NABIL ELDERKIN

The military says Israeli forces have raided a stronghold of an armed group in the occupied West Bank’s second largest city, blowing up a bomb lab and engaging in a firefight.

The U.N. envoy for Yemen has warned that the risk of a return to fighting “is real,” urging warring parties to accept a longer extension of the current ceasefire due to expire next month.

Justin Turner hit a grand slam and a solo homer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who emphatically became the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season with an 11-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Millions of Muslims across the globe — including in countries like