Arab World News

Syrian Authorities Say Killed Assad-Era Officer After Clash

Arab World A member of Syria's internal security forces in Tartus city. (SANA)

Syrian Authorities Say Killed Assad-Era Officer After Clash

Syrian security forces said on Sunday that they killed an army commander who served under ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, after he opened fire on them as they…

Arab World The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)

Iraq Sentences US-Sanctioned Oil Official to Prison

Iraq sentenced a US-sanctioned oil official to seven years in prison after he was arrested as part of a government-led anti-corruption campaign, the country's…

Arab World  Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)

US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked an NBC crew in the central West Bank Saturday, as they were interviewing a Palestinian woman who said she’d been driven out of her…

Arab World People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)

Libya Rivals Agree Roadmap for Elections Within 24 Months at UN-Led Talks

Representatives of ‌Libya's rival political parties on Sunday signed an agreement on holding long-delayed national elections within two years to resolve…

Arab World Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event at which new weapons are distributed to Israel's police volunteer security teams in Ashkelon, Israel, October 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison Conditions for Palestinians

Israel's far-right national security minister on Sunday boasted of worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners as he visited female inmates. Two months…


Arab World A blacksmith attempts to operate a welding machine at his workshop in Omdurman, Sudan, August 20, 2026. (Reuters)

Extensive Power Cuts Hamper Life in Sudan

Sudanese welder Shannan Mohammed has been building furniture for a family in Omdurman little by little as constant blackouts interrupt his work. Pointing to…

Arab World President Joseph Aoun presiding over a ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of General Security (Lebanese Presidency)

US Ambassador: Hezbollah Ties to Iran Affect Lebanon and the Course of Talks

The stalled US-Iranian negotiations remain uncertain, and their direct or indirect impact on Lebanon continues to loom over efforts to achieve tangible results…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Massad Boulos, senior adviser to the US president for Arab and African affairs (AFP) 

Arms Embargo: Can Washington Breach the Wall of Sudan’s War?

The United States has stirred the stagnant waters of Sudan’s war by announcing plans to expand an arms embargo imposed on Darfur for more than two decades to…

Aidroos Abdulaziz (London)
Arab World The fourth Criminal Court of the transitional justice in Damascus sentences former regime informant Abdel Nasser Buraqi to death. (SANA)

Syria Sentences to Death Former Regime Informant as Moscow Says Took in Assad on Humanitarian Grounds

The fourth Criminal Court of the transitional justice in Damascus issued on Thursday a death sentence against former regime informant Abdel Nasser Buraqi after…

Asharq Al Awsat (London) Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)  

Reports Accuse Netanyahu of Holding Secret Talks with Hamas in 2014

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held direct contact and negotiations with Hamas behind the security establishment's back in 2014, reports in Tel Aviv…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
Arab World The shallow quake hit at 12:07 am local time. (Reuters)

Strong 6.0-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes in Gulf of Aden

A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Friday morning in the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported. …

Arab World Yemeni naval forces on patrol in the Red Sea. (AFP)

Yemen Navy Thwarts Houthi Attack in Red Sea

The Yemeni navy thwarted an attack by the Iran-backed Houthi group in the southern Red Sea, hours after busting an attempt to smuggle equipment believed to be…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi speaks during a news conference at the presidential palace in Damascus, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP)

Syria President Appoints Kurdish Leader Mazloum Abdi as His Adviser

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi as a presidential adviser, state media said on Friday, days after Abdi announced the…

Arab World Sinwar attends a public event in Gaza in 2021. (AP)

Israeli Military Says It Killed Sinwar's Bodyguard in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed one of late Hamas political chief Yahya al-Sinwar’s bodyguards in a strike in Khan Younis on Monday. It…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Baghdad on Aug. 19, 2026. (Iraqi government media)

Iraqi Govt to Asharq Al-Awsat: Al-Zaidi Will Not Resign, Arms Control Follows Legal Process

