A female Muslim lawmaker from Israel’s Arab minority is set to become the first in parliament to wear a hijab, or headscarf, after Arab parties won their largest ever showing in last week’s election...More
Saudi authorities have detained three princes including King Salman's brother and nephew on charges of plotting a coup, the U.S. media reported on Friday, signalling a further consolidation of power...More
Police on Thursday transferred an Egyptian rights activist who was arrested after returning to Cairo from Italy last month to a notorious prison complex, his lawyer said. Patrick George Zaky, 28, a...More
Indian authorities on Wednesday temporarily revoked a ban on social media sites and restored full Internet access in disputed Kashmir for two weeks, seven months after they stripped the restive...More
Sharjeel Imam was a little-known research scholar and a student activist until Indian police launched a manhunt across five states to nab him for a protest speech he gave calling for a month-long...More
A plan by rights organisations to stage all-female walks in Pakistan has triggered backlash from right-wing groups who demanded that the groups halt the "obscene" event. The Aurat March, organised to...More
Nearly 90 percent of the world's population – of every gender – holds some prejudice against women, according to a UN study published on Thursday, ahead of International Women's Day. The percentage...More
Saudi Arabia on Thursday emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilisation over fears of the new coronavirus, an unprecedented shutdown state media said will last while the year-round umrah pilgrimage...More
Syria's war-ravaged northwest woke up to relative calm Friday, its skies free of warplanes for the first day in months, following a Russian -Turkish ceasefire deal. The Syrian Observatory for Human...More
Greece countered accusations from Turkey on Wednesday that it was responsible for the death of a migrant, as its border authorities strove for a sixth day to keep thousands of migrants out by using...More
Thousands of protesters gathered in Berlin on Tuesday in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's official residence to demand the opening of the border between Turkey and the European Union. At...More
EU chiefs on Tuesday pledged millions of euros of financial assistance to Greece to help tackle the migration surge from neighbouring Turkey, warning against those wishing to "test Europe's unity"...More
Greek authorities were firing tear gas and stun grenades on Wednesday morning to repulse a push by migrants to cross its land border from Turkey, as pressure continued along its frontier, after...More
Relief operations to meet the needs of nearly 1 million people who fled recent fighting in northwest Syria's Idlib have been overwhelmed, the U.N. aid chief said on Tuesday as the United States and...More
The coronavirus has sparked intense debate in Iran between ultra-conservative Shia clerics and the government on how to most effectively tackle the deadliest outbreak of the disease outside China...More
Like millions of other Indonesians, Gandi Iswara had for years carried a wad of currency notes for dropping into donation boxes after prayers at mosques in suburban Jakarta. From late last year,...More
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged victorious Tuesday after Israel's third election in a year despite a looming corruption trial, dismaying the Palestinians who were angered by his hardline...More
The Taliban will not take part in intra-Afghan talks until 5,000 of their prisoners are released in accordance with a deal struck with Washington, a spokesman said on Monday, with the militants also...More
Indonesian police seized over half a million face masks from a Jakarta-area warehouse after the country's first confirmed cases of coronavirus sparked panic buying and sent prices for prevention...More
Iran's supreme leader put the Islamic Republic on war footing on Tuesday against the new coronavirus by ordering its armed forces to assist health officials in combatting the outbreak, which...More
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday that a seven-day partial truce would continue, but he rejected a key component of a new U.S.- Taliban deal that calls for the release of thousands of...More
Greece has blocked nearly 10,000 migrants trying to enter from the Turkish border over the past 24 hours, a Greek government source said on Sunday. A massive influx of people swelled along the border...More
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz were wrapping up another bitter election campaign on Sunday, a day before voters were to cast their ballots for the third time in...More
Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on Sunday and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of...More
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the post on Sunday, accusing political parties of obstructing him, deepening a domestic crisis and threatening an...More
Afghanistan was at a critical crossroads around a quarter of a century ago after years of war, infighting and bloodshed. The chieftains of the country's warring factions had agreed on a power-sharing...More
Ambassadors from the NATO military alliance were to hold emergency talks on Friday at the request of Turkey following the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in northeast Syria. NATO Secretary-General...More
