Doctors say a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 54 days while being detained without trial by Israel is in a critical condition. Khader Adnan has not had food since mid-December, when Israeli security forces raided his West Bank home. It is thought to be the longest hunger strike by a Palestinian prisoner. Read More »
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Many papers in the Middle East, Turkey and Russia are sceptical about the usefulness of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service head Mikhail Fradkov’s trip to Damascus on Tuesday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. Read More »
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A plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange was “amateurish” and unlikely to succeed, a court has heard. Father-of-three Gurukanth Desai, 30, was “more of an anti-capitalist than a radical Islamist”, Woolwich Crown Court in London was told. Rajiv Menon QC, mitigating for Desai, said it was a “poorly thought through and unsophisticated” plot. Read More »
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Israel’s main trade union federation has launched a national strike intended to shut down government offices, banks, airports, ports and rail services. Histadrut said it was in protest at the government’s use of contract workers, who often earn less and receive fewer benefits than permanent employees. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 7 February 2012 Last updated at 12: 31 ET HelpSnow has blanketed parts of Libya, including the town of Gharyan which is southwest of the capital Tripoli. Snowfall is a rare occurrence in the country. Read More »
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Madonna has announced the dates for her latest world tour, which will start in Israel in May. The 53-year-old will play two dates in the UK, while the tour will also visit South America and Australia, where she has not performed in 20 years. The announcement comes days after the Like A Prayer singer performed during half time at the US Super Bowl. Read More »
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Palestinian Authority must choose between a treaty with Hamas “or peace with Israel”. He was speaking hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would head a unity government between the Hamas and Fatah movements – ahead of elections in the West Bank and Gaza. Read More »
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An American television network has apologised after pop star M.I.A. extended her middle finger during Sunday night’s Super Bowl halftime show. What does the gesture mean, and when did it become offensive? A public intellectual, expressing his contempt for a gas bag politician, reaches for a familiar gesture. Read More »
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Once the centre of the Islamic Empire, Syria covers an area that has seen invasions and occupations over the ages, from Romans and Mongols to Crusaders and Turks. Read More »
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Page last updated at 07: 51 GMT, Monday, 6 February 2012 E-mail this to a friend M.I.A. put her middle finger up during a half-time performance with Madonna American broadcaster NBC has apologised after M.I.A. put her middle finger up during her Super Bowl half-time performance. Read More »
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The US is working closely with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, President Barack Obama has said. He told NBC he believed Israel had not yet decided how to deal with the issue, amid reports that Israel may strike Iran as early as spring. Read More »
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UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said China and Russia will be “held responsible” for violence in Syria after vetoing a UN resolution condemning government repression. He said the countries were making a “great mistake” which would damage their standing in the Middle East. Read More »
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Republican voters in the US state of Nevada are due to take part in caucuses to decide the state’s choice of presidential nominee. Registered Republicans in each precinct will cast votes for candidates between 1700 and 2300 GMT on Saturday, although an evening caucus to allow observant Jews to participate will finish later. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. A look at the first editions of the UK papers Chris Huhne’s resignation from cabinet is on most front pages, making the lead for the Telegraph, Guardian and Mail. The Mail’s headline is “Huhne pays for his infidelity” . Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 3 February 2012 Last updated at 17: 16 ET HelpIran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has warned that any attempt to attack his country’s nuclear programme will meet a forceful response. Read More »
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Three of Scotland’s highest profile politicians have urged councillors to block moves by the far-right Scottish Defence League to march in Glasgow. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson are backing the campaign. Read More »
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Page last updated at 08: 05 GMT, Friday, 3 February 2012 E-mail this to a friend Jessie J has been added to Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend 2012 line-up BBC Radio 1 has announced more than 25 acts for the Olympic Hackney weekend festival. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Donald Trump described Mitt Romney as “tough, smart and sharp” Continue reading the main story US Presidential Election 2012 As it happened: Florida primaryWhere do they stand?How to run Read More »
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Pakistan has failed to send a team of officials to India to investigate the November 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks, Indian officials said. Islamabad told Delhi that the judicial commission would not be able to come as planned, a home ministry official said. The team was due to arrive in Mumbai on Thursday. Read More »
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A self-described “Jewish Indiana Jones” who claimed to have travelled the world to rescue holy Torah scrolls has pleaded guilty to fraud. Rabbi Menachem Youlus, 50, admitted he had simply made up claims that he personally found and restored Torah scrolls in Europe and Israel. Read More »
