The Middle East
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Clashes erupt as Turkey allows thousands of migrants to head for Greece
Thousands of migrants have gathered at Turkey's border with Greece, after the Turkish government last week allowed their passage to Europe, saying it had...
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Turkey says will not stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe
Turkey is "no longer able to hold refugees" following a Syrian attack in Idlib, a spokesman for president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party,...
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Syrian airstrikes kill dozens of Turkish soldiers in Idlib
33 Turkish soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province, in the bloody battle for control of the...
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Haftar sued in US for torture and killings in Libya
Two Libyan families have filed a US civil lawsuit against commander Khalifa Haftar and his sons for torturing and killing their relatives. The lawsuit relies...
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Iranian Vice President infected with Coronavirus
Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar is the latest Iranian official infected with Coronavirus, according to the state-run IRNA.
Ebtekar, also...
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Countries sending arms to Libya to face consequences, Germany warns
German foreign minister Heiko Maas threatened the countries that continue delivering weapons and sending troops and mercenaries to Libya, despite the arms embargo. Ahead...
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Russia rejects idea of truce with Syria’s rebels
Russia announced on Tuesday it would never agree to a ceasefire with the rebels in Syria's Idlib region. The announcement comes as the Syrian...
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Aid groups to suspend support for Houthi areas in Yemen
Aid groups and donors are to suspend humanitarian aid to areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis if they do not stop obstructing the...
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Lawmaker from Iranian city of Qom alleges coronavirus coverup
Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a lawmaker from Iran's city of Qom, has accused the government of covering up the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak...
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Coronavirus fears lead to volatility, economic slowdown, oil price drop
Investor fears that the spread of the coronavirus in countries outside China, including Iran, Italy and South Korea, may slow world demand led to...
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Iran's Deputy Health Minister tested positive for Coronavirus
Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi was tested positive for Coronavirus and is kept under quarantine, a Health Ministry spokesperson has confirmed.
The test results...
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Libya rival factions pull out of peace talks
The United Nations-sponsored peace talks aimed at bringing an end to more than 10 months of fighting in Libya have collapsed, as the two...
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Iran announces record low turnout in parliamentary election
Iran's interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has announced that the voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections was about 42%, the lowest since the...
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Erdogan confirms presence of Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Libya
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday confirmed for the first time that pro-Turkish Syrian fighters are in Libya alongside training teams dispatched by...
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Al Qaeda confirms death of top commander, appoints successor
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed the death of its leader, Qassim al-Rimi. Earlier this month, US president Donald Trump said that...
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Iran announces 50 dead from coronavirus in city of Qom
50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, local media reported on Monday.
Just a few hours...
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International fears grow with rise of coronavirus deaths outside China
New cases and fatalities from the new coronavirus outbreak outside China have seen a major spike, days after the World Health Organization has warned...
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Libya's rival factions resume talks in Geneva
Libya's rival factions resumed talks in Geneva on Thursday. The peace talks are aimed at brokering a lasting ceasefire in the war-torn country.
"The talks...
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Iran votes to elect new parliament amid economic crisis
Iranians voted today in the country’s 11th parliamentary election which conservatives are expected to dominate. Iranians headed to polls amid public anger against moderate...
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Commissioner urges Italy to suspend cooperation activities with Libyan Coast Guard
The Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović in a letter sent to Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio has urged the country's government to suspend...
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Clashes in Syria escalate as Turkey-backed forces launch assault in Idlib
At least two Turkish soldiers were killed and another five wounded in Syrian government air raids on Thursday near Idlib. Turkish officials said that...
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Erdogan warns EU against ‘interference’ on Libya
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the European Union's decision to launch a maritime effort focused on enforcing the UN arms embargo around Libya.
Erdogan...
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German citizen freed in Iran prisoner swap
Iran's judiciary said the country has released a German national sentenced to three years in jailfor taking photos in sensitive areas.
The man was freed...
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Libya’s government suspends peace talks after Haftar port attack
Libya’s UN-backed government, the GNA, has suspended peace talks in Geneva, following an attack on a strategic port in Tripoli on Tuesday.
"We announce suspending...
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Assad predicts final victory after gains in northern Syria
Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad congratulated his forces Monday for recent gains in northwestern Syria that led to his troops consolidating control over Aleppo province.
In...
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EU adds eight businessmen and two companies to Syria sanctions list
European Ministers added on Monday 8 Syrian individuals and 2 companies to the Syria sanctions list, whose activities directly benefited the President's Bashar al-Assad's regime,...
