Middle East Unrest

At least 10 police officers were killed in a "terrorist attack" in an area of southeastern Iran long plagued by unrest, local media reported on Saturday.

The British government on Saturday advised UK nationals to avoid travelling to Iraq and Iran in face of heightened tensions in the Middle East following the US killing of a top Iranian commander in Baghdad.

The sudden eruption of political unrest in Iran has presented an unforeseen challenge to Tehran's ascendant influence in the Middle East, potentially threatening Iran's claims to regional hegemony just when it seemed to have secured an unassailable role.

President Donald Trump told Arab leaders on Tuesday that he intends to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a decision that breaks with decades of U.S. policy and risks fuelling further unrest in the Middle East.

The world has become increasingly violent with deaths from conflict at a 25-year- high, terrorist attacks at an all-time high and more people displaced than at any time since World War Two, the 2016 Global Peace Index showed on Wednesday.

Over 80 per cent of humanitarian funding requested by the United Nations is going toward life-saving needs in a growing number of global conflicts, and urgent action is needed to shift away from perpetual crisis management, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday.

With rebel forces facing the prospect of a crushing defeat by Syria's Russian-backed regime, their allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey may send in limited numbers of ground troops, analysts say.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Gulf Arab officials in Saudi Arabia a bid to ease their fears of warming US-Iranian ties and seek consensus on which Syrian opposition groups should be represented at upcoming peace talks.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has delayed a trip to Saudi Arabia, the Times newspaper reported today, but cited senior officials as saying this was unconnected to regional tensions sparked by the execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.

The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters angry over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Iran accused Saudi Arabia today of using an attack on its embassy as a pretext to sever ties in a diplomatic crisis deepening their often violent struggle for influence across the Middle East.

Germany could send 1,200 soldiers to the Middle East by the end of the year to provide service support to planes and ships of a coalition battling ISIS, Germany's top defence official told a newspaper today.

A three-week-old uprising by knife-wielding, Internet-generation teenagers against Israelis has left 80-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looking like yesterday's man, unable either to oppose the violence or openly endorse it.

Iran wants China's help to resolve tensions and unrest in the Middle East and is ready to play host to more Chinese firms once sanctions against it are lifted, Iran's foreign minister said today

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery gained 78 cents to $56.52 while Brent crude for June gained 77 cents to $64.22 in late-morning trade.

At least 10 police officers were killed in a "terrorist attack" in an area of southeastern Iran long plagued by unrest, local media reported on Saturday.

The British government on Saturday advised UK nationals to avoid travelling to Iraq and Iran in face of heightened tensions in the Middle East following the US killing of a top Iranian commander in Baghdad.

The sudden eruption of political unrest in Iran has presented an unforeseen challenge to Tehran's ascendant influence in the Middle East, potentially threatening Iran's claims to regional hegemony just when it seemed to have secured an unassailable role.

President Donald Trump told Arab leaders on Tuesday that he intends to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a decision that breaks with decades of U.S. policy and risks fuelling further unrest in the Middle East.

The world has become increasingly violent with deaths from conflict at a 25-year- high, terrorist attacks at an all-time high and more people displaced than at any time since World War Two, the 2016 Global Peace Index showed on Wednesday.

Over 80 per cent of humanitarian funding requested by the United Nations is going toward life-saving needs in a growing number of global conflicts, and urgent action is needed to shift away from perpetual crisis management, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday.

With rebel forces facing the prospect of a crushing defeat by Syria's Russian-backed regime, their allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey may send in limited numbers of ground troops, analysts say.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Gulf Arab officials in Saudi Arabia a bid to ease their fears of warming US-Iranian ties and seek consensus on which Syrian opposition groups should be represented at upcoming peace talks.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has delayed a trip to Saudi Arabia, the Times newspaper reported today, but cited senior officials as saying this was unconnected to regional tensions sparked by the execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.

The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters angry over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Iran accused Saudi Arabia today of using an attack on its embassy as a pretext to sever ties in a diplomatic crisis deepening their often violent struggle for influence across the Middle East.

Germany could send 1,200 soldiers to the Middle East by the end of the year to provide service support to planes and ships of a coalition battling ISIS, Germany's top defence official told a newspaper today.

A three-week-old uprising by knife-wielding, Internet-generation teenagers against Israelis has left 80-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looking like yesterday's man, unable either to oppose the violence or openly endorse it.

Iran wants China's help to resolve tensions and unrest in the Middle East and is ready to play host to more Chinese firms once sanctions against it are lifted, Iran's foreign minister said today

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery gained 78 cents to $56.52 while Brent crude for June gained 77 cents to $64.22 in late-morning trade.