Category Archives: Middle East
Hackers target Saudi government website
Several government websites in Saudi Arabia were hacked in a series of heavy cyber attacks from overseas in recent days, disabling them briefly until the attacks were repelled, the government has said.
UN peacekeepers abducted near Syria border
Four UN peackeepers are being held in the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where neither Israeli nor Syrian forces can operate. Josephine Guerrero, spokeswoman for the United Nations
Syrian warplanes launch ‘attacks’ in Damascus
Syrian warplanes have carried out several air raids on rebel-held areas in and around Damascus, while fresh clashes between troops and rebels have erupted in the eastern and southern suburbs of the
Iranian space official says photo shows wrong monkey
One of two official packages of photos of Iran’s famed simian space traveler depicted the wrong monkey, but a primate really did fly into space and return safely to Earth, a senior
Israel suggests responsibility for airstrike on Syria, as Assad warns forces ready to confront any ‘aggression’
Israel’s defense minister indicated Sunday that his country was behind the airstrike on Syria last week, in the first public comments from his government on the attack that U.S. officials said targeted
Ahmadinejad says fighting sanctions against Iran requires shift from reliance on oil income
Iran’s president says the country must move away from dependence on oil revenue to overcome Western sanctions that have slowed the economy and disrupted foreign trade. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that “structural changes”
Iran says supreme leader’s ban rules out nuclear weapons for Islamic Republic
A religious decree issued by Iran’s supreme leader banning nuclear weapons is binding for the Iranian government, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, suggesting that the edict should end the debate over whether
In Iran, the Wind Blows Free. Of Sanctions, That Is.
Already, Iran has the largest installed renewable-energy capacity in the Middle East, with 9,385 megawatts, according to the green-energy information database Energici. New U.S. and European sanctions on companies doing business with
Iran confirms fighter jets fired on US drone
Iran’s defence minister has confirmed a Pentagon statement that two Iranian fighter jets fired on an unarmed US Predator drone in the Gulf last week. “Last week an anonymous plane entered the
Iran’s currency woes hurt wallets in Iraq
The plunge in Iran’s currency is proving bad for business for the country’s neighbours, who can no longer rely on flush Iranian pilgrims and tourists to fill their accounts. The plummeting value
March tests Bahrain’s new ban on protests
In the first test of Bahrain’s new ban on public protests, at least several dozen people have taken to the streets of small towns outside the capital to demonstrate against the jailing
Rescuers search for Iran earthquake survivors
Rescue teams in northwest Iran have been trying to dig survivors out of the rubble of villages levelled by two powerful earthquakes, northeast of the city of Tabriz, that have killed at
Egypt launches deadly air strikes in Sinai
Egypt has launched air strikes in the Sinai region close to the border with Gaza, killing more than 20 people, in response to a deadly attack on Sunday on a police station,
Bahrain charges policemen over abuses
Bahrain’s public prosecutor says authorities have charged 15 policemen with mistreating medics during last year’s crackdown on opposition protesters. The charges on Tuesday follow an investigation into police abuses that was recommended
Civilians flee Aleppo as assault continues
Fierce fighting has continued in rebel-held districts of Aleppo for the second straight day as opposition forces continue to hold out in Syria’s largest city. At least 200,000 residents of the country’s
Syrian military bombards rebel strongholds
Activists say Syrian forces are shelling several neighbourhoods in Aleppo as the battle for control of Syria’s largest city rages into its sixth day. Most fighters believe the bombardments will be followed
Syria fighting spreads to Aleppo
Syrian troops and armoured vehicles have pushed into a rebel-held district of Aleppo and struck back in the capital, Damascus, against fighters emboldened by a bomb attack that killed top officials of
Annan and Putin show no progress on Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to do everything to support Kofi Annan’s plan for ending the violence in Syria that the UN-Arab League envoy said had reached “unacceptable” proportions. Annan arrived on
Israel’s Kadima party quits government
Israel’s Kadima party has quit the country’s coalition government amid a dispute over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, local media reported. “The decision was eventually reached with an unequivocal majority,” Kadima
Iran targeted in cyber espionage campaign
Security experts have uncovered an ongoing cyber espionage campaign targeting Iran and other Middle Eastern countries that they say stands out because it is the first such operation using communications tools written
Clinton due in Egypt for talks with Morsi
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is due to arrive in Egypt for talks with the country’s new president, Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first ever under free elections. Clinton’s talks with
UN monitors in Syria head to ‘massacre site’
United Nations observers have left their headquarters in the Syrian capital Damascus to try to reach the impoverished village of Tremseh in Hama province, where large numbers of people are reported to
UN chief calls for change in Syria mission
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has recommended shifting the monitoring mission in Syria from observing an essentially non-existent ceasefire to securing a political solution to the conflict. Ban’s report to the council,
US orders Iran to pay for 1983 Lebanon attack
A US federal judge has ordered Iran to pay more than $813m in damages and interest to the families of 241 US soldiers killed in the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks
Syrian general close to Assad defects
A Syrian general and personal friend of President Bashar al-Assad, who was apparently sidelined an year ago, has defected and fled Syria. Opposition activists have told Al Jazeera that Manaf Tlas, a
Assad’s opponents call for sanctions on Syria
A meeting of more than 100 nations opposed to President Bashar al-Assad has called for United Nations-backed sanctions to force Syria into a political transition plan but refrained from a call for
Syria’s Assad regrets downing Turkish jet
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regrets that Syrian forces shot down a Turkish jet last month and said he would not allow the tensions between the two countries to turn into open combat,
Report identifies Syria’s “torture centres”
A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Syrian intelligence agencies are running torture centres across the country where detainees are beaten with batons and cables, burned with acid, sexually
