Middle East

Football Now

2024/25 European football season review

In partnership with Media City

The 2024/25 European football season will be remembered as the year trophy droughts ended across the continent.

04/06/2025

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia tackles sweltering heat as Hajj pilgrimage starts

Each year, Muslim pilgrims embark on the spiritual journey of Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

04/06/2025

Gaza

Aid group halts deliveries in Gaza after shootings near aid sites

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation did not give out any aid on Wednesday after dozens of Palestinians looking for aid were reportedly killed this week.

04/06/2025

EuroVerify

What we know about the shootings near Gaza aid distribution sites

EuroVerify takes a look at the facts to build up a timeline of the deadly incidents to determine what we know so far.

04/06/2025

No Comment

Balloons released in Gaziantep in support of child cancer patients

Thousands of colourful balloons were released into the sky over Gaziantep in a show of support for 5-year-old Elif Azra and other children fighting cancer.

03/06/2025

No Comment

At least 27 killed near Gaza aid site in third incident this week

At least 27 people were killed on Tuesday after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point in Rafah, according to Palestinian health officials.

03/06/2025

Gaza

Israel denies firing on civilians near Gaza aid distribution site

The UN has criticised the new aid distribution system, while Israel claims it prevents Hamas from war profiteering.

03/06/2025

Turkey

At least one dead after earthquake in Turkey felt across Greek islands

Travel agencies cautioned tourists to remain calm after a 5.8 quake struck around 23km north of Rhodes.

03/06/2025

Scenes

Watch: The radio-controlled vehicle enthusiasts flying high in Qatar

In partnership with Media City

The Qatar RC Sports Centre was opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Fahd Abdullah Al Thani in 2015.

02/06/2025

Syria

Syria's stock exchange reopens as Damascus aims to rebuild economy

The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria's financial systems begin to ease in a bid to give the country a chance to rebuild after 14 years of civil war.

02/06/2025

Gaza

Israel intensifies military operation in northern and southern Gaza

Israeli forces demolished the rear wall of the European Hospital and destroyed northern Gaza's only remaining dialysis centre.

02/06/2025

No Comment

Queues for food grow in Gaza amid spiralling hunger

Long queues formed outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Sunday as desperate families carrying empty pots waited for a ladle of watery soup.

02/06/2025

Saudi Arabia

Nearly 270,000 pilgrims without permits stopped from entering Mecca

Authorities in Saudi Arabia are cracking down on illegal journeys to Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage after a larger number of deaths last year due to extreme summer heat. They have thus far denied entry to 269,678 Muslims without Hajj permits.

01/06/2025

Turkey

Patriarch Bartholomew I marks 1,700th anniversary of Council of Nicaea

One of the council's lasting legacies is the Nicene Creed, a profession of faith still recited by Christians of all big denominations.

01/06/2025

Gaza

Dozens killed and scores injured in shooting near aid point in Gaza

At least 31 people were killed and 175 wounded on Sunday, according to local health authorities and multiple witnesses, near an aid point in the Gaza Strip.

01/06/2025

Israel

Tehran recruited Israelis to spy on their homeland

Israeli officials say 20 Iran-related espionage cases have been filed in Israel over the past year and 30 indictments have been issued. Although these files have different stories, their pattern and that of the Iranian intelligence services' target society for recruiting sources is nearly identical.

31/05/2025

Gaza

Hamas responds to US proposal by demanding permanent Gaza ceasefire

As part of its counter-proposal, Hamas has agreed to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 deceased ones for 125 Palestinian prisoners and 1,111 detained Gazans.

31/05/2025

Art

Fahrelnissa Zeid's one-painting exhibition opened at Istanbul Airport

With its exhibition "Solo: Encountering Fahrelnissa Zeid," İGA Istanbul Airport focuses on a 1960 work by Zeid, one of the pioneers of Turkish painting.

30/05/2025

Syria

So-called IS claims first attack on Syrian forces since al-Assad fall

The extremist group, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, has opposed the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaeda's Syria branch.

30/05/2025

No Comment

Tel Aviv protests demand return of Gaza hostages and end to war

Anti-government protests erupted in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, with demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and a halt to the war.

30/05/2025

Gaza

US ceasefire proposal does not meet key demands, says Hamas

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal.

30/05/2025

Gaza

Israel accepts US ceasefire proposal, Hamas considers the draft

It comes after Middle East envoy Witkoff said earlier this week that he was optimistic about brokering an agreement to end more than 19 months of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

30/05/2025

Syria

US reopens ambassador's residence in bid to warm relations with Syria

Washington has yet to formally reopen its embassy in Syria, which closed in 2012 after protests the government of strongman President Bashar al-Assad was met with brutal crackdown, kickstarting the country’s civil war.

30/05/2025

West Bank

Israel approves construction of 22 new West Bank settlements

The expansion will include the legalisation of outposts already established by Israeli settlers without official Israeli government approval.

29/05/2025

No Comment

Deadly rush at UN food warehouse as Gaza hunger crisis worsens

Hundreds of Palestinians forced their way into a UN food warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday, desperate for aid as hunger grips the territory after months of border closures.

29/05/2025

Europe News

Cyprus offers money for migrants to return to Syria, minister says

Syrian nationals make up the largest group of asylum-seekers on the island.

29/05/2025