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Top officials reaffirm commitment to uphold Libya arms embargo
Top officials from about a dozen countries discussed the Libya crisis at the Munich Security Conference. They reaffirmed a commitment to respect an arms...
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Turkey, Russia to hold talks as Syrian forces seize most of Aleppo province
Syrian government forces made major advances yesterday in the country’s northwestern Aleppo province, seizing most of the rebel-held region, state media said.
The advancement comes...
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US Senate votes to limit Trump’s war powers on Iran
The US Senate voted on Thursday to restrain president Donald Trump from attacking Iran, rejecting his foreign policy.
Eight Republican senators joined Democrats in the...
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US Navy seizes Iranian-made weapons in Arabian Sea raid
US troops seized Iranian-manufactured weapons from a sailboat in the Arabian Sea.The US Central Command said the shipment was likely headed to Yemen, and...
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Yemen is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, Commissioner for Crisis Management Lenarčič says
"Yemen is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis," declared Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, on Wednesday, prior to a Senior Officials Meeting on the...
Afghanistan
Top politicians gather in Munich for security summit
Heads of state and government, security leaders and diplomats gathered for the 56th annual Munich Security Conference, which runs from 14-16 February. This year’s...
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OPEC says coronavirus outbreak to reduce world oil demand
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has cut its forecast for global growth in oil demand this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In...
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NATO to expand training mission in Iraq
NATO agreed to expand the Western alliance’s training mission in Iraq. The move comes amid United States' calls do more in the Middle East.
Last...
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US, UK, Turkey asked to arrest UAE 'war crimes' suspects
The United Kingdom, Turkey and the United States have been asked to open investigations into alleged war crimes by the United Arab Emirates in...
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Deadly clashes in Syria as Turkey-Russia talks end without agreement
Talks in Ankara between Turkey and Russia ended without agreement on stopping clashes in Syria.
According to Turkey’s defense ministry, five Turkish soldiers were killed...
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Egypt arrests human rights advocate who ctiticised government
An Egyptian researcher and activist has been arrested at Cairo's international airport upon his arrival from Italy.
27-year-old Patrick George Zaki had been in Bologna...
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Kazakhstan mulls OPEC+ proposal to cut oil production
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan is considering a proposal by the technical committee of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers...
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Iran satellite launch fails to reach orbit, causes massive explosion
Iran's space program suffered a setback, when the nation launched a communications satellite called Zafar 1 atop a Simorgh rocket at Imam Khomeini Space...
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Syrian army intensifies attacks in Idlib despite Turkish warnings
Five Turkish soldiers have been killed in an attack carried out on a military base in Idlib province by Syrian government forces.
The Turkish military...
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Libya talks in Geneva end with no end in sight to fighting
Military officers from Libya’s UN-backed government, GNA, and representatives of the rival militia of warlord Khalifa Haftar, LNA, began meeting last week in Geneva...
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White House confirms that Yemen al-Qaeda leader was killed in earlier drone strike
US president Donald Trump said that US forces have killed Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in an operation...
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Progress made in talks between Libya rivals, says UN envoy
Ghassan Salame, the United Nations' special envoy for Libya has reported "progress" in Geneva talks between military representatives of the country's rival parties.
Military officers...
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Syrian government forces nearly shoot down passenger plane, Russia blames Israel
Russia on Friday said its ally Syria nearly shot down a civilian plane on Friday while trying to repel an Israeli airstrike near Syria’s...
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EU calls for end to bombings against civilians in Syria
The European Union called on Thursday for an end to the "extraordinary human suffering" of the civilian population in Syria, amid a renewed offensive...
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Erdogan warns Syrian forces to pull back from Idlib posts
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian government forces in Idlib to pull back behind a line of Turkish observation posts by the end...
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UN chief warns of growing instability in the Middle East
The United Nations’ chief António Guterres said that the flow of weapons to war zones in Libya, Syria and Yemen, as well as the...
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Libya military rivals hold UN-sponsored talks
After almost a year of fighting, Libya’s two rival governments began talks aimed at securing a ceasefire.
Military officers from Libya’s UN-backed government, GNA, and...
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Coronavirus hits oil too, worries plunge prices
Oil prices fell more than 2% on 3 February, as traders were concerned over demand in China following the deadly coronavirus breakout but prices...
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EU's top diplomat in Iran to de-escalate tensions
Josep Borrell, EU's top diplomat visited Iran's capital Tehran on Monday with the aim of conveying the EU’s strong commitment to preserve the nuclear deal.
Borrell’s mission...
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