Middle East
Latest stories
Netanyahu : Iran Nuclear Deal Does Not Halt Its Bomb Bid

An international agreement to halt Iran's nuclear program, which went into force Monday, will not halt Tehran from pursuing its bid to build military atomic capability, Israel's prime minister said.

"The interim agreement which went into force today does not prevent Iran from realizing its intention to develop nuclear weapons," Benjamin Netanyahu told a special session of parliament.

W140 Full Story
16 Dead in Twin Suicide Bombing on Syria-Turkey Border Post

A double suicide car bombing at the Bab al-Hawa border post between Syria and Turkey on Monday killed at least 16 people, including six rebels, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, updating an earlier toll, said 20 people were wounded as one car detonated at a checkpoint just outside the crossing and another inside the post.

W140 Full Story
EU: Geneva II Must Include 'Genuine' Syria Transition

The EU said Monday it fully supported the Geneva II Syria peace conference to begin this week as "a first step" towards a solution which must include a genuine political transition.

Geneva "should be the first step in a process that will lead to a political solution" to the bloody conflict, EU foreign ministers said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
14 Companies Bid to Destroy Syria Arsenal

The global chemical arms watchdog said Monday it had received 14 tenders from private companies around the world to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal outside of the war-ravaged country.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it would decide early next month which companies would destroy the 500 metric tonnes of chemicals, plus the effluent left over from neutralization of other chemicals to be carried out on a U.S. ship.

W140 Full Story
Syria Jihadists Impose Taliban-Style Music, Smoking Ban

The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has banned music and smoking in Syria's Raqa, days after taking control of the northern city following battles with rebel groups.

ISIL said it had decided to "ban the sale of music CDs, music players, and playing songs in cars and buses and in shops and all places," in a statement posted on jihadist websites and signed the "Wali (governor) of Raqa".

W140 Full Story
U.S. Getting 'Messages' from within Syrian Regime to End War

The United States has received messages from members of the Syrian regime who "want a way out" of the current brutal fighting, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

"There are elements inside the regime itself, among its supporters, that are anxious to find a peaceful solution, and we've gotten plenty of messages from people inside, they want a way out," the State Department official told reporters on a conference call.

W140 Full Story
Canada Pledges Financial Aid to West Bank

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada said Monday the staunch Israeli ally would provide additional financial support for the West Bank, as he met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

"I have the pleasure to announce today that Canada will this year give additional (financial) support for the economic development of the West Bank," Harper told reporters, saying this was key for "social stability" and for advancing peace.

W140 Full Story
U.N. Says Iran Excluded from Geneva II, Syrian Opposition Confirms Participation

Syria's main opposition group confirmed late Monday it would take part in the Geneva II peace talks after the U.N. withdrew an invitation for Iran to also attend.

The Syrian National Coalition in a statement said it "welcomed the decision of the United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon to withdraw the invitation sent to Iran, given that Iran has not met the conditions of participation in Geneva 2 conference."

W140 Full Story
Rape Victim Complains of New Delay in Tunisia Police Trial

A woman who accused Tunisian policemen of raping her more than a year ago complained Monday that the trial has been repeatedly delayed, saying she cannot sleep at night.

The trial opened last year but has been bogged down by repeated delays.

W140 Full Story
One Dead as Sectarian Unrest Grips South Algeria Town

Weeks of heightened tensions between rival communities in the flashpoint oasis town of Ghardaia in southern Algeria have erupted into violence, leaving one person dead and others hurt, officials said Monday.

Schools and shops were shut after a group of youths went on the rampage on Sunday, attacking five different neighborhoods, and after a 39-year-old man was stabbed in the chest at his home.

W140 Full Story