Indian police have arrested 514 people for deadly Hindu-Muslim violence that broke out in the capital, the government said, as it faced mounting international criticism for failing to protect...More
Turkey will no longer close its border gates to refugees who want to go to Europe, a senior official told journalists on Friday, shortly after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike in...More
Turkey will no longer close its border gates to refugees who want to go to Europe, a senior official told journalists on Friday, shortly after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike in...More
The Turkish army retaliated with artillery fire at Syrian government targets in Syria after an airstrike killed at least 33 Turkish soldiers in the northwestern Idlib province, Turkish officials said...More
Washington and the Taliban are set to sign a deal on Saturday to secure America's exit from its longest war through gradually withdrawing troops and starting talks between Kabul and the insurgents...More
A Bangladeshi court has ordered a ban on the publication, sale, distribution and marketing of two works of fiction because they hurt the religious sentiment of the Muslims. A two-judge panel of the...More
Dead palm trees lie on dry, yellowish earth near an abandoned adobe house in Morocco's arid southeast, as drought threatens ancient oases. "I grew up in this oasis and I have seen it shrink," says 53...More
Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an air strike in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, the defence ministry said on Thursday. Turkey , which supports several rebel...More
Foreign ministers from 14 European countries, including France and Germany, demanded on Wednesday that Syrian government forces and their Russian backers end their offensive in Idlib province and...More
Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended visas for visits to Islam's holiest sites for the "umrah" pilgrimage, an unprecedented move triggered by coronavirus fears that raises questions over the hajj ,...More
Tunisia's new government won a confidence vote in parliament on Thursday, after more than four months of political wrangling since elections. Former finance minister Elyes Fakhfakh was named prime...More
Sporadic violence hit parts of Delhi overnight as gangs roamed streets littered with the debris of days of sectarian riots that have killed 32 people, police said on Thursday. Thousands of riot...More
Egypt held a military funeral in Cairo on Wednesday to bury its former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years until he was ousted in a 2011 popular uprising against corruption. Horses drew...More
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Wednesday after days of clashes between Hindus and minority Muslims over a controversial citizenship law in some of the worst sectarian...More
The new coronavirus epidemic swelled on Wednesday with cases in South Korea surging past 1,000, after deaths soared in Iran and infections appeared in previously untouched countries, prompting dire...More
Middle East leaders have paid tribute to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, hailing his record as a man who brought stability to Egypt and acted as a regional mediator, most notably in the...More
Iran's deputy health minister confirmed on Tuesday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus, amid a major outbreak in the Islamic republic. Iraj Harirchi coughed occasionally and wiped...More
Iran’s confirmed death toll from the new coronavirus rose to eight on Sunday, the highest outside China, sending neighbouring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak. Four immediate neighbours...More
Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after a 2010 conviction of blasphemy, said Monday that she was seeking political asylum from the French government. “My great...More
A car rammed into crowds at a German Carnival parade in the town of Volkmarsen on Monday leaving 30 people injured, about a third of them children. Two people have been detained, including the...More
As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime presses ahead with a relentless campaign, his counterpart across the border in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is battling to avoid being the big loser in...More
Turkish-backed rebels on Monday took control of a strategic town south-east of Idlib in north-west Syria following heavy battles with Syrian government forces, a monitoring group said. The Britain-...More
An Egyptian court overturned on Thursday a decision to release a prominent activist who has been detained for nearly five months without trial, over what his family says are unjust charges. Alaa...More
An estimated 170,000 of the 900,000 civilians forced from their homes in a massive wave of displacement in northwestern Syria are living out in the open, the UN said on Thursday. The largest...More
A judge in Pakistan on Thursday ordered a fresh probe into what he called "dubious evidence" that was used to sentence a Christian couple to death on blasphemy charges, a defence lawyer said. Shafqat...More
Countries such as Kuwait and Israel have instituted virtual lockdowns in the face of COVID-19, while religious gatherings have been limited at a time of year ripe with ritual. Others have been slower to act. By Tom Allinson
