Turkey moved closer to military support for Libya’s internationally recognized government late on Saturday when a bilateral deal that provides for a quick reaction force if requested by Tripoli was sent to parliament. Ankara’s latest move raises tensions in the Mediterranean region   Details..>>

Attackers in northern Lebanon set fire to the offices of two major political parties on Sunday, the state-run National News Agency said. The assaults came just hours after the capital Beirut was rocked by the most violent government crackdown on protesters since nationwide demonstrations began   Details..>>

A meeting is expected to be held between representatives from the Yemeni legitimate government, the United Nations and Iran-aligned Houthi militias on a UN ship off the coast of Hodeida on Wednesday, Yemeni sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The ship, Antarctic Dream, is docked around 30 kilometers   Details..>>

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned Iran of a “decisive” response if US interests are harmed in Iraq, after a series of rocket attacks on bases. “We must ... use this opportunity to remind Iran’s leaders that any attacks by them, or their proxies of any iden   Details..>>

A court in Sudan convicted former President Omar Al-Bashir of money laundering and corruption on Saturday, sentencing him to two years in prison. That’s the first verdict in a series of legal proceedings against Al-Bashir, who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges   Details..>>

Saudi Arabia said Saturday three soldiers were killed along its border with war-torn Yemen. The Saudi SPA news agency said one officer and two soldiers "were martyred in defense of religion and homeland" in the southern Jazan region. Authorities, however, did not provide details about the ci   Details..>>

Algeria's electoral body said on Friday that former prime minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune had won Thursday's presidential election with 58 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. The final voter turnout was 40 percent, the electoral body's head said in a televised news conference   Details..>>

Several UN Security Council members have told Asharq Al-Awsat that they were “cautiously optimistic” on progress made in limiting tension in Yemen. The Council held on Thursday a closed-door session to hear briefings from United Nations Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary   Details..>>

 A year after Yemen's warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered truce for the key port city of Hodeida and its surroundings, peace remains out of reach. Fighting between the government -- backed by a Saudi-led military coalition -- and Iran-backed Houthis has subsided in western Hodeida provi   Details..>>

Several international aid groups warned on Thursday that the flashpoint Yemeni city at the heart of last year's peace agreement signed in Sweden remains the most dangerous place in the war-torn, impoverished Arab country. Fifteen aid agencies -- including the Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE In   Details..>>