Trump presses Syria leader on Israel after lifting sanctions
US President Donald Trump landed in Doha Wednesday after visiting Riyadh, where he urged Syria's president to normalise with Israel...Geostrategy
Trump heads to the Gulf eyeing deals amid diplomatic offensive
In the days before the trip, the White House has played an instrumental part in hammering out a ceasefire between...Geostrategy
Iraqi lawmakers shy away from electing new president
Iraqi lawmakers failed again on Saturday to elect a new president for the country due to a lack of quorum...Parliament had issued a final list of 40 candidates for the post, a largely ceremonial role that by convention is reserved for a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority
The postponement exacerbates Iraq's political problems because it is the task of the president to formally name a prime minister
Houthis proposed ceasefire and talks, says Saudi official
Yemen's Houthi rebels have proposed a ceasefire and peace talks to end the country's crippling war in return for opening...The comments come a day after a wave of drone-and-missile attacks against Saudi targets including an oil facility in Jeddah
No immediate comment was available from the Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, ousting the government and sparking a devastating war
Palestinians turn out to vote in West Bank municipal polls
Polls opened Saturday in towns and cities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a rare democratic exercise following a decade...It is the second phase of municipal elections after a first round of voting in December in 154 West Bank villages
No legislative or presidential elections have been held in the Palestinian territories for 15 years, following repeated delays
Israel to host ‘historic summit’ of US, Arab diplomats
A series of meetings would be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from the UAE,...A series of meetings would be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco
It also follows a three-way summit hosted by Egypt on Tuesday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh
Qatar takes up mediation role in Chad talks to unblock fledgling process
"Chadian parties have officially requested to Qatar to mediate in the peace negotiations," Qatar government’s special envoy for mediation said."Chadian parties have officially requested to Qatar to mediate in the peace negotiations," Qatar government’s special envoy for mediation said
Representatives of the government and more than 40 rebel and political opponents have been in Qatar for more than two weeks trying to launch negotiations
Yemen rebels attack oil facilities near Saudi F1 track
Friday's attacks targeted ‘Aramco facilities in Jeddah and vital facilities in the capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh’, tweeted Houthi...The Houthi rebels of Yemen have frequently launched similar assaults on Saudi oil facilities
However, the Jeddah attack came as a worldwide audience tuned in for the F1 Grand Prix
Iraq once more into presidential vote unknown
Saturday's session risks underscoring the sharp divide in Iraqi politics between Sadr and the powerful Coordination Framework that includes the...Iraqi Parliament has to choose between Barham Saleh from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Rebar Ahmed of the Kurdistan Democratic Party for the new president
Sadr, the general election's big winner wants to make his cousin Jaafar Sadr the Prime Minister of Iraq with the support of Sunni and Kurdish parties
Ship rescues 128 migrants, finds two dead In Mediterranean
Migrants from African countries ravaged by war and poverty, make desperate bids to reach Europe through Mediterranean sea which is...SOS Mediterranean tweeted that Ocean Vikings have rescued 128 men, women and children in a five-hour operation
According to International Organization for Migration, around 23,500 migrants lost their lives in Mediterranean since 2014
Jordon King hosts UAE, Egypt, Iraq leaders
Analysts have said that "most" of the parties to Friday's meeting in Jordan are "historic allies and friends of Washington...King Abdullah II met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Mustafa al-Kadhemi to discuss recent international and regional developments
Israel will host a 'historic summit' from Sunday with diplomats from the US and three Arab states that are part of the Abraham Accords
Israel sends first official military delegation to Morocco
An Israeli army delegation met with Moroccan officers in Rabat this week in the first visit of its kind since..."A meeting took place at General Staff headquarters to develop cooperation between the two countries," a Moroccan Royal Armed Forces source told AFP
"The commanders expressed a mutual desire to promote extensive military cooperation," the Israeli army said
