Iran's navy has mounted a locally built advanced defensive weapons system on one of its warships for the first time, the Iranian navy chief was quoted as saying Saturday, as tensions mount with the U.S. military in the Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed earlier this month it held...

Agence France Presse CAIRO: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has signed off on a law tightening controls over the internet in the country, the official gazette said Saturday. The legislation on "cybercrime" allows authorities, through a judge, to order the blocking of websites that...

 Police in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday shot a knife-wielding 1948 Palestinian man who tried to stab an officer near the Damascus Gate, a spokesman told AFP. He was unable to say if the alleged assailant, described in a police statement as a "terrorist," was alive or dead but...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went through a new round of questioning on Friday over one of several graft cases that have threatened to topple him, media reports said. Investigators arrived at the premier's Jerusalem residence in the morning to interview him over allegations...

Turkey on Friday threatened to respond if the United States levied further sanctions over the detention of an American pastor, which has sparked a diplomatic standoff and battered the Turkish currency. "We've already responded based on the World Trade Organisation rules and will...

A set of Roman-era tombs dating back some 2,000 years have been discovered near the Palestinian city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank during road works, an official said Thursday. The cemetery dating to the first century AD, when the region was under Roman rule, was found in the...

Finance Minister Berat Albayrak assured international investors on Thursday that Turkey would emerge stronger from its currency crisis, insisting that the country's banks were healthy and strong. In a conference call with thousands of investors and economists, Albayrak - who is...

Turkey's finance chief tried to reassure thousands of international investors on a conference call Thursday, in which he pledged to fix the economic troubles that have seen the country spiral into a currency crisis. The national currency recovered somewhat from record lows hit earlier this...

Hundreds of U.N.-run schools for Palestinian refugees will open on time after fresh funding temporarily staved off a financial crisis triggered by a US contributions freeze, the United Nations said on Thursday. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said all 711 schools it runs for 526,000...

Five suspected militants arrested during a deadly raid in a town northwest of Amman were charged with terrorism offences in Jordan's state security court Wednesday. Three alleged militants were killed and five others detained on Saturday when security forces raided a building in the...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed bilateral ties and the situation in Syria during a phone call on Wednesday, a presidential source said. Erdogan and Merkel pledged determination to strengthen bilateral ties and discussed their planned...

The United States is trying to make Iran surrender through the imposition of sanctions, Iranian vice president Eshaq Jahangiri said on Wednesday. New U.S. sanctions against Iran took effect last week, and President Donald Trump said companies doing business with the country will be...

Qatar's emir headed to Turkey on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan who is dealing with a collapse of the lira currency and deteriorating relations with the United States. Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Erdogan are expected to discuss "means of strengthening the...

A Lebanese army patrol was targeted by Israel with smoke grenades on Tuesday, injuring two soldiers and sparking a large fire.  "An intelligence directorate patrol inspecting a piece of land (near the town of Rmeich) was attacked by an enemy Israeli patrol that threw six smoke...

Israel will reopen its only goods crossing with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday if calm is maintained, after having prevented most deliveries since July 9 over border tensions, the defence ministry said Tuesday. "Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman this afternoon held a situation assessment"...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn were locked in a row Tuesday over the Labour MP's attendance of an event that honoured suspects of the Munich Olympics massacre. Corbyn has been accused of joining in a ceremony which included tributes to...

Turkey's lira remained under pressure in Asian trade Tuesday but markets in the region enjoyed a little more stability after the previous day's turmoil. Nervous investors are keeping an eye on developments in Ankara after Monday's bloodletting that saw the lira hit record lows against...

In a dusty Baghdad dance studio, conductor Mohammed Amin Ezzat tries to fire up the musicians of Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra, whose enthusiasm has been dampened by eight months without pay. An ageing air conditioner fights to beat back the summer heat in the cramped space at the...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a secret summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt in May to discuss a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel's Channel Ten News said Monday. A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment on the report and there...

A Palestinian shot three months ago in clashes along the Israel-Gaza border has died while being treated in Egypt, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday. Wissam Hijazi, 30, was shot on May 14 during a day of huge protests against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem,...