Tens of thousands of people are marching in the Algerian capital, Algiers, in the latest protest against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The demonstrations – now in their third week – were triggered by the ailing president’s decision to seek re-election for a fifth term in April. Mr Bouteflika has ruled Algeria for 20 years but has rarely been seen in public… Read more »
AL-OMAR OIL FIELD BASE, Syria (AP) — Abandoned tents, vehicles and foxholes to hide from airstrikes are all that are left from evacuated parts of the Islamic State group’s last shred of territory in Syria. An exclusive video obtained by The Associated Press on Friday showed parts of the tiny pocket of land in the village of Baghouz vacated recently… Read more »
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on a trip to Gulf countries this week to bolster ties between Moscow and a variety of countries in the Middle East. The visit will pave the way for a high-level trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin that comes at an important time for Russia’s role in the region. According to a report at… Read more »
Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes in their crackdown on Palestinian protests last year that left nearly 200 dead, the United Nations has said. “The Israeli security forces killed and maimed Palestinian demonstrators who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities,” an inquiry by the… Read more »
(CNN)When Sina Ghanbari took to Tehran’s streets during nationwide demonstrations at the beginning of 2018, he was speaking out against corruption, a sluggish economy and soaring fuel and food prices.Ghanbari was detained during the protests. After being held in the so-called quarantine ward of Tehran’s Evin prison for five days, he died on his 22nd birthday.Prison authorities told his mother, Fatemeh Malayan… Read more »
The head of Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning has urged the Middle East’s Muslims to “embrace” local Christians. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar in Egypt, told an interfaith meeting in Abu Dhabi attended by Pope Francis that Christians were “our companions”. He also called on Muslims in the West to integrate into their communities while maintaining… Read more »
US-backed Syrian fighters are clearing Islamic State (IS) militants from the last two villages the jihadist group controls, military officials say. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance launched an assault at the weekend on Shajalah and Baghuz, near Syria’s border with Iraq. The last militants remaining there are reportedly retreating and hiding among the local population. Some have sought… Read more »
Egypt’s parliament has overwhelmingly voted to approve draft constitutional changes that could extend President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s time in office by another 12 years. Mr Sisi is due to stand down in 2022 when his second four-year term ends. But 485 of the country’s 596 lawmakers voted on Thursday to lengthen presidential terms to six years and let Mr al-Sisi… Read more »
Following May of 2018, Saudi Arabia began arresting female activists who were fighting for equal rights after Saudi Arabia reversed the law that gave women the right to operate a vehicle. These women fought for equality prior to the vehicle law being passed and saw the overturn as a step back for women in Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia has… Read more »
Thirty-six states at the UN Human Rights Council have criticised Saudi Arabia for detaining women’s rights activists, and demanded their release. The joint statement was the first collective rebuke of the Gulf kingdom since the council was set up in 2006. It reflects international concern at the detention of a number of activists in the past year and also at… Read more »