A militant fires towards government forces during clashes in Sheikh Najar area of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Russia has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s plans to provide the militants in Syria with advanced arms. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it is worried about reports that Riyadh is seeking to arm the foreign-backed militants in Syria with man-portable... 

The Indian embassy in Qatar says over 450 Indian migrant workers have died in the Persian Gulf state over the past two years. The embassy said on Monday the deaths occurred in 2012 and the first 11 months of 2013 but did not give details about the circumstances of the deaths or where they occurred, AFP reported. It said on average about 20 Indian migrants died in Qatar each month and the toll peaked... 

Some 1,400 Saudi Arabian citizens have joined foreign-backed militant groups which are fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a report says. Saudi Arabia’s newspaper Al Watan said in a recent report that most Saudi militants, who have poured into Syria after the outbreak of the crisis in 2011, are teenagers. The report added that around 20 percent of the Saudi militants... 

Ships from the Iranian army’s naval fleet are headed towards the United States maritime borders as part of a longstanding protest against US vessels in the Persian Gulf, Fars News Agency reports. “The Iranian Army’s naval fleets have already started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via the waters near South Africa,” Commander of Iran’s Northern Navy Fleet, Admiral... 

The European Commission has slammed Turkey’s newly-adopted cyber law allowing the government to block websites without a court ruling. Commission spokesman Peter Stano said on Thursday that the law raised “serious concerns” as it “introduces several restrictions on freedom of expression.” The Turkish Parliament passed the law late on Wednesday, allowing the Telecommunications Communications... 

Rescue operations are underway in different parts of Iran as the heaviest snowstorm in five decades has blanketed the country’s northern provinces, leaving many people without power and running water. The Iranian Red Crescent Society says teams have rescued over 10,000 people caught in the heavy snow in 18 different provinces. Rescue operations are also underway in the northern provinces of Gilan... 

At least 15 people have been killed and many others injured during rival rallies held in several Egyptian cities to mark the anniversary of the revolution that overthrew former dictator, Hosni Mubarak. Violence erupted in several Egyptian cities including the capital, Cairo, Giza, Minya and Alexandria on Saturday after supporters and opponents of former president, Mohamed Morsi, staged rival rallies... 

The United States is exerting pressure on the United Nations to withdraw its invitation of Iran to take part in this week international peace conference on the Syrian crisis. A senior US State Department official claimed on Monday that Tehran has “never endorsed the Geneva I communiqué” and “we expect the invitation will be rescinded.” Washington has urged the UN to withdraw Iran’s... 

US President Barack Obama speaks with military personnel while viewing an Iron Dome missile battery on March 20 at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport. The Pentagon, defense industry and Israel came out as big winners in a bipartisan $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would pay for government operations through October, a report says. The massive measure, unveiled Monday night, fleshes... 

Israel’s former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has died at a hospital in Tel Aviv after eight years in coma, Israeli media reported. Israeli Army Radio said the former premier died on Saturday at the age of 85. On January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a stroke and went into a coma, from which he never recovered. He was being treated at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Sharon’s health condition... 

Thousands of African migrants in Israel have staged a demonstration to protest against Tel Aviv’s policies towards refugees. The undocumented African migrants rallied outside Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld put the number of the demonstrators at “more than 10,000.” In an open letter to Israeli... 

The sale of two intelligence satellites to the UAE by France for nearly a billion dollars could go south after they were found to contain American technology designed to intercept data transmitted to the ground station. The equipment, costing 3.4 billion dirhams ($930 million), constitutes two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye military intelligence satellites, which a top UAE defense source... 

Saudi protesters holding an anti-regime demonstration in Qatif in the country’s Eastern Province. A Wikileaks cable has reveled that ahead of the US invasion of Iraq, the UAE crown prince had discussed with an American official the Saudi nation’s hopes for the Al Saud regime’s overthrow. According the cable, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nayhan made the remarks during a meeting Richard... 

Tens of thousands of Africans took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday in protest of Israel’s detention of their fellow migrants deemed illegal job-seekers by the nation. The rally is the biggest ever held by migrants in the state. “More than 30,000 demonstrators marched peacefully in Tel Aviv,” police spokeswoman Lubra Samri told AFP. The protesters gathered in the capital’s centre Rabin... 

Egypt military-installed government declares the Muslim Brotherhood movement a “terrorist” group banning all its activities amid raging tensions in the North African country. Egypt interim government officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group on Wednesday, saying that its findings show the movement launched a bomb attack, killing 16 people and leaving some 140 wounded,...