There are 17996 articles

  • Saudis lead Middle East military spending

    Middle Eastern nations increased their military expenditure by billions of dollars last year, with Saudi Arabia's budget now the fourth largest in the world, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The Kingdom spent $67bn last year, a 14 percent increase on 2012, meaning it leapfrogged the UK, Japan and France.. More

  • Syrian jets hit opposition bastions near Damascus

    Syrian jet fighters are reported to have launched a fierce offensive against a string of opposition strongholds, including Kafr Zita, a village north of Damascus that was recently hit by an alleged poisonous gas attack. Other towns on the edges of the capital, including Eastern Ghouta area, were also hit by the bombardment, the Syrian Observatory for.. More

  • Ukraine to use troops against armed rebels

    Ukraine's acting president has said his government will launch a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation" involving the country's army against pro-Moscow separatists, claiming Russia was waging a war against Ukraine. Oleksander Turchinov said on Sunday in a televised address to the nation that he offered not to prosecute any armed rebels who.. More

  • Police buildings seized in Ukraine

    A group of pro-Russian men armed with automatic weapons have taken control of the police headquarters in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, 150 km from the Russian border, local officials and witnesses said. An organized military unit of over 20 men wearing matching military fatigues and carrying automatic weapon took over the building around 1700 GMT.. More

  • Syria opposition forces advance in Aleppo city

    Syrian opposition forces have advanced in Aleppo, killing scores of troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Al Jazeera's reporter in the northern city said. Opposition fighters stormed the Ramouseh district in an attempt to cut the regime's supply route between the city's international airport and a large army base, the reporter said on Saturday. The.. More

  • UN accepts Palestinian treaty applications

    The United Nations has accepted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request to join several UN agencies. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted the applications to join 13 international conventions, and informed all 193 member states they were made in "in due and proper form." UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that.. More

  • Scores killed in clashes in Iraq's Ramadi

    At least 50 members of the Iraqi armed forces and seven fighters have been killed in clashes in the city of Ramadi, Al Jazeera’s reporter says, while two deadly car bombs have hit the capital Baghdad. Fighting between the army and tribal fighters erupted on Thursday and continued until the early hours of Friday morning near a government complex.. More

  • 'Muslim Brotherhood' members killed in Egypt

    Two members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been killed in by Egyptian security forces in the Nile Delta, and the group said another of its supporters was shot dead in Alexandria. The Brotherhood had no immediate comment on the incident. The death in Alexandria was confirmed by senior ambulance service official Omar Nasr, according to the Reuters news.. More

  • Relief supplies reach Syria's Aleppo

    Relief supplies have been allowed into a besieged part of the Syrian city of Aleppo after a pact between the opposition and the regime allowed the UN refugee agency and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) into the area. The supplies were delivered earlier this week, according to the Reuters news agency. Two trucks packed with blankets, plastic sheeting,.. More

  • Separatists remain defiant in Ukraine's east

    Pro-Russian separatists have retained control of key government buildings in eastern Ukraine, despite a vow by the country's prime minister to cede more power to the region amid rising tensions between Russia and the international community. The armed occupiers, who demand greater autonomy, remained in control of the occupied buildings in the cities.. More

  • First EU troops arrive in Central Africa

    The first EU troops have arrived in Bangui, capital of the strife-torn Central African Republic, a spokesman for the French army told AFP news agency. Francois Guillermet said 55 soldiers from the European Union Force (EUFOR) were conducting their first patrols in the city on Wednesday, with the aim of "maintaining security and training local.. More

  • UN accused of 'shameful attitude' in S Sudan

    A leading international aid agency has issued a stinging attack on the United Nations mission in South Sudan, accusing it of a "shameful attitude" and leaving thousands of displaced people living in squalor. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) said on Wednesday that UN officials had left terrified civilians sheltering.. More

  • Ukraine warns pro-Russian separatists

    Ukrainian authorities have warned they are prepared to use force to clear several government buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. Wednesday's warning came as protesters continued to occupy the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service in the eastern city of Luhansk. Hundreds of supporters camped outside and shouting.. More

  • Arab League pledges $100m to Palestinians

    Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have renewed their commitment to give $100m in monthly aid to the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The ministers also urged Arab governments falling behind on payments to the Palestinians to swiftly come up with the money, according to the Associated Press news agency. The pledge, made on Wednesday.. More

  • Fund crunch forces UN to cut Syria food aid

    The United Nations has been forced to cut the size of food parcels for those left hungry by Syria's war by a fifth because of a shortage of funds from donors, a senior official has said. Nevertheless, the United Nations' World Food Program managed to get food to a record 4.1m people inside Syria last month, just short of its target of 4.2m, WFP deputy.. More