Turkey’s ruling AK party seeks coalition partners
One month after the June 7 elections in Turkey, a government is yet to be formed. The Justice and Development party (AK), which lost its single majority in parliament for the first time since it took power in 2002, has been engaged in lengthy talks on coalition options. On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave […]
Angered Palestinian families – ‘My son was executed by the police’
Fifteen years after Israeli police shot her 19-year-old son Ahmed in the eye, killing him instantly, Hadiya Jabareen has yet to lay his ghost to rest. Instead, the mother of six has watched Bentzi Sau, the commander who oversaw the police operation in which Ahmed and 12 other demonstrators died, rise rapidly through the ranks. […]
Opinion: Dismantling ISIL’s propaganda machine
The killing of some 25 Syrian soldiers in the amphitheatre in Palmyra last weekend was the latest example of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) production of high quality media products that focus on the “theatre of death”. The executions are part of a slick and professional propaganda campaign that has regularly […]
US-led warplanes are pummeling the de facto ISIS capital like never before
The US-led coalition battling the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has dramatically intensified its air war against the militant group with strikes pummeling the group’s de-facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. Since Wednesday, the coalition has conducted aerial strikes against more than 70 ISIS targets. One airstrike was responsible for bombing 20 ISIS […]
Yemen-UN ceasefire broken soon after being imposed
A new UN-brokered humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen has been broken shortly after coming into force. Residents say the Saudi-led coalition carried out air strikes in the capital Sanaa. Clashes have also been reported in the south-western city of Taiz. The UN had earlier urged all sides to observe the six-day truce which started at midnight […]
Free to pray – but don’t try to convert anyone
There is little outward sign of any religion other than Islam in Dubai, but the city is quietly tolerant of other faiths. Rulers have ensured people with different beliefs have a place to worship. Father Matthew, robed in a white and gold chasuble, turned to face his 60-strong congregation. Middle-class fathers in plaid shirts, older […]
Jewish suspects arrested over Israel ‘miracle church’ arson
Israeli police say they have arrested several Jewish suspects over an arson attack last month at a shrine where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of loaves and fishes. The arson had sparked widespread condemnation and concern from Christians globally, with the site visited by about 5,000 people each day. “Several Jewish suspects have been […]
Syrian children paint life in Saddam’s Kurdistan prison
In a dimly lit room with high ceilings and no furniture, the brightly coloured paints, spattered onto Soleen Smael’s T-shirt and jeans, look out of place. She is describing the murals that she and other children have painted onto the walls of the refugee camp they live in since they fled Syria with their families […]
Pictures show the massacre of 770 Iraq soildiers by ISIS: WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
Gruesome: Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers were rounded up by ISIS militants in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit in June 2014 (pictured), before they were shot dead in bloody mass executions The bloody aftermath of Islamic State’s mass execution of 770 Iraqi soldiers in Tikrit last year was so vast, it could be seen from space.It […]
World’s least peaceful nations – top 6 all in Middle East region
If the world seems a more violent place to you than it was five years ago, you may be right. In a new report, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) wrote that global peace has declined 5 percent since 2008, mostly because of the growing number and intensity of internal conflicts around the world […]
