Latest Middle East News
RSS-
Largest US-Israel military drill under way
The US and Israel simulated rocket attacks during their largest-ever joint military drill on Wednesday, just as as real ones fired from Gaza exploded in southern Israel. US military officials insisted the joint exercise, called Austere Challenge 2012, was planned long before the latest flare-up between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza and a long-running debate over how to deal with Iran, unrelated ...
-
UN chief hails Syrias decision to cease fire
Sina English UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the Syrian authorities' agreement to cease fire for the duration of the Id al-Adha Moslem holiday. UN representative Martin Nesirki said on Friday that it was paramount for both conflicting sides to declare a truce to give humanitarian convoys a chance to reach areas sealed off by hostilities between the government forces and the ...
-
Two NATO servicemen killed in Afghanistan
Sina English Two NATO servicemen were shot and killed by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform Thursday in Uruzgan province, officials of the alliance said. According to reports, they are American servicemen of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. About 3,000 NATO servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan since the alliance launched its military operation in ...
More Middle East News
RSS-
SyriaCeasefire violated at military base
By Yu Runze, Sina English Fierce clashes between rebels and Syrian government forces broke out Friday around a military base near the northern town of Maaret al-Numan in the "first violation" of a ceasefire, a watchdog said. "Violent clashes started around 10:30 am (0730 GMT) around the Wadi Deif base. The army responded by bombing the neighboring village of Deir Sharqi. It is ...
-
Suspect in Benghazi attack arrested
The Government of Tunisia has reported the arrest of a suspect in the attack on the U.S. Consulate, which took place on September 11 in Benghazi. As a result of the attack the American ambassador, Christopher Stevens and three other embassy staff, were killed. The arrested suspect is a 28-year-old Tunisian named called Ali Harzi who is in custody in the capital Tunis. American specialists ...
-
US not supplying Stinger missiles to Syrian rebels
(Photo/Agencies) U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday he had no knowledge of the United States supplying Stinger missiles to Syrian rebel forces, after Moscow said the rebels had acquired the U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles. Asked about reports that the rebels had such weapons, Panetta declined comment, saying: "I don't know what the reports are - and I certainly ...
-
Israeli PM FM party to join forces in elections
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media after signing a joint declaration with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, not shown, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.(Photo/AP) Israel's prime minister and foreign minister on Thursday evening announced that their parties will run on a united list in January's elections. Likud chief, Prime Minister Benjamin ...
-
Syrian army rebels commit to ceasefire during feast holiday
In this Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter watches over an enemy position as rebel fighters belonging to the Liwa Al Tawhid group carry out a military ...more operation at the Moaskar front line, one of the battlefields in the Karmal Jabl neighborhood, in Aleppo, Syria. (Photo/AP) The Syrian army and the armed rebels on Thursday voiced commitment to the ...
-
Syria government agrees Eid ceasefire Envoy
The Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire during the four-day Muslim Eid holiday starting this week, international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said in Cairo on Wednesday. Many rebel leaders he contacted had also agreed to a truce during the holiday, which begins on Friday, he told reporters in Cairo after meeting Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi. The Syrian government would officially ...
-
Escalating violence overweighs possibility of quick ceasefire in Syria
A spate of blasts and clashes rattled Syria on Wednesday, drawing dim shadow over a possible cease-fire during the upcoming holiday of Muslim Eid al-Adha that will start on Friday. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car at early time Wednesday at a military checkpoint in the northern province of Raqqa, killing eight people and injuring seven, local media said. According to the ...
-
UN Security Council welcomes ceasefire initiative for Syria
The UN Security Council on Wednesday welcomed an initiative for a ceasefire between the Syrian government troops and armed opposition during the Eid al- Adha holidays, and called on "all regional and international actors to use their influence on the parties concerned to facilitate the implementation of the ceasefire and cessation of violence." The council's stance was contained ...
-
9 killed 25 injured in Afghan raid operation
Nine people were killed and 25 wounded in an overnight operation launched by Afghan and the NATO-led coalition troops in the western province of Ghor, a provincial official said Wednesday, adding that local residents said most victims were civilians. "According to initial reports by our security forces, nine people were killed and 25 others injured during a night raid operation against ...
