The United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the US warned Israel Friday against annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, saying the move would "upend" Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab countries. UAE envoy Yousef Al Otaiba was among three Arab ambassadors who attended President Donald...

Hundreds of Lebanese poured into the streets to protest the tumbling of the national currency to a new low against the dollar Thursday, blocking roads and highways in several places across the small country that had started slowly opening up after months of coronavirus restrictions. In...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday welcomed moves by US President Donald Trump to sanction any International Criminal Court officials who investigate US troops, as the tribunal examines alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. "This court is politicised and obsessed with...

A local US consulate employee was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison in Turkey Thursday for "aiding an armed terror group" that Ankara blames for a failed 2016 coup. Metin Topuz, who worked as a liaison officer for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Istanbul, was arrested...

 More than 180,000 people have been infected in Iran's coronavirus outbreak since it first emerged nearly four months ago, an official said Thursday. As the figures were announced, President Hassan Rouhani called on Iranians to stick to guidelines aimed at stopping the spread of...

The Lebanese pound sank to a record low on the black market Thursday despite the authorities' attempts to halt the plunge of the crisis-hit country's currency, money changers said. Lebanon is in the grips of its worst economic turmoil in decades, and holding talks with the International...

Iraqi militia factions expected the usual cash handout when the new head of Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force made his first visit to Baghdad earlier this year, succeeding the slain General Qassim Soleimani. Instead, to their disappointment, Esmail Ghaani brought them silver rings. For his...

After months of tensions, Baghdad and Washington are poised to launch strategic talks Thursday to reset ties -- but even with a new US-friendly Iraqi premier, a major breakthrough is unlikely. Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, top-level talks expected to take place in Baghdad have...

Thousands of Palestinians stranded around the world by the coronavirus are still seeking a way home, months after countries closed their borders and grounded flights in the face of the pandemic. Aseel Bader touched down in Tuscany in January, after winning a scholarship for a master's...

Lebanon’s battered currency has slid to fresh lows against the U.S. dollar despite a new pricing system which Beirut hopes can curb soaring food prices as it negotiates an IMF deal to climb out of crisis. The Lebanese pound has lost over 60% of its value since October, as dollars dwindled,...

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas traveled to Occupied Jerusalem Wednesday where he was set to voice European "concern" over Israel's controversial annexation plans in the occupied West Bank. Maas, the first high-level European visitor to touch down in Israel since the coronavirus pandemic...

Turkey will remove confinement rules on people over 65 years old and those under 18, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday. Around 7.5 million over-65s will now be able to go out every day from 10 am to 8 pm, Erdogan said, relaxing a measure that had almost entirely forbidden them...

Israel's Supreme Court struck down a law Tuesday that had retroactively legalized about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. A nine-judge panel voted to repeal the 2017 measure, under which settlers could remain on land if they built there...

Tehran said Tuesday it will execute an Iranian for spying for the United States and Israel after his conviction was upheld for helping the US to locate a top Iranian general killed in a drone strike. Mahmoud Mousavi Majd was convicted of spying on Iran's armed forces, "especially the Quds...

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will travel to Jerusalem on Wednesday, with Israel intent on toning down Europe's reaction to its annexation plans in the occupied West Bank. Maas is the first foreign dignitary to visit since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a coalition government...

Nearly one in five Iranians may have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the country's outbreak started in February, a health official said Tuesday. "About 15 million Iranians may have experienced being infected with this virus since the outbreak began," said Ehsan Mostafavi, a...

Palestinians have sent the diplomatic Quartet a response to the US Mideast plan which sees parts of the West Bank being annexed by Israel, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Tuesday. "We submitted a counter-proposal to the Quartet a few days ago," he said, referring to the...

A rocket landed in the perimeter of Baghdad International Airport on Monday, the Iraqi military said. The military said the rocket was launched from an area to the south of the airport and there were no reported damages or casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

 A Turkish judge ruled Monday to keep five people in jail at the start of their trial over former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan to Lebanon via Istanbul, a lawyer for one of the suspects said. An executive from Turkish private jet operator MNG Jet and four pilots were...

Israel will stop easing coronavirus restrictions after a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday. "There is a very sharp rise in illness," Netanyahu said in a statement. "The first thing we've decided to do is put the brakes on it. We've stopped...