The U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously passed a resolution allowing a 300-strong ceasefire monitoring mission in Syria despite the strong doubts of many Western nations.
Under U.N. resolution 2043, the unarmed military observers will be sent for an initial period of 90 days if U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon decides it is safe for them to go.
Full StoryThe European Union missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemned on Saturday the recent eviction of a Palestinian family from its east Jerusalem home, ahead of its inhabitation by Jewish settlers.
The EU missions "condemn the eviction of the Natshe family from their home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina," a statement read.
Full StoryFresh fighting flared in the Libyan Desert town of Kufra overnight leaving three people dead and 17 others wounded, local sources told Agence France Presse on Saturday.
"The situation is very bad," Toubu tribe leader Issa Abdelmajid Mansour told AFP in reference to fresh fighting in Kufra, where tribal clashes claimed more than 100 lives in February.
Full StoryTwo civilians were among at least 11 people killed in Syria on Saturday as U.N. observers monitoring a shaky ceasefire toured the restive city of Homs, a monitoring group reported.
The report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights came as the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to dispatch 300 observers to Syria for a 90-day period to help bolster an April 12 truce.
Full StoryA team of United Nations observers monitoring a shaky ceasefire visited the central Syrian province of Homs on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
"A team of international observers visited the province of Homs and met the governor," SANA said.
Full StoryBahraini opposition groups claimed Saturday that a man was killed during clashes with security forces, threatening to sharply escalate the Gulf nation's unrest as officials struggle under the world spotlight as hosts of the Formula One Grand Prix. Authorities opened an investigation in a bid to defuse tensions.
At least 50 people have died in the unrest since February 2011 in the longest-running street battles of the Arab Spring. Bahrain's Shiite majority seeks to break the near monopoly on power by the ruling Sunni dynasty, which has close ties to the West.
Full StoryIsraeli authorities warned citizens on Saturday to leave Egypt's Sinai peninsula immediately because of a "critical and immediate threat" of a terrorist attack.
"All Israelis in the Sinai are called upon to leave the region and return to Israel," said a statement from the anti-terrorist bureau.
Full StoryYemen's air force raided al-Qaida hideouts in the south, killing eight militants, the defense ministry said Saturday, raising to 40 the number of jihadists reportedly killed in two days.
"The Yemeni air force carried out two air strikes that targeted al-Qaida positions on Friday... killing eight militants and wounding dozens," said the ministry's news website26sep.net.
Full StoryThe opposition Syrian National Council renewed on Saturday its call for the United Nations to intervene militarily in the country to put a stop to "crimes" by President Bashar Assad's regime.
"We call anew on the U.N. Security Council to act with all urgency to intervene militarily to bring an end to the crimes committed by the bloody regime against the unarmed Syrian people," said a statement received in Beirut.
Full StorySyria has released 30 people who were detained for their alleged role in an anti-regime uprising, but who have "no blood on their hands," state media said on Saturday.
The move takes to nearly 4,000 the number of people who have been released by the authorities since November, after they had been taken into custody for the same reason, news agency SANA reported.
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