Middle East News

Syrian rebels released a group of about a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns who had been held since December, Lebanon's official news agency reported Monday.

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A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews is staging a mass prayer in New York City to protest Israel's proposal to draft strictly religious citizens into its army.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby has urged Arab countries to take a "firm stand" against Israel's demand that the Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state, calling it a deviation from an agreed-upon framework for peace talks.

Activists say a group of some 50 Israeli youths have sent Israel's prime minister a petition refusing to enlist for compulsory military service to protest Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, the largest such group of objectors since 2001.

The United Arab Emirates has thrown its support behind neighboring Saudi Arabia's decision to label the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, deepening Gulf Arab pressure on the group.

GAZA CITY: Fatah activists say troops from the rival Palestinian movement Hamas broke up a Fatah gathering in the Gaza Strip, beating participants.

A Sunni Lebanese militant group linked to al Qaeda has apologized for the civilian casualties of a suicide bombing last month and said its fight was against Iran and its ally Hezbollah, not Shi'ites in general, Reuters reported.

EILAT, Israel: A ship seized by the Israeli navy on suspicion of smuggling arms from Iran to the Gaza Strip docked on Saturday in Israel, which planned to put the cargo on display in hope of denting Tehran's rapprochement with the West.

This photo provided by an anti-Bashar Assad activist group Edlib News Network , which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show anti-Syrian government protesters hold a placard resembling U.S. President Barack Obama during a demonstration, at Kafr Nabil town, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Friday, March 7, 2014.

In this Tuesday, March 4, 2014 photo, Nada Sabbagh weeps in front of a picture of her daughter, Manal Assi, who was killed last month, as she recounts during an interview with The Associated Press how her son-in-law killed Manal in front of family members, south of Beirut, Lebanon.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press Four years after the tea party rocked the political world by ousting several prominent Republicans in Congress, the ultra-conservative movement finds itself... By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press Four years after the tea party rocked the political world by ousting several prominent Republicans in Congress, the ... (more)

A militant group has issued an unusual apology for a twin suicide bombing in Beirut that killed four people and wounded dozens, including children from a nearby orphanage.

Jack Angelides was about to board a flight out of Israel's international airport when he was given a curious choice that baffles him to this day.

The U.S. Navy had secret orders this week to be "prepared to act" to stop a cargo ship carrying Iranian arms destined for Gaza, CNN has learned.

The face of jailed Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan briefly beamed down from billboards in southeast Turkey until police tore down the posters, a mark of official unease over his enduring influence among Kurds as local elections loom.

Airport officials in Egypt say women activists who held a sit-in at Cairo's international airport over not being allowed to travel to the Gaza Strip have left the country.

A new course is being plotted for a lengthy natural gas line here after archaeologists unearthed a 2,300-year old village.

In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014 file photo, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry before their meeting in Rawdat Khurayim, a secluded royal hunting retreat in Saudi Arabia.

Kerry is hoping to broker a peace plan between Israel and Palestine authorities, and wants to present a framework for an agreement by the end of April.