الشرق الأوسط

On Monday, Syrian President Bashar Assad announced “general amnesty” for all “crimes” committed to a date, state television said. The amnesty decree, announced only a week after the controversial election he won amid raging conflict across the country, for the first time extends amnesty to those accused to be terrorists under the controversial July 2012 anti-terrorism law. The Syrian government …

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry, during his unannounced visit to Lebanon, dismissed the Syrian elections as “a great big zero”. The “elections are non-elections, the elections are a great big zero”, he told reporters in Beirut. He also defended the Washington’s decision to work with the newly-formed Palestinian unity government, saying that it did not include any …

Palestinians on Thursday said that they would appeal to the UN regarding Israeli plans to build 1,500 new settler homes. Israel had announced their plans as a response to the newly formed unity government in Hamas. The government of technocrats has been recognized by both the US and the EU, but Israel has promised to boycott what it calls a …

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres will plant an olive tree symbolizing peace after their unparalleled meeting with the Pope on Sunday in the Vatican Gardens, amidst high tensions between Palestinians and Israelis. The Vatican on Friday said that it hoped the initiative launched by Pope Francis, which will include Muslim, Jewish and Christian music and prayers, …

Twin suicide bombs targeting the Shabak minority and clashes between militants and security forces in the northern province of Nineveh in Iraq on Friday left 33 people dead, officials said. Mosul, Ninevah’s provincial capital, is one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, with militant groups involved in near-daily attacks. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in vehicles in Al-Muwaffaqiyah, …

On Thursday, militants launched an offensive on the Iraqi city Samarra, killing six people, in the latest display of aggression and weakness of the security forces. The militants were travelling in several dozens of vehicles, some of them equipped with anti-aircraft guns. They attacked a major checkpoint to the southeast of Samarra, killing security forces guarding the border and burning …

Several Israeli ministers lashed out at the US government on Tuesday for its decision to work with the newly formed Palestinian Unity government backed by Hamas. Gilad Erdan, the Israeli Communications Minister and a security cabinet member, said, “Unfortunately, American naiveté has broken all records. Any collaboration with Hamas which kills women and children is unacceptable”. He added that Israel …

Iranian authorities on Tuesday warned of a second sandstorm which could hit Tehran after five people were killed in the city by freak weather only a day prior. Record winds and a huge sandstorm on Monday had plunged Tehran into darkness for about fifteen minutes during rush hour, and had forced several thousands to run for cover. On Tuesday, the …

Rocket fire from Syria and Gaza early on Monday struck Israel in separate incidents, and has prompted the Israeli military to strike back. The events occurred just hours before the new Palestinian unity government took office in Ramallah. A few hours earlier, tensions spiked as the newly Palestinian government was formally unveiled at a ceremony at the Muqataa headquarters in …

10 people were killed by a truck bomb attack in a regime-controlled village in Homs on Monday, state television reported. “The terrorist explosion in Haraqi village in Homs province was caused by a tanker truck bomb. The initial toll says 10 people were killed, and major damage was caused to houses”, state television said. The attack is especially worrisome as …