EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG Activist Maria-Teresa “Tess” Asplund, 42, stood alone in confronting several hundred neo-Nazi marchers in Sweden, her fist firmly raised in protest. Asplund’s defiant act only lasted for a couple of seconds — just enough for Swedish photographer David Lagerlöf to capture the image. But Lagerlöf’s photo, which he posted to Twitter, has rocketed around the Internet ...

Israeli planes struck Hamas bases in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, killing a child living near one of the targets and injuring his sister, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Yasin Abu Khussa, 10, died in a raid on a base of the group’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, at Beit Lahiya in the north of the strip, ...

Secretary of State John Kerry said U.S. and Russian officials would meet later Saturday on Syrian opposition complaints of truce violations but that peace talks should go ahead as planned. Asked at the end of a visit to Saudi Arabia whether indirect dialogue in Geneva between the Syrian regime and opposition could go ahead as planned on Monday, Kerry said: ...

He is known as the Diplomat Sheikh — and he has struck again. He beat three conservatives to win a landslide presidential election in 2013, led Iran through two years of tortuous negotiations to a nuclear and sanctions deal, and now Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani — as he is formally known — has again triumphed. If reformist voters felt marginalised ...

Saudi Arabia’s U.N. ambassador said Friday there was no need for a U.N. Security Council resolution to address the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is waging a military campaign. “We don’t think that a resolution is needed at this time,” Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi told a news conference. His remarks came after the 15-member council expressed grave ...

On Jan. 22, Tunisians in the impoverished interior regions of the countrytook to the streets, demanding increased economic development. Five years ago, similar protests sparked a revolution centered on economic justice. The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), a working- and middle-class-based labor union, played a leading role in the transition process that followed, winning the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize as ...

Tony Blair has said British victims of the IRA’s terror links with Libya were legally barred from inclusion in a US compensation deal. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi gave arms and Semtex explosives to the republican group during the Troubles. Semtex from Libya became the IRA’s most devastating threat during the Troubles and caused the loss of many lives. The Northern Ireland ...

Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem hit back at Saudi Arabia on Friday, saying it must “apologize to Lebanon” over the events of last week. “Some were surprised when Saudi Arabia decided to call off the several billions’ (military) grant to Lebanon, but in fact it was a chance for them (Saudis) to attack Lebanon and Hizbullah,” said Qassem during ...

Saudi Arabia has sent a letter to the United Nations and international aid groups advising them to remove staff from areas of Yemen under Houthi control.   The Saudi Embassy in London sent the short note, saying the warning’s intention was to “protect the international organizations and their employees”. It was not immediately clear how many aid groups received the ...

The United Nations is hoping to deliver aid to Syria’s besieged areas within 24 hours following an agreement between world powers to cease hostilities. Seventeen world powers struck a deal in Munich to start to bring an end to hostilities in a week and provide rapid humanitarian access to besieged Syrian towns. A new UN taskforce will meet in Geneva ...