Middle Orient

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel released 224 prisoners in a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, prompting joyous family reunions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Families sang and danced as prison buses rolled up full of newly freed men, shouting and waving from the …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq is failing to give criminal suspects fair trials and abuse of prisoners appears common ahead of the transfer of thousands of detainees from U.S. prison camps to Iraqi control, a human rights group said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said prisoners had to wait months and …

GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas leaders said on Sunday they did not expect to extend a six-month ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip when it expires this week, although it remained unclear whether this would mean an immediate surge in violence. Israel, which has traded fire with Palestinian Islamists in …

MOSUL (Reuters) – Gunmen killed seven people from a single family, members of the minority Yazidi sect, when they stormed into their home in northern Iraq on Monday, police said. Police said a woman, her husband, and the couple’s adult children were shot dead in the attack, which took place …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The fourth meeting of the Iran-Syria Maritime Transport Commission will be held in Damascus on December 23, the Iranian economic counselor in Syria, Seyed Mortaza Mortazavi, announced on Sunday. Deputy Road and Transportation Minister Ali Taheri and his Syrian counterpart will co-chair the two-day meeting, Tehran Times quoted …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Trade at Iranian bazaars was brought to a halt as merchants protest over recent Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza. On Monday morning, merchants closed their shops in the capital Tehran, and other big cities across the country to express their support for Palestinians in the …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Monday that Parliament has decided to provide the Gaza people with practical and urgent assistance through active diplomacy. Larijani, who arrived in the holy city of Qom to meet the city’s senior clerics, made the remarks in his meeting with Ayatollah …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Hamas supporters staged a show of strength to mark the 21st anniversary of its founding. 200,000 Gaza residents took to streets of Gaza City to draw attention of the International Community to the hardship imposed on them by the Israeli blockade. Ahead of the rally, spokesman Fawzi Barhum …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian lawmaker dismisses Washington’s claims that it would help Israel create a nuclear umbrella against Iran, saying that Tehran pursues a fully peaceful nuclear drive. “In the modern-day world, nuclear program is no longer a defensive measure aimed at protecting the national security of different countries,” …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and the Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly Ahmad Fathi Surur in a phone conversation called for taking more practical steps to speed up helping people in Gaza Strip. Larijani called for Islamic countries specifically Egypt possessing a unique geographical position to take …