أخبار

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s decreed amnesty last month seems nothing more than a false promise of freedom, analysts say. On June 9th, after winning a controversial Presidential election held in only regime-controlled areas, Assad issued the amnesty which should have freed the near 100,000 prisoners human rights groups say have been detained since the rebellion against the Assad regime began …

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to ramp up the Israeli campaign against Hamas which has cost 43 Palestinian lives so far. Wednesday, the second day of “Operation Protective Edge”, saw the deaths of 21 Palestinians, including 15 women and children, caused by Israeli strikes, setting the overall death toll for the past two days at 43, emergency …

On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accused the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq of harboring militants, further increasing tensions despite a call for unity against the extremist offensive that started a month ago, overrunning five provinces to the west and north of Baghdad and displacing thousands. The ongoing offensive continues to heap pressure on Maliki as he prepares for …

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 20 members of extremist group Islamic State (IS) were killed in Wednesday by Syrian air force raids against the group’s bastion in the city of Raqa. Syrian rebels struck and killed 14 people in overnight strikes in the village ofKhatab in the province of Hama, the Observatory and state media said. “At …

On Wednesday, Egypt urged Hamas and Israel to stop their escalating conflict in Gaza. It did play down the idea that it would mediate a truce between the two parties. Egypt has been a signatory of a peace treaty with Israel since 1979, and has, in the past, played a crucial role in negotiating peace between Israel and Hamas. However, …

Elite government forces, supported by the Hezbollah converged in the city of Aleppo on Tuesday as rebels boosted their own forces in preparation for a major showdown, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The monitor’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said that it was likely that government forces will lay siege to rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo; rebels, fighting to depose …

On Tuesday, Turkey urged Israel to “immediately” stop its assault on the Gaza Strip, following its lethal air campaign on Gaza. “We are calling on Israel to immediately halt its attacks on Gaza”, the Turkish foreign ministry said in its statement. It also urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to get involved and warn Israel to relinquish its …

Afghani Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday claimed victory in Afghanistan’s disputed election, and said that election fraud is the reason why he was not leading the preliminary results on Monday, which poll rival Ashraf Ghani led. At a rally in Kabul comprising of thousands of supporters, Abdullah said that he would continue to fight for the Presidency, and called …

The Arab League on Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to talk about the lethal Israeli air campaign on the Gaza Strip, Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said. On Tuesday, 13 people were killed in several attacks in the most serious conflict between the two since November 2012. Earlier in the day, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas asked global leaders to …

Israeli warplanes on Tuesday pounded the Gaza Strip to take out Hamas’ rocket fire, killing 13 Palestinians and wounding at least another 90, as the two sides moved closer to another major conflict. The attack, the most serious outburst between the two since November 2012, comes as Israel tries to cope with the wave of violence in Arab Israeli towns …