Lebanon’s influential Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday that a new government could be formed within a few days if talks keep going positively. Weeks of political dispute have delayed a deal on a new cabinet that must tackle a crippling financial meltdown - the worst crisis...

Turkey's leader said Wednesday that Western countries mocking Islam wanted to "relaunch the Crusades", heightening a confrontation with France over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that have stirred anger in Muslim-majority countries. In a speech to lawmakers of his AK Party in parliament,...

Lebanon and Israel, still technically at war and with no diplomatic ties, launched a second round of maritime border talks Wednesday under UN and US auspices to allow for offshore energy exploration. The talks, expected to last for two days, were held at the headquarters of UN peacekeeping...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday warned that insulting the Prophet Mohammed may encourage "violence and bloodshed" following Paris' defence of the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet. "Insulting the prophet is no achievement. It's immoral. It's encouraging violence,"...

Top Turkish officials condemned a caricature scorning President Tayyip Erdogan in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, calling it a “disgusting effort” to “spread its cultural racism and hatred”. Turkish anger at the caricature added fuel to a row between Turkey and...

Iraqi authorities Tuesday reopened a bridge in central Baghdad leading to the high-security Green Zone, in a sign of easing tensions a year after the launch of an anti-government protest movement. The fragility of the return to normal, however, was underlined by the killing of a prominent...

Inspectors from the U.N.'s atomic watchdog have confirmed Iran has started building an underground centrifuge assembly plant after its previous one exploded in what Tehran called a sabotage attack over the summer, the agency's head told The Associated Press Tuesday. Iran also continues to...

Iran said Tuesday said it would welcome a US return to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal after its November 3 election provided it "guarantees" not to pull out again. "It makes no difference to us which president in America decides to return" to the accord between Tehran and world powers,...

Israel is set to approve construction of Jewish settler homes in a flashpoint area of the West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002, the anti-occupation group Peace Now said Tuesday. It condemned what it called an attempt to "squeeze in" the approvals before next week's US...

Police detained Tuesday seven Daesh (ISIS) suspects in Ankara accused of preparing attacks on national holidays in Turkey, media and officials said. They were planning attacks on Republic Day on Thursday and ceremonies on November 10 which commemorate the death of the founder of the modern...

Dozens protested Monday outside the French embassy in Baghdad after a pro-Iran faction called on Iraqis to slam French President Emmanuel Macron's defence of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. A cleric at the rally, Aqil al-Kadhemi, demanded an "apology to all Muslims because the...

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the General Assembly for a high-level session to mark the 75th anniversary of the world body, where the United States has been seeking to raise pressure on Iran. "The eight violent wars that the United States initiated or joined since...

Hospitals in many Iranian provinces are running out of capacity to handle COVID-19 cases, health authorities say, with novel coronavirus now killing around 300 people a day or one person every five minutes. Authorities have complained of poor social distancing, and Deputy Health Minister...

Dozens of Iraqi protesters again clashed with security forces in Baghdad Monday, a day after a rally marked the first anniversary of the start of nationwide mass anti-government demonstrations. Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at protesters who were burning tyres and hurling rocks on...

Sudan and Israel will discuss agreements to cooperate on trade and migration issues in the coming weeks, the Sudanese foreign ministry said on Sunday, signalling steps to implement a normalisation pact after decades of hostilities. Israel for its part said it will send wheat worth $5...

An 18-year Palestinian died Sunday after a confrontation with Israeli troops, with the army saying it happened while trying to flee and Palestinian officials saying he had been beaten. The Palestinian health ministry said that Amer Abdel-Rahim Sanouber from the village of Yatma in the...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Sunday approved Israel's normalisation accord with Bahrain, which now awaits parliamentary ratification, a cabinet statement said. The accord, signed at a White House ceremony on Sept. 15 where the United Arab Emirates also established formal...

A year after Iraqi youths launched mass anti-government protests, elder veterans of past "revolutions" have praise for the idealistic activists but also words of caution born from tough experience. Jamil Mozzan, 76, sitting in a Baghdad cafe, has watched with a wary eye as young Iraqis have...

Egyptians began voting Saturday in the first stage of parliamentary elections, a vote that is highly likely to produce a toothless lower chamber packed with supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The elections are taking place as the Arab world’s most populous country faces a...

Sudan said on Friday that US President Donald Trump signed an official statement to take Sudan off its list of states sponsoring terrorism. "Trump officially signed an order to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism," a statement by the Sudan's Sovereign Council said....