-
Terrorists kidnap Syrian attorney-general in Daraa
Terrorists kidnapped the attorney-general of Daraa city, Southwestern Syria, news sources said on Monday. According to the Breaking News website, unknown armed men abducted Teysir al-Samadi, Syria's attorney-general in Daraa, on Monday. The news website also reported that the attorney-general was kidnapped after the terrorists attacked his ...
-
UN mulling peacekeeping force for Syria neo-jihad grills NATO
The United Nations has made plans to assemble a peacekeeping force for Syria if a ceasefire proposed by a special envoy takes hold, a top UN official said Monday. UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous stressed however that planning was very tentative while fighting rages in Syria and would be dependent on the UN Security Council overcoming its bitter divisions on the 19-month-old conflict. ...
-
Irans Revolutionary Guards secure Assad report
By Yu Runze, Sina English Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad changed his security team several times in recent months, fearing one of his own security guards may kill him, officials told the Al Arabiya network last Friday. According to the officials, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are taking part in guarding Assad, as well as in guarding other senior officials in the Syria. The same sources ...
-
13 killed in Damascus car bombing amid UN envoy visit
Damaged cars are seen at the site where a car bomb exploded at a Christian quarter of Damascus, Syria, Oct. 21, 2012. Syria's state TV said 13 people were killed and 29 others injured in the blast that struck a time-honored square in the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier on Sunday. ...
-
Al-Qaeda plot thwarted in Jordan
Amman: Jordanian authorities Sunday claimed to have foiled an al-Qaeda terror plot in Kingdom, arresting 11 suspects alleged of affiliations with the terror network's Iraq ...
-
Gunfire in southern Beirut
Gunmen armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades exchanged fire in southern districts of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sunday night, security sources said, and residents could also hear the sound of ambulance sirens. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the clashes, which occurred after angry mourners tried to storm government offices in the centre of Beirut at the end of ...
-
Vietnamese lawmakers hold fourth session of 13th National Assembly
HANOI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Over 500 deputies of Vietnam's 13th National Assembly (NA) gathered here on Monday for their fourth session to discuss the country's legislative and socio-economic issues. Addressed the opening ceremony, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said that Vietnam has gained remarkable achievements in curbing inflation, ensuring social security, maintaining appropriate ...
-
Israeli navy intercepts Gaza-bound ship
Israeli navy on Saturday intercepted a Finnish-flagged boat carrying pro-Palestinian international activists about 40 miles away from the Gaza Strip's coast, a Palestinian official ...
-
Anti-government demonstrators hold protest in Sanaa Yemen
An anti-government demonstrator takes part in a protest against government security agencies' attempt to assassinate the head of main opposition Islamic Islah Party Mohammed Abdullah al-Yadumi on Wednesday by firing on his car, in Sanaa, capital of Yemen, July 21, 2011. ...
-
Taliban key commander detained in northern Afghan province
Afghan and NATO-led troops during special operations captured a Taliban key commander named Mullah Abdul Rahman from Kunduz province early Saturday, police ...
-
Gunfire attacks kill 3 in Baghdad
Attacks by unidentified gunmen killed three people in Baghdad on Saturday morning and Friday night, including a high-ranking security official, police sources said. One attack happened in Basateen area northeast of Baghdad on Saturday morning when gunmen shot dead two employees of the Ministry of Justice, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to ...
-
UN-AL envoy calls for temporary cease-fire in Syria
UN-Arab League (AL) joint special representative Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Damascus on Friday, continuing his bid to secure a cease-fire in Syria during the upcoming Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha holiday. Brahimi has been shuttling in the region to delineate a full vision before putting forth any proposal to end the long-time violence in Syria. Before his arrival in the Syrian capital, media ...
-
Global condemnation over deadly car bombing in Beirut
A deadly car bombing Friday in Lebanese capital Beirut that killed eight people, including Chief of Information Department of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, Wissam al-Hassan, and injured over 85 received condemnation of the United Nations, the Arab League (AL) and many countries around the world. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon conveyed his ...
Iran Focus
-
Iran will have men in space within ten years
Iran will have astronauts in space within the next ten years, according to government officials who recently revealed to Iran news media the Iranian Space Agency’s long-term space objectives.
Iran has pursued an ambitious space program in recent years, entering the so-called ‘Asian Space Race’ and launching the country’s first rocket in 2004, followed in 2009 by the launch of an entirely domestically-built satellite, thereby becoming the 9th country in the world to have achieved orbital-launch capability. Read more
News from around our Network
