Syrian rebels on May 2 killed 15 members of the security forces in an ambush, a monitoring group said, as a human rights organisation accused Damascus of war crimes in last month’s run-up to a UN-brokered truce. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been tracking the 14-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad, said two rebel militiamen also died in clashes that followed the ambush in the northern province of Aleppo. State media carried no news of the...

In an evident bid to repair strained ties between the two nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on May 4 directed Ambassador Ahmad Al-Qattan to reopen the Kingdom’s embassy in Cairo and resume his duties on May 6. The king’s directive also included the reopening of the two consulates in Alexandria and Suez. Ambassador Ahmad Al-Qattan was recalled for “consultation” on April 28 following “unjustified demonstrations” ...

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa on May 3 ratified amendments to Bahrain’s constitution aimed at defusing unrest in the strategic Gulf state. “The process of reform that marked the beginning of my tenure in power will not stop,” said the monarch. “We hope in this important period that all forces and groups will assess their actions and join the process of progress and reforms,” he said.

“Doors remain open to dialogue, which is aimed at...

Sudan declared a state of emergency along its border with South Sudan on Apr 28, in a move that imposes a trade embargo on the South and suspends the constitution, official news agency SUNA said. President Omar Bashir issued a resolution declaring the emergency in the border states of South Kordofan, White Nile and Sennar, it said. The measure follows a month of border fighting with South Sudan, which separated last July after a peace deal ended one of Africa’s longest ...

Metropolitan Orlando’s Muslim population grew dramatically in the past decade, gaining more than 25,000 worshippers since 2000, according to a new census of religions released on May 1. Muslims were second only to Catholics, whose numbers increased by nearly 64,000, the census found. Muslims now outnumber Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians in the Orlando area of Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. Imam Tariq Rasheed, director of the Islamic Centre of Orlando, said the g...

The number of civilians killed in violence in Iraq rose slightly in April, according to government figures released on May 1. The worst incident occurred on Apr 19, when more than 20 bombs struck cities and towns across Iraq, killing at least 36 people and wounding more than 150. Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate claimed the attacks. Government figures showed 88 civilians were killed in April, up from 78 people in March, a health ministry source said. Twenty soldiers and 18 po...

Facing Israel’s highest court in their wheelchairs, two Palestinian prisoners on the 66th day of their hunger strike on May 3 appealed for their release from detention without trial. Thaer Halahla and Bilal Diab, suspected by Israel of security offences, are among at least 1,550 Palestinian prisoners refusing food in Israeli jails in a protest against so-called “administrative detention.” Among the prisoners currently on hunger strike, only Halahla, Diab and...