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In a land of faith and flag, Justin Griffith is challenging the US military to abandon its religious ties. When Justin Griffith was a child growing up in Plano, Texas – a place he describes as the “oversized, goofy buckle on the Bible belt” – he would bring his bible to science class and debate his teachers on the finer points of evolution. Read More »
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Dozens of Palestinians staged a hostile protest as the convoy of visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon crossed into Gaza from Israel. Many were relatives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and said they were angry at Mr Ban’s refusal to meet them to discuss the prisoners’ situation. Read More »
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The UN tribunal investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 has said it will try the four accused in absentia. Shia Islamist group Hezbollah members were named as suspects and warrants for their arrest issued last summer. Read More »
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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Israel to offer “goodwill gestures” to the Palestinian to get the deadlocked peace talks back on track. After talks with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, Mr Ban said the Israeli government needed to co-operate in “creating a positive dynamic”. Read More »
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Iranians are not used to seeing their nation portrayed in a positive light. So when the Iranian film, A Separation, was nominated for two Oscars at the 2012 Academy Awards, social media users were quick to leap on the “feel-good factor”. Iranians are acutely aware of the picture of the country abroad, especially in the West. Read More »
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Downton Abbey has become a cult hit in the US, but what is it about this tale of life in an Edwardian country house that has got young viewers hooked? It is hard to open a newspaper or click on a news website in America at the moment without reading something about ITV’s Downton Abbey. Read More »
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The Israeli authorities have charged an Israeli-Arab couple with imprisoning their daughter for nine years at their home in the West Bank town of Qalqilya. According to an indictment, Baraa Melhem had been locked in a bathroom or other small rooms since the age of 11. She was only let out at night to clean the house, do laundry and cook. Read More »
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As part of the deal to free the captured Israeli soldier Sgt Gilad Shalit last year, more than a 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails. The vast majority were allowed back into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but 40 prisoners were forced to leave the region entirely, deemed by Israel to be a continuing security threat. Read More »
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The 25 Chinese workers kidnapped in the north of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula have been freed, China’s state media and an official said. Xinhua news agency cited an official at the Chinese embassy in Cairo, who reportedly met the workers in Arish, North Sinai, on Wednesday. Read More »
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Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has won an election for the leadership of his right-wing Likud party. Initials counts of 40% of ballots showed Mr Netanyahu winning 80% of the vote, a Likud spokesman told Reuters. “I thank you all for the confidence and renewed support you have given me,” Mr Netanyahu said in a speech in Tel Aviv. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Mitt Romney burst into song at a campaign event in Florida on Monday night Continue reading the main story US Presidential Election 2012 Florida primary 2012 Live Where do they stand?How Read More »
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Austrian President Heinz Fischer has withdrawn an award from a far-right leader who allegedly likened his supporters to Jews under the Nazis. Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache was said to have made the remarks after protesters picketed a controversial far-right Vienna ball. Read More »
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Bedouin tribesmen have kidnapped 25 Chinese workers in the north of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, officials say. The technicians and engineers were on their way to work at a military-owned cement factory in the Lehfen area when gunmen stopped the bus and seized them. They are being held inside a tent and Bedouin are blocking roads in the area. Read More »
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A French bill that makes it a criminal offence to deny that genocide was committed against Armenians has been referred to France’s highest court. The bill, which covers the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, was passed by both houses of parliament. Read More »
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The sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks has launched an appeal against his death sentence in India’s Supreme Court. Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, 24, said he had been denied a fair trial and that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 31 January 2012 Last updated at 01: 50 ET HelpIn the wake of the Arab Uprising, which began a year ago in Tunisia, an Israeli government minister said that for their own safety all of Tunisia’s remaining Jews should move to Israel. Read More »
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The West End enjoyed record box office sales in 2011 for an eighth consecutive year, according to figures released by the Society of London Theatre (Solt). Takings topped £528.3m in 2011 – up 3.1% on a like-for-like basis on the previous year. Due to the closure of a number of theatres while new shows were set up, the overall attendance was 13. Read More »
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Israel, Finland and Sweden are seen as leading the way in “cyber-readiness”, according to a major new security report. The McAfee-backed cyberdefence survey deemed China, Brazil and Mexico as being among the least able to defend themselves against emerging attacks. The rank is based on leading experts’ perception of a nation’s defences. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 30 January 2012 Last updated at 09: 58 ET HelpAn unarmed Israeli aerial drone crashed in the centre of the country on Sunday. There were no reported injuries. Read More »
