Israel will withold around $43 million in tax handovers to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA) over its financial support for the families of slain or wounded Palestinian militants, the Israeli security cabinet said on Sunday. The decision followed Israel’s similar trimming in...

Several Iraqi militia fighters were killed on Sunday in an air strike on their headquarters near the western Qaim district on the border with Syria, military sources and militia commanders told Reuters. The strike was likely carried out by drones and targeted the Iran-backed Kataib...

Iraqi anti-government protesters blockaded an oil field and rallied in southern cities Sunday while political factions remained paralysed in their attempts to form a new government. Several hundred people demanding jobs shut off access to the Nassiriya field, 300 kilometres (190 miles)...

Iran summoned Kuwait's envoy in Tehran Saturday to protest about Kuwaiti officials meeting a representative of a "terrorist group" and hosting an "anti-Iranian" meeting, Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. The ministry did not provide any more details about the group...

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Beirut home of Lebanon's new prime minister on Saturday, calling for Hassan Diab's resignation less than 10 days after he was appointed. Lebanon is without a cabinet and in the grips of a deepening economic crisis after a two-month-old protest...

Iraq’s semi-official human rights commission said Saturday at least 490 protesters have been killed in Baghdad and southern cities in nearly three months of anti-government rallies. Iraq has been roiled by protests since Oct. 1 in which demonstrators have taken to the streets to decry...

Protesters broke into Iraq's southern Nassiriya oilfield Saturday and forced employees to cut off electricity from its control station, taking the field offline until further notice, a security source and two oil sources said. The oilfield produces 90,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude....

Hundreds of Palestinians took part in protests along the Gaza-Israel border Friday, the last of the Hamas-backed demonstrations until March. Amid heavy rain and wind, the rallies had the lowest turnout in months, with tensions far lower than in previous weeks and no live fire by the...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shored up his base with a landslide primary victory announced early Friday, but he will need a big win in national elections in March if he hopes to stay in office and gain immunity from prosecution on corruption charges. Netanyahu handily...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday scored a landslide victory in a primary race for leadership of the ruling Likud party, giving the embattled leader an important boost ahead of the country's third election in less than a year. The strong showing by Israel's...

With volunteer kitchens, makeshift clinics and donation centres, Lebanon's protesters are helping their compatriots survive the worst economic crisis since the civil war by offering services many can no longer afford. "Our goal is to create a state of social solidary among all segments...

An earthquake struck Iran on Friday less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the country's only nuclear power plant, monitors said. There were no immediate reports of any damage. The US Geological Survey said the 5.1 magnitude quake struck 44 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of Borazjan...

A federal judge in Manhattan Thursday rejected a request by Turkey's state-owned Halkbank to put on hold a federal prosecution accusing it of helping Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said Halkbank would not face irreparable harm if the case proceeded,...

Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that a more than two-year block on access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia in the country is a violation of freedom of expression. The ruling opens the way for lifting the website ban, which has been in place since 2017 due to entries that...

Iraqi President Barham Salih refused on Thursday to designate the nominee of an Iran-backed parliamentary bloc for prime minister, saying he would rather resign than appoint someone to the position who would be rejected by protesters. Salih said in a statement that because the constitution...

Seven people died and 64 were rescued when a boat carrying migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan sank on Thursday in eastern Turkey’s Lake Van, the governor’s office in Bitlis province said. The boat sank after capsizing as it approached Adilcevaz district in Bitlis, which is...

Lebanon's central bank governor said on Thursday “nobody knows” how much more the cost of dollars could rise on the black market in a country suffering its worst economic crisis in decades. The Lebanese pound, pegged to the dollar for 22 years, has slumped by more than 30% on the parallel...

Iraqi anti-government protesters blocked roads and bridges in Baghdad and the country's south Thursday after torching several buildings overnight. The demonstrators oppose the entire political class and have vented their anger against leaders who are negotiating to nominate an establishment...

Flooding at Beirut's only Jewish cemetery has swept away entire graves after heavy rainfall hit the Lebanese capital. The floodwater destroyed a retaining wall at the graveyard in the Ras al-Nabaa district overnight into Thursday, dragging sarcophagi and large chunks of rubble onto the...

Talks in Moscow between a Turkish government delegation and Russian diplomats lasted for three days, much longer than expected, as the two sides tried to find compromises on Syria and Libya, the Vedomosti daily reported Thursday. A Turkish delegation traveled to Russia Monday for talks on...