with Israel Another Palestinian

Lebanon, Jul 23: A Lebanese mediator was killed on Saturday in a second day of fighting between the powerful Hezbollah group and fighters near the border with Syria, the official news agency ANI said. "Ahmad al-Fliti, who was mediating between fighters and Hezbollah...was wounded when his car was hit by shelling of unknown origin in Juruod Arsal," ANI said. "He later succumbed to his wounds."

Doha, Jul 22: The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has said that his country is ready for dialogue to resolve a diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led group, but stressed that any solution to the crisis must respect his country's sovereignty. "We are open to dialogue to resolve the outstanding problems [so long as Qatar's] sovereignty is respected," Sheikh Tamim said in a televised

Jeddah, Jul 21: King Salman on Thursday decreed the consolidation of the counterterrorism and domestic intelligence services under a new body named the Presidency of State Security. The new state security agency will be headed by intelligence chief Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Al-Howairini, who will hold the rank of a minister. In a series of royal decrees, King Salman also appointed Abdullah bin

Washington, Jul 20: Iran continues to be the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Trump administration said on Wednesday. In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department said Iran was the world’s “foremost” state sponsor of terrorism in 2016, a dubious distinction the country has held for many years. It said Tehran was firm in its backing of proxies that have

Doha, Jul 19: Qatar has announced that it is considering legal action against four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, demanding compensation for losses incurred owing to the ongoing blockade. Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar's economy minister, met on Tuesday the heads of international trade organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the case for compensation. Qatar has

Dubai, Jul 18: Qatar, the tiny Gulf state being isolated by its neighbours, said the reported involvement of the United Arab Emirates in hacking its government news site in May is "unfortunate" and a breach of agreements among the Gulf countries. The Washington Post, quoting unnamed US intelligence officials, reported Sunday that the UAE orchestrated the hacking and planted a false story that was

Beirut, Jul 17: More than 330,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it started six years ago, around a third of them civilians, a monitor said today. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the deaths of 331,765 people across Syria since the conflict erupted in mid-March 2011 with anti- government protests. Included in the overall death toll

Qatar, Jul 17: The United Arab Emirates arranged for Qatari government social media and news sites to be hacked in late May in order to post false quotes linked to Qatar's emir, prompting the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing US intelligence officials. The Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been falsely quoted in May as praising Hamas and