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When more than 2,600 of the world’s richest, cleverest, most powerful, influential or entrepreneurial people are cooped up in a Swiss mountain valley, surely something must come out of it? Call it the curse of high expectations. Read More »
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The political leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, is due to make his first official visit to Jordan, 13 years after Hamas leaders were expelled from the country. Khaled Meshaal will hold talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah. Read More »
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A man convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion has tried to deflect blame, as a judge sentenced him to die. Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, was ordered to face lethal injection after emotional statements from family members of the victims. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 27 January 2012 Last updated at 17: 25 ET HelpBats are finding a surprising haven in abandoned Israeli bunkers, researchers say. The bunkers, on the border with Jordan, have been turned into official bat caves, helping to save the endangered mammals from extinction. Read More »
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Protesters in Austria marking Holocaust Remembrance Day have condemned organisers of a ball, which is expected to be attended by far-right leaders. Greens’ Party head Eva Glavischnig said guests at Vienna’s WKR event would be “dancing on the graves of Auschwitz” – a reference to the Nazi death camp. Read More »
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The Norwegian prime minister has apologised for the role his country played in deporting its own Jews as Europe marks Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Norwegians carried out the arrests, Norwegians drove the trucks and it happened in Norway,” Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech. Read More »
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An exhibition at Manchester Jewish Museum looks at the story of 300 child survivors of the Holocaust who were flown to Britain to a live in a Lake District camp. The children had been held in the Nazi camp system across occupied Europe and by 1945 were … Read More »
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If you seek a monument to Qatari ambition and achievement in Doha, look up. The capital of the tiny but wealthy Gulf Emirate has transformed itself with dizzying speed from a dreary desert port into a kind of Manhattan with sand. Read More »
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Police say they are not ruling out the possibility a statue of an old soldier in Scarborough may have been covered in yellow paint in an anti-Semitic attack. The North Bay steelwork, which depicts one of the first Allied soldiers to enter the Belsen concentration camp, was daubed in paint on Thursday night. Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 27 January 2012 Last updated at 03: 08 ET HelpMilitary experts gathered in London this week to discuss the growing threat of cyber attacks to international security. Read More »
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Born into a middle class Jewish family in a village in Germany, she was put on board a train and sent to the UK in 1939 as part of the kindertransport programme. Sanctioned by the British Government, it rescued about 10000 Jewish children from central … Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Haitian-American musician Val Jeanty uses drum beats to create a funky fusion she calls “voodoo electronica” Two years after an earthquake devastated Haiti, Haitians in America have turned to traditional religious ritual for comfort. Leigh Paterson explains the power of voodoo. Read More »
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Susan Watts BBC Newsnight Science editor The MoD has a centre dedicated to protecting military technology The US Army’s Cyber Command is recruiting. Its mission? To create “a world class cyberwarrior force”, and to develop cyberspace as an “active domain”. Read More »
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The first ever castaway on Desert Island Discs 70 years ago was a man who not only annoyed Winston Churchill but also earned Adolf Hitler’s enmity. Read More »
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Police are examining abusive comments posted on Twitter about musicians competing in a brass band contest in Lincolnshire. One comment suggested a male musician had received an award for sexually abusing children, while a percussionist was compared to Adolf Hitler. Other tweets have been described as racist, sexist and homophobic. Read More »
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You walk into Eyal Gever’s Tel Aviv apartment and you feel you have stepped into an idyllic scene from a glossy magazine; pristine modern furniture in an open plan arrangement, with a light sprinkling of children’s toys. Little do you know, metres below your feet terrible catastrophes are unfolding. Read More »
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What on Earth does the Jewish community in Germany make of the flurry of headlines this week that described substantial anti-Semitism, and how have they reacted to plans to publish extracts from Mein Kampf? Here, they live in the land that produced Read More »
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 25 January 2012 Last updated at 19: 01 ET HelpIsraeli artist Eyal Gever has gained international recognition for his sculptures, which capture snapshots of disasters. Read More »
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The Palestinian Authority president has said the exploratory talks with Israel on resuming full peace negotiations have concluded, without any progress. After a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman, Mahmoud Abbas told reporters that he would discuss what to do next with the Arab League next week. Read More »
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of a 20-30% oil price spike if Iranian exports are disrupted. The IMF warned that if the West imposed financial sanctions on Iran, it would be tantamount to an oil blockade, and the shock to the market could be as bad as from Libya’s revolution last year. Iran produces 5% of global oil output. Read More »
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A young cowboy from Texas who joined the elite US Navy Seals became the most deadly sniper in American history. In a book published this month he provides an unusual insight into the psychology of a soldier who waits, watches and kills. Read More »
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