Category: Arab News

More and more people continue to be sacrificed at the altar of jihadi violence across the world and a study has found that 5,000 people died worldwide in November as a result of such violence. This was revealed by a BBC study , which recorded a total of 664 terrorist attacks in 14 countries and…

At least 70 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have launched a hunger strike to protest against the solitary confinement punishment meted out to them, media reported Wednesday. The detainees began the hunger strike Tuesday after some of the Palestinians being held in solitary confinement started a protest against the policy, Press TV reported citing a…

  The UN refugee agency and other international humanitarian organisations have launched a campaign urging countries around the world to accommodate around 180,000 Syrian refugees. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Monday that there were more than 3.2 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, and predicted the number could rise…

  Hamas movement  rejected the Israeli decision to investigate the last large-scale military offensive waged on the Gaza Strip in July. Hamas’ spokesman in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum said that forming an Israeli investigation committee to probe the last Israeli war on Gaza “aims at hiding the truth and the facts”, Xinhua reported. “Forming an Israeli…

Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk has said that DNA samples of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been matched with one of the three children who are currently being held by Lebanese authorities and are suspected of being related to the jihadi chief. Machnouk said Wednesday DNA samples, which were sent over by…

  Israeli lawmakers voted  in favour of dissolving parliament, setting the stage for a snap election in March. Wednesday’s vote was a preliminary one, as three further votes are expected later in the day and next week, which will officially dissolve the Israeli parliament, Xinhua reported. Earlier, a parliament spokesperson announced that the elections would…

Iran has launched airstrikes in eastern Iraq against Islamic State militants, the Pentagon has revealed. But a spokesman said the US had not coordinated the attacks or military action with Tehran reported SKY News. Rear Admiral John Kirby said the US continued to fly missions over Iraq and that it was up to the Iraqi…

  Iran and the world powers are very close to a comprehensive nuclear agreement in the coming months, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said here . “To prepare the details of the final accord we need an extension of the talks, and the seven-month extension is aimed at buying the time,” Zarif was quoted…

A Palestinian woman was shot dead Monday after she stabbed an Israeli soldier in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Xinhua reported citing Israel Radio. The report quoted Israeli army sources as saying that the Israeli military opened fire at the woman and shot her dead, after she stabbed an Israeli soldier at Gush…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Syria, Iraq and the other countries in the Gulf region of support in their fight against terrorism, media reported . “The situation in Syria still raises serious concerns,” said Putin in an interview with the Turkish al-Anadolu news agency, which was cited by Syria’s official Sana news agency. He…

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has declared an emergency in Gaza City following extreme weather and severe flooding over the past 48 hours. According to a statement issued , no casualties or injuries have been reported, however, hundreds of residents in the flooded areas around the Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated…

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Turkey to help inter-faith dialogue in the country. At the start of the three-day tour he is set to meet newly-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, BBC reported . He also plans to visit Istanbul for a meeting with the head of the Orthodox Christian church. It…

  Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has harshly criticised the “Jewish State” nationality bill proposal which was adopted by the cabinet . “Such a hierarchical approach, placing Jewishness before democracy, misses the great significance of the Declaration of Independence, which combines the two elements together without segregating them,” Rivlin said at an Annual State Prosecutor’s Conference…

Israeli politicians decided  to postpone by one week a planned vote on a controversial bill due to political quarrels that could possibly threaten the stability of the governing coalition, a parliament spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua. Sunday, the Israeli cabinet voted in favour of a bill proposal known as the “Jewish nation law” after heated debate.…

The Israeli cabinet approved a bill , which enshrines in law that Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people and that this right is unique to them. Fifteen ministers voted in favour of the bill and seven against it, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office,…

  Israel has agreed to cooperate with a commission established by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to investigate damage to UN facilities during an Israeli attack on Gaza last summer. Sources at the Israeli foreign ministry told Efe news agency that Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor had submitted a letter on the matter…

  US Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken has told lawmakers that it will be “difficult” for Washington and other powers to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran before next Monday, the deadline set for finalising the negotiations. “Right now, I think it’s going to be difficult to get to where we want to go.…

Jordan  called for self-restraint in Jerusalem after four Israelis were killed and eight injured in an attack at a synagogue in west Jerusalem , media reported. Jordan’s Minister of State Mohammad Momani said Jordan is following up closely on the serious developments in Jerusalem, reiterating Jordan’s constant position that denounces the targeting of civilians, Xinhua…

The Spanish Congress voted by 319 votes with just two against and one abstention in favour of a proposal to “urge the government to recognise the state of Palestine as a subject of international law”. The vote Tuesday evening means Spain becomes one of the few European countries to move towards formal recognition of a…

Four people were killed and eight injured in an apparent terror attack  morning in a synagogue in the Har Nof neighbourhood of western Jerusalem, media reported. “Two assailants entered the synagogue Tuesday with knives, axes and guns and attacked worshippers,” Haaretz quoted Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri as saying. Samri said the attackers were Palestinians…

  Israel lifted an age ban prohibiting younger Muslims from accessing the Temple Mount compound and the Al Aqsa mosque. The restrictions, which were applied to men and women under the age 35, were lifted a few hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Amman to hold talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and…

  Iran will manufacture four versions of the US RQ-170 drone which was downed inside the country in December 2011, a top military commander said . Iran plans to produce four duplicated versions of RQ-170 by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (which ends March 20, 2015), Commander of the Aerospace Division of…

A mosque in the West Bank and an ancient synagogue in Israel were the target of separate attacks early , allegedly by extremists from both sides, amid growing tension in the region. Israeli Police is investigating the attack on the mosque in Kufur Mughayyir, near Ramallah, which Palestinians blame on ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. “Every time…

Iran and Russia signed an agreement  for the construction of two nuclear reactors in the Islamic republic by the Russians, state media here reported. The contract was signed by Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’s Rosatom corporation, and Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran in Moscow, Xinhua reported citing the report. The…

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  night instructed security officials to demolish the homes of Palestinians who perpetrated deadly attacks on Israelis, his office said in a statement. The order on the use of the controversial punitive measure was made during a security discussion with Israel’s defence leadership that was convened in Jerusalem after two stabbing…

  The fate of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was unclear  owing to conflicting statements issued by Iraq’s interior ministry and the Pentagon, which could not confirm reports that the Sunni radical group leader was in a convoy hit by coalition forces. Iraq’s interior ministry Sunday said al-Baghdadi was injured in an airstrike…

Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed that the Islamic State (IS) top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was injured in a air strike, which killed several senior leaders of the extremist group, state-run Iraqiya news channel reported. Earlier in the day, a security official from Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh, however, told Xinhua that he could not confirm…

The US has offered Iran a framework for the potential nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to meet its peaceful energy needs, US President Barack Obama said . But whether world powers and Iran are able to reach a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program before the Nov 24 deadline is “an open question”,…