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is not considering resignation and will not do so, even as pressure mounts over armed factions, the government said on…

Ali Saray (London)
Arab World Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a news conference in Jerusalem, Israel, January 8, 2023. (Reuters)

Israeli Minister Sets Out Plan to ‘Judaize’ Arab Population Centers

Israel's far-right finance minister on Thursday laid out his party's plan to dramatically increase the number of Jews living in two areas of the country with…

Arab World  Palestinians walk past a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP)

Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials said. Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed one person…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Kurdish fighters gesture while carrying their parties' flags in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said/Files

Syria Kurdish Women Fighters Discuss Merger with Interior Ministry

The Syrian Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) said on Thursday it had discussed with the interior ministry integrating their fighters into the government's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli controlled explosion in the village of Kfartibnit on August 24, 2026. (Photo by AFP) /

Lebanon State Media Says Israeli Strike Kills Woman in South

Lebanon said Israeli airstrikes on the country's south on Thursday killed a woman, as Israel's military said it struck Hezbollah targets after the Iran-backed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World TOPSHOT - Two girls walk past the rubble of collapsed buildings in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 25, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)

Israel Army Prepares West Bank Troop Reinforcements ahead of Jewish Holidays

Israel's military chief on Thursday said he had ordered preparations for reinforcing troops in the occupied West Bank ahead of Jewish high holidays and as…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A displaced woman from Dalanj braids her grandmother's hair at a displacement registration center in El Obeid, North Kordofan State, Sudan, January 15, 2026. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Death Journey from Kordofan Ends in Hunger in Omdurman

A long journey marked by fear, hunger and thirst has been undertaken by large numbers of Sudanese families fleeing cities and towns in North Kordofan state,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Peace Council High Representative Nikolay Mladenov (Reuters)

Official Leading Trump's Gaza Ceasefire Effort Criticizes Israel for Its Attacks

The official in charge of President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza criticized Israel on Wednesday for its attacks on the war-battered Palestinian…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians look at a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel Considers Expelling British Officials from Post-war Gaza Headquarters, FT Reports

Israel is considering expelling British, and possibly other European officials, from the US-led coordination center for ‌post-war Gaza, ‌the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The League of Arab States logo

Arab League: Violations in Palestine Worsen Humanitarian Crisis, Undermine International Law

The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States expressed deep concern over continued Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. It…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Lebanese lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc. (AFP)

What Outcomes Will Hezbollah MP’s Visit to Tehran Have on Lebanon?

The importance of Lebanese lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah’s latest visit to Tehran lies not in the trip itself. Hezbollah’s alliance with Iran is public and well…

Caroline Akoum (Beirut)
Arab World PLC Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi chairs the council meeting attended by all its members and Prime Minister Shaya Zindani. (Saba)

Yemen’s PLC Urges Deterrent Measures against the Houthis

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has raised the level of military, security, and intelligence readiness to confront the Houthi escalation, stressing…

Arab World Every summer, northern Algeria is hit by forest fires, a phenomenon exacerbated by drought and climate change. (Reuters file)

Families Evacuated as Algeria Wildfires Threaten Residential Areas

Algerian civil protection authorities said Wednesday that they had evacuated several families in the country's northeastern province of Jijel as wildfires…

Arab World Kurdish fighters from the Qamishli Brigade, part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) participate in a military parade in Qamishli on August 21, 2026, during the funeral ceremony for three Kurdish fighters killed in previous battles in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in the north of Syria. (AFP)

Türkiye Says Dissolution of Kurdish-Led SDF Crucial for Syrian Stability

Türkiye on Wednesday said the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) marked a key step towards strengthening state authority and…

Arab World  Palestinians walk past a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP)

‘Point of No Return’ if Israel-Hamas Truce Fails, Warns US Envoy to Gaza Board

The high representative for Gaza in US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace warned Wednesday of a "point of no return" if the Israel-Hamas ceasefire breaks…