Middle East

Developing Story – 52 dead, 2,400 wounded in Gaza as Israeli troops fired bullets at residents rallying against opening of the US embassy in Jerusalemi

Violent clashes erupted along the Gaza Strip's border hours ahead of the controversial opening of the USA embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, leaving 52 dead and 2,400 more wounded. Earlier:…

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Al-Qaeda Chief Zawahiri Calls for ‘Jihad’ as US Shifts Embassy to Jerusalem Today.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Sunday urged Muslims to carry out jihad against the United States as it prepares to move its embassy to Jerusalem, AFP reported. In a five-minute video entitled "Tel Aviv…

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Trump’s daughter and her husband arrive in Israel for opening of new US embassy in Jerusalem

US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have arrived in Israel ahead of the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday. The couple…

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Jubilant atmosphere in Israel following 2018 Eurovision victory

The Times of Israel reports about the jubilant scenes following Israel's victory in the 2018 Eurovision song contest. "Israelis took to the streets and social media early Sunday to celebrate…

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Israel’s female empowerment inspired song wins 2018 Eurovision song contest

After a thriller voting, Netta from Israel has won the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Toy', written and composed by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger. Israel won the…

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Israeli Airforce mission to destroy Iran’s presence in Syria dubbed as ‘Operation House of Cards’ – Update

Updated: The European Union called reports about Iranian strikes against Israeli army posts from inside Syria "extremely worrying" and said Israel had the right to defend itself. It also called…

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Israel threatens storm on Iran after attack on the Golan Heights

Reuters report that Israel has attacked nearly all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria after Iranian forces fired rockets at Israeli-held territory for the first time. Through this Israel and Iran…

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Netanyahu indicates Moscow won’t curtail Israeli strikes in Syria

Wrapping up a whirlwind visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening said he has no reason to believe the Kremlin will attempt to limit Israel’s freedom of…

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Developing story – Israeli missiles intercepted in Syria (Updated)

Reuters reports that "Syrian state media accused Israel of launching missiles at a target near Damascus on Tuesday, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was quitting the Iranian nuclear…

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Hezbollah and its allies win Lebanon’s elections

Hezbollah and its political allies are the biggest winners in Lebanon's first general election in nine years, an analysis of the preliminary results show. Hezbollah and Amal - dubbed the…

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US embassy road signs goes up in Jerusalem

U.S. Embassy road signs went up in Jerusalem on Monday ahead of next week’s opening of the mission in accordance with President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s…

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Lebanon votes in first elections since 2009

As the polls opened on Sunday, more than 3.6 million Lebanese eligible voters are to elect the 128 parliament members of Lebanon in the country's first legislature election since 2009.…

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Demonstrations in Gaza enter the sixth day

An estimated 10,000 Palestinians have faced tear gas and live bullets during protests on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The latest crackdown, on the sixth day of…

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Israel behind air strikes on Iranian controlled sites in Syria – NBC

The NBC has reported that three American officials confirmed to the newsroom that Israel, using F-15 fighter jets, conducted the airstrike on an allegedly Iranian-controlled military base in northern Syria…

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Netanyahu’s revelations on Iran – Trump’s Reaction

Following Benjamin Netanyahu's revelations, where he accused Iran of lying about its nuclear activity, US President Donald Trump said that these revelations proved he was ‘100% right’ about Iran. US President…

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Netanyahu : Iran lied about not pursuing nuclear weapons

“A few weeks ago, in a great intelligence achievement Israel obtained half a ton of materials” that had been housed in a vault in Tehran, Netanyahu said in a dramatic…

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Significant development on Iran to be announced by Israel’s Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a televised announcement later on today (Monday) in what his office said would be a “significant development” regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran.…

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Fresh missile attacks on Syria

There are fresh reports of missile attacks on Syria. The Syrian news agency SANA, reports that material damage was caused due to terrorist rocket attacks that hit Baba Amro neighbourhood and…

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Russian, Turkish and Iranian Foreign Ministers to meet on April 28

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold bilateral talks with the Iranian and Turkish counterparts, Javad Zarif and Mevlut Cavusoglu, as well as three-party talks in Moscow on April 28,…

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Macron’s evolution towards becoming a global leader

There was a lot of anticipation for the visit of the French President to the United States. A lot of column inches and words have been said on what was…

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Inspectors visit site of suspected chemical attack in Syria

International chemical weapons experts have finally inspected the site of a suspected attack near Damascus which caused an international crisis. The team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical…

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The UN must examine its conscience on Syria – Nobel Peace prize winner Maartti Ahtisaari

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Martti Ahtisaari in a piece written for The Guardian, argues that "the alarming events of the past week have reminded us of the severe costs of inaction.…

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Air Strikes on Syria – House of Commons debate

Theresa May told MPs that there was clear evidence that the Assad government was behind the Douma chemical weapons attack and it was "legally and morally right" for the UK to…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Russia to allow OPCW inspectors in Douma

Russia said that chemical weapons inspectors in Syria will be permitted to visit the site of an alleged chemical attack, on Wednesday. A representative of Russia's military said late Monday…

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Air Strikes on Syria. What we know so far UPDATED

US President Trump ordered a military attack against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, joining allies Britain and France in launching missile strikes in retaliation for what Western nations said…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Berlusconi weighs in his view on Italy’s position

In a letter published on Sunday's edition of Il Corriere Della Sera, Silvio Berlusconi said that faced with a complex and dramatic situation such as that which has been determined…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Pope Francis urges common action

