Lebanon's President Michel Aoun was due to convene the country's top security council on Monday after days of angry protests over a deepening economic crisis. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with security forces at the weekend across the Mediterranean nation whose currency has collapsed...

Iran warned Monday it may have to reimpose tough measures against the novel coronavirus to ensure social distancing, as it reported more than 100 deaths for a second straight day. Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 113 new fatalities took to 8,950 the total number of COVID-19...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for accepting gifts from wealthy friends. But that has not stopped him from seeking another gift from a wealthy friend to pay for his multi million-dollar legal defense. The awkward arrangement opens a window into the very ties with...

The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body will meet on Monday as a row brews over Iran's refusal to allow access to two sites where historic nuclear activity may have occurred. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed "serious concern" in a report earlier this...

An Israeli cabinet minister said Sunday the government approved plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights named after President Donald Trump. Settlements Minister Tzipi Hotovely wrote on Facebook that her ministry will start preparations for Ramat Trump - Hebrew...

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in various regions of northern Iraq Sunday night in response to an increase in militant attacks on Turkish army bases, the Defence Ministry said. "The Claw-Eagle Operation has started. Our planes are bringing the caves down on the...

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake trembled Turkey's eastern province of Bingol on Sunday, according to the nation's disaster agency. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the quake struck the Karliova district at 5.24 p.m. local time (1424GMT). In the village of Kaynarpinar, two...

The European Union’s recognition of Palestine as a state would become “inevitable” if Israel moves forward with its controversial plan to annex the West Bank, Luxembourg’s foreign minister has said. Speaking to German weekly Der Spiegel, Jean Asselborn called for a tougher EU stance against...

Iran on Sunday reported over 100 new deaths in a single day from the novel coronavirus, for the first time in two months. In televised remarks, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced 107 Covid-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll to 8,837. "It was...

 Two rockets hit an Iraqi base frequented by US troops north of Baghdad late Saturday without causing any casualties, Iraq's military said, the third such attack this month and just days after Washington and Baghdad launched strategic talks. The Katyusha rockets struck Camp Taji and...

Hundreds of demonstrators angered by a deepening economic crisis rallied Saturday across Lebanon for a third consecutive day, after violent overnight riots sparked condemnation from the political elite. Protesting against the surging cost of living and the government's apparent...

Russia’s foreign and defense ministers will arrive in Turkey for talks on Sunday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. In a statement, the ministry said: "... a delegation from the Russian Federation consisting of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Defense...

Iran on Saturday confirmed 71 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,730. A further 2,410 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 184,955, Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said....

The mother of an autistic Palestinian youth on Saturday accused Israeli police of covering up her son's killing. Iyad el-Hallak, 32, was shot dead by Israeli police in Jerusalem on May 30 after they "suspected he had a gun." Police later found that the Palestinian youth was unarmed....

Iran will reimpose restrictions to stem a surge in coronavirus cases if health regulations are not observed, President Hasan Rouhani said Saturday. After gradually relaxing its lockdown since mid-April, Iran has seen a sharp rise of new daily infections in recent weeks. While...

Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and clashed with anti-government protesters in Beirut on Friday, setting off street confrontations that lasted for hours. Protesters threw stones and fireworks at police, and security forces responded with tear gas in an effort to disperse the...

 Lebanon will re-open Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport for commercial flights beginning July 1, but will keep air traffic at 10% of capacity from a year ago, a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Friday. Private flights will resume from June 24, the statement...

The number of new coronavirus cases in Turkey rose above 1,000 in the last 24 hours for the first time since May 29, Health Ministry data showed on Friday, after the easing of travel restrictions and reopening of public facilities at the start of last week. The data showed 1,195 new cases...

Iran on Friday confirmed 75 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,659. A further 2,369 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 182,545, Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said....

Iraq and the United States have affirmed their commitment to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq without giving a timeline, state news agency INA said on Friday, citing Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Iraq’s parliament had voted earlier this year for the departure of foreign...