Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday pledged to build 3,500 new settler homes in a super-sensitive area of the occupied West Bank, just a week before a tight general election.

Calm returned yesterday after a two-day flare-up in and around Gaza as a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad appeared to take hold after initial jitters.

Saudi officials have ordered the arrest of a female rapper who appeared in a music video for her song Bint Makkah, or Girl from Makkah, stating that it is offensive to the customs and traditions of the holy city.

Saudi officials have ordered the arrest of a female rapper who appeared in a music video for her song Bint Makkah, or Girl from Makkah, stating that it is offensive to the customs and traditions of the holy city.

Iran's deputy health minister confirms that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus, amid a major outbreak in the Islamic republic.

Iran’s conservatives claimed victory Sunday in a general election marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid public anger against the government, an economic downturn and the disqualification of half the candidates.

Israeli air strikes targeting the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip and Syria killed at least six fighters, a war monitor said yesterday, after the jihadists fired a barrage of rockets at Israel.

Iran orders the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres after a coronavirus outbreak that has killed five people in the Islamic republic -- the most outside the Far East.

The coronavirus has spread to several Iranian cities, a health ministry official says, as an outbreak that the authorities say began in the holy city of Qom caused two more deaths.

Turkey said Thursday it wanted no “face off” with Russia over its Syrian ally’s months-long offensive against Turkish-backed rebels in northwest Syria.

Iran went to the polls yesterday for a general election that conservatives are expected to dominate amid voter apathy after an economic slump, multiple crises and the disqualification of thousands of candidates.

Iranians vote in a parliamentary election likely to help hardline loyalists of the supreme leader cement their grip on power amid intensifying US pressure over Iran’s nuclear programme and simmering discontent over economic privations.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement accuses the Saudi-led coalition of carrying out retaliatory air strikes that killed at least 30 people including civilians, in the latest flare-up of a five-year war.

Israeli strikes on Damascus airport killed seven fighters, a war monitor said yesterday, the latest in a string of attacks targeting Iran’s military presence in Syria.

The Philippines yesterday lifted a coronavirus travel ban on Taiwan after Taipei threatened retaliation.

A Turkish court yesterday acquitted renowned novelist Asli Erdogan on charges of membership of an armed terror organisation.

Indonesia wasn’t feeling the love for Valentine’s Day on Friday as authorities arrested couples in one city, scolded stores over condom displays and warned students they would be reprimanded for amorous activities.

Afghan government forces and Taliban insurgents waged war against each other in the past 24 hours despite US officials saying there had been a breakthrough in recent days in peace talks to end the 18-year-old conflict.

Global spending on defence rose by four percent in 2019, the largest growth in 10 years, led by big increases in the US and China, a study said yesterday.

Tensions escalated yesterday between Syria’s regime and rebel-backer Turkey as a Syrian military helicopter was shot down and Ankara warned of a “heavy price” for any attacks on its forces.