Middle East

Syria

Aleppo celebrates Christmas as Assad visits Damascus convent

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family visited a convent north of Damascus on Christmas day.

26/12/2016

Israel

Israel's Netanyahu summons diplomats over UN Resolution

Israel summoned diplomats of 10 of the 14 nations which voted for last week’s UN Resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

26/12/2016

Israel

Israeli PM Netanyahu to re-assess UN ties

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has reacted angrily to the US abstention on a UN resolution condeming settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

24/12/2016

Syria

With Aleppo battle won, Syria and Russia look to 'next stage'

The rubble of war is being cleared from the streets of eastern Aleppo, after the last groups of rebels were removed from the city this week.

24/12/2016

Syria

Putin announces Syria peace talks in Kazakh capital as residents return to Aleppo

Russia, Iran, Turkey and President Bashar al-Assad have all agreed to meet in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to try to end the conflict in Syria, President Vladimir Putin has…

23/12/2016

Syria

Aleppo: then and now

Once Syria’s most populous city, years of bloody conflict have left Aleppo completely destroyed.

23/12/2016

Syria

'Dozens of civilians killed' by Turkish airstrikes in Syria

At least 88 civilians have died in Turkish airstrikes in Syria, a war monitor is reporting.

23/12/2016

Syria

Syrian army retakes full control of Aleppo

It's a crushing victory for President Bashar al-Assad - the biggest in the more than five-year civil war.

22/12/2016

Syria

Sixteen Turkish troops confirmed dead after fierce fighting with ISIL in Syria

The number of Turkish soldiers killed in Syria following fierce fighting with ISIL has risen from 14 to 16, Ankara has confirmed.

22/12/2016

Syria

Syria's tweeting girl, Bana Alabed, speaks about life in Aleppo

The Syrian girl who gained global attention via Twitter has spoken about life in Aleppo and what motivated her to tell the world her story.

22/12/2016

Turkey

Turkish security over Russian ambassador's murder called into question

Moscow has called Andrei Karlov's assassination 'a blow to Turkey's prestige' and has sent its own investigators to Ankara.

22/12/2016

Syria

After the battle, Aleppo shows its scars

Before the war, Aleppo’s ancient walled citadel drew in armies of visitors to one of the Middle East’s greatest treasures.

22/12/2016

Turkey

Gülen denies involvement in murder of Russian envoy to Turkey

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there was "no doubt" the policeman who carried out the attack had ties to exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, his archenemy.

22/12/2016

Syria

Aleppo evacuation 'to continue until Friday' - Red Cross

The ICRC says more than 4,000 fighters were moved out of the Syrian city overnight, as winter weather slows up the evacuation process.

22/12/2016

Syria

Bloody battle for Syria's al-Bab as Turkey tightens grip against ISIL

Fourteen Turkish soldiers and nearly 140 jihadist militants were killed on Tuesday as Turkey's 'Euphrates Shield' operation intensified.

22/12/2016

Syria

UN probe unable to apportion blame in Aleppo convoy bombing

A convoy that was bombed while trying to take aid into the besieged city of Aleppo last September was hit by an air strike but its not known who was responsible.

22/12/2016

Turkey

Funeral of Russia's murdered envoy takes place in Moscow today

Books of condolence have attracted queues of visiters at embassy facilities in Turkey as people pay tribute to the Russian envoy who was shot dead by a gunman in Ankara on…

21/12/2016

Syria

Last refugees bid farewell in the snow to Aleppo

After a day of delays the evacuation of Aleppo resumes, with reports saying the city has now been emptied of resistance.

21/12/2016

Israel

Israel's ex-president freed from jail after serving five years for rape

Israel’s former president Moshe Katsav has walked free from prison, winning early release, five years after being jailed for rape.

21/12/2016

Turkey

'Syrian Twitter girl 'Bana Alabed meets Turkey's Erdogan

Bana Alabed the seven-year-old Syrian girl who captured the imagination of Western media from inside besieged Aleppo has met Turkey's President

21/12/2016

Turkey

'It's too early to say', Kremlin distances itself from Turkey's claims over ambassador's killing

Turkey's Foreign Minister told US Secretary of State John Kerry that Gulenist supporters were behind the killing of Andrei Karlov

21/12/2016

Turkey

Profile: the off-duty cop who shot a Russian ambassador

The picture of off-duty cop Mevlut Mert Altintas standing calmly behind his soon-to-be murder victim has chilled as much as it has shocked.

21/12/2016

Turkey

Conspirator or lone wolf ? - Russia and Turkey investigate envoy's killer

Russian and Turkish investigators are working together to determine whether the assassination of Moscow envoy, Andrei Karlov, was the work of a lone gunman or part of a wider…

21/12/2016

Syria

UN sends in more observers of "complicated" Aleppo evacuation

The evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters from eastern Aleppo could be completed within two days according to Turkey which helped mediate the exodus.

20/12/2016

Syria

Syrian army urges rebels to speed up Aleppo evacuation

The military has broadcast messages saying it is poised to enter the last rebel enclave, as estimates vary as to how far the process has to go.

20/12/2016

Turkey

Photographer tells of dramatic moment he captured ambassador's murder in Turkey

As other petrified onlookers dived for cover during the cold-blooded murder of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, one stood firm and kept his cool.

20/12/2016