After completing all preparations, Turkey will open Hagia Sophia for worship on July 24 at Friday prayer, the Turkish president said on Friday. In an address to the nation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered his remarks on the new status of Hagia Sophia -- which was used as a museum...

Emmanuel Macron asked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from annexing Palestinian territory in the West Bank and elsewhere during a telephone call between the two leaders, the French president's office said Friday. Macron "emphasized that such a move would contravene...

Iraqi lawmaker Ghida Kambash died Friday after contracting the novel coronavirus, parliament announced, its first member to succumb to the virus as its spread ramps up across the country. The 46-year-old was a three-time MP from Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, and helped pass laws on...

Hundreds of people gathered in the occupied West Bank Friday for the funeral of a Palestinian man shot by Israeli soldiers a day earlier. Israel's army said troops opened fire after the Palestinian and another man started throwing fire bombs at a guard post near the town of Nablus....

Israel has recorded its highest number of coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period, with nearly 1,500 new cases confirmed in the most recent daily count, the health ministry said Friday. Israel had won early praise for its virus containment efforts, but cases have surged since a broad...

 Lebanon currently has no plans to negotiate with Iran for the import of fuel, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar said Thursday, after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said the group was talking to the Lebanese government about the idea. Nasrallah Tuesday said "calm discussions"...

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi paid his respects on Wednesday to the family of slain scholar and government advisor Hisham al-Hashemi, pledging to "avenge" his death. Hashemi, 47, was a specialist in jihadist movements and had developed a vast network of top decision makers, armed...

 Iran reported a new single-day record death toll of 221 from the novel coronavirus on Thursday, after weeks of rising numbers in the Middle East's worst-hit country. "Unfortunately in the past 24 hours we have lost 221 of our compatriots to the COVID-19 disease," health ministry...

Two Palestinian mothers are being held in solitary confinement in Israel without access to medical care, according to their families and a human rights activist. After nearly four weeks in isolation, Muna Naddaf from the Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association managed to...

A powerful Iran-backed militia said Wednesday there would be "escalation" if Iraq's prime minister continues to clamp down on armed groups, as tensions spiked following the killing of a prominent analyst, pitting the state against rogue elements. Hostilities have flared as Iraq reels...

Steve, a German Shepherd, used to get his morning exercise by frolicking on Gaza's Mediterranean beaches. But since the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas imposed a ban on exercising pet dogs in public in mid-June, owner Ossama Al-Dahdouh has to walk Steve on the roof of his...

One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top defence lawyers dropped his client Wednesday, sources said, after the premier was denied permission to receive private funding for his legal team. Netanyahu, who is standing trial over corruption allegations, which he denies, had...

The killing of jihadism expert Hisham al-Hashemi has stirred fears Iraq is entering a dark and violent phase, as boiling tensions between pro-Iran factions and the government reach new heights. Hashemi, 47, was gunned down outside his home in east Baghdad late Monday by masked assailants on...

Turkish parliament on Tuesday reelected Mustafa Sentop as its speaker. A ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker hailing from the northwestern Tekirdag province, Sentop gained 328 votes in the third round of voting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly with 600 seats. In the...

One Lebanese woman asked for sugar, milk and soap in exchange for a child’s dress. Another wanted canned goods in return for gym equipment. A 65-year-old seamstress now exchanges her sewing services for food, because her clients can no longer afford to pay her. Bartering on Facebook has...

Young Palestinian soccer players, all amputees and many on crutches, were back on the field in Gaza Tuesday for the first time since coronavirus restrictions were eased in the territory. Their coach said some of the 26 athletes lost limbs to Israeli gunfire in Gaza, where Hamas and Israel...

Two people died and another three were injured Tuesday when a pre-dawn explosion rocked a factory south of Tehran, Iran's official IRNA agency reported, blaming human error. The blast in "a completely industrial zone" of Baqershahr, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from the capital, was caused by...

 Iran has recorded its highest number of deaths from COVID-19 within a 24-hour period, Health Ministry figures showed Tuesday. The 200 deaths reported Tuesday exceed the previous record from Sunday, when the ministry reported 163 deaths in a day. The Islamic Republic has recorded a...

A top Israeli health official resigned Tuesday, saying her guidance on combatting the coronavirus was being disregarded and the country's containment efforts were "disoriented" as it faced a surging caseload. The resignation of Siegal Sadetzki, the health ministry's director of public...

The January US drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and nine other people represented a violation of international law, a UN human rights investigator said Monday. The United States has failed to provide sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack...