Latest Middle East News
Israeli officer punished for violence against protesters
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Sunday said it has reprimanded an officer who was found to have used excessive force against protesters in the occupied West Bank, including pushing a 65-year-old Israeli peace activist to the ground. The army said the officer, a...
UN: Syria government, opposition to begin drafting charter
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's government and opposition in the war-torn country have agreed to start drafting constitutional reforms, the U.N. Syria envoy announced Sunday, a major step after a nine-month hiatus of talks and several fruitless rounds. U.N. special envoy for...
Shooting in Syria could mark new phase in Israeli campaign
JERUSALEM (AP) — The death of a former Syrian Druse lawmaker, allegedly by Israeli sniper fire, could mark a new phase in Israel’s war against Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria. Syria’s state-run news agency said that Midhat Saleh was fatally shot Saturday...
Officials in Yemen: Houthi blockade restricts aid, movement
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s rebels continued their weekslong blockade of a district in the central province of Marib, cutting off humanitarian aid and halting movement of its 37,000 people, officials and U.N. aid workers said Sunday. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have...
Rescuers: Last Jew of Kabul making his way to Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) — The man known as the last Jew of Kabul could soon be heading to Israel, after agreeing to grant his estranged wife a religious divorce in a Zoom call — a precondition for smooth entry to the Holy Land. Zebulon Simentov, who fled Afghanistan last month...
Families of Beirut blast victims back judge amid pressure
BEIRUT (AP) — The families of the victims of last year's massive Beirut port blast reaffirmed their support Saturday for the judge leading the investigation into the explosion, despite increasing calls for his ouster by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies. The...
Venezuela halts talks after Maduro ally's extradition to US
MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela’s government said Saturday it would halt negotiations with its opponents in retaliation for the extradition to the U.S. of a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro who prosecutors believe could be the most significant witness ever about corruption in the South...
Syrian shelling of rebel-held areas close to Turkey kills 4
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government shelling of a rebel-held town near the border with Turkey on Saturday killed four people and wounded more than a dozen, Syrian opposition activists said. The shelling of the town of Sarmada comes amid increasing tensions in the last...
Sudanese protesters call for dissolving of joint government
CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets Saturday in the capital, Khartoum, to call for the dissolving of the joint military-civilian government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The protest could further increase political tensions in Sudan, threatening...
Turkey's Erdogan bids farewell to Merkel after 16 years
ISTANBUL (AP) — Angela Merkel’s final visit to Turkey as German chancellor on Saturday saw two of Europe’s longest serving leaders pay tribute to one another as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted her for farewell talks overlooking the Bosporus. Erdogan...