In his first comments since the missile attacks on Syria by the United States, Britain and France, Pope Francis said on Sunday, April 15, that he is deeply disturbed by…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Macron’s stance criticised

France 24 reports that Macron drew criticism Saturday from the far-left to the far-right. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen tweeted that the strikes expose France to “unpredictable and potentially dramatic…

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Air Strikes on Syria – New Push in UN to end Syria’s chemical weapons

CNN reports that the United States, the United Kingdom and France are pushing for an "irreversible" end to Syria's chemical weapons program, amid furious recriminations from Russia over the effectiveness…

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Syria – The Why, Who, and How of an 8 year conflict

Now having gone on longer than World War II, the war in Syria is causing profound effects beyond the country's borders, with many Syrians having left their homes to seek…

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Airstrikes may not end the sick barbarism in Syria. But they show we stand up for principle and civilised values – Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson for The Telegraph There is a very simple reason why it was right for the UK to join our closest allies in launching strikes against the Assad military machine. This is about…

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Russia threats dirty campaign against Britain’s elite

The Sunday Times reports that Russia threats to wage dirty campaign against Britain’s elite Spy chiefs are braced for a Russian revenge attack in which Kremlin-backed hackers release embarrassing information…

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Air Strikes on Syria. UK publishes legal documents

Air strikes on Syria were legally justified on humanitarian grounds, government documents say. The British Government published the legal position document it had, and which led to the air strikes.…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Mixed reactions for May and Trump

A chorus of voices across the American political spectrum expressed support for Trump’s latest strikes, but criticised the lack of a broader U.S. Syria strategy that could end the seven-year…

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Air Strikes on Syria – France publishes declassified intelligence report

In a rather unprecedented move, one of the allies which took part in last night's air strikes on Syria, published the intelligence reports on the basis of which decisions were…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Pentagon Briefing

The aim of the Air Strikes on Syria was to significantly impact the Syrian regimes ability to develop, deploy and use chemical weapons in the future. 105 weapons against three…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Italy’s reaction

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said that Italy did not participate in the attack in Syria. According to news agency ANSA, Gentiloni said that the Italian Government insisted and clarified…

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Air Strikes on Syria – China’s reaction

Beijing has voiced opposition to US-led airstrikes against Syrian military targets and called for talks. It also claimed that the operation had complicated the Syrian crisis and efforts to find…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Reaction of Hezbollah

Syrian News Agency SANA reports that Lebanese Hezbollah strongly condemned the US, British and French tripartite brutal aggression on Syria at dawn on Saturday. In a statement, the Party said…

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Air Strikes on Syria – What was hit

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters three sites were targeted: A scientific research centre in Damascus. A chemical weapons storage facility, located west of…

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Air Strikes on Syria : Syria’s reaction

Syria’s Foreign Ministry described the joint US, UK and French airstrikes as a "flagrant violation of international law and the principals of UN charter." Syria called on the international community to…

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Air Strikes in Syria – Weapons used (CNN)

CNN provides an analysis of the weapons used by the US, France and the UK in the air strikes on Syria. A US defence official said the US Air Force used…

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Air Strikes on Syria – NATO to meet later on today

CNN reports that following the trilateral airstrikes launched in Syria, a meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) will be held Saturday afternoon, a NATO official tells CNN. France, the United…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Statement by Jean-Claude Juncker

The President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker issued the following statement. Last night, France, the United Kingdom and the United States responded in a coordinated military action to…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Reactions by Jeremy Corbyn

The UK Labour Party's leader said that bombs won’t save lives or bring about peace. This legally questionable action risks escalating further, as US defence secretary James Mattis has admitted,…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Briefing by Theresa May

UK Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the press at her office in 10 Downing Street following the allies air strikes that took place in Syria. In her briefing, Ms May…

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Air Strikes on Syria. Vladimir Putin’s reaction

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced a strike on Syria launched by the US and its allies as an "act of aggression" that will exacerbate humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. In a statement…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Iran’s Reaction

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned Saturday’s US-led airstrikes on Syria. “I clearly declare that the US president, the French president and the UK prime minister are criminals and have committed a crime."…

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Air Strikes on Syria – United Nations reaction

Following the air strikes on Syria, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations released the following statement. I have been following closely the reports of air strikes in Syria conducted…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Syria’s State Media reports

Syrian state media said U.S.-led air strikes caused material damage only at a scientific research center in the Barzeh district of Damascus on Friday. The attack destroyed a building that…

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Air Strikes on Syria – Russian Foreign Ministry reaction

Syrian News Agency SANA reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that the aggression on Syria targeted a sovereign state that has tried to return…

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Air Strikes on Syria : Pentagon Briefing

U.S., British and French air and naval forces launched attacks against the Syrian government’s chemical weapon arsenal in retaliation for the use of such weapons on civilians, Defense Secretary James…

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The Guardian : Have we learned nothing from history?

Look at Syria, and you can see all the elements that have led to world wars - Simon Jenkins "What on earth are we doing? I have not heard a…

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Air Strikes on Syria : Photos of US, UK, and French military strikes

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Air Strikes on Syria : Russia’s reaction

Statement by the Ambassador of Russia to the USA Anatoly Antonov on the strikes on Syria and posted on Facebook: The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings have been left…

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Air Strikes on Syria : Theresa May’s Speech in Full

"This evening I have authorised British armed forces to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian Regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use. We are acting together…

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Air Strikes on Syria: Donald Trump’s Announcement in Full

"My fellow Americans, a short time ago I ordered the United States armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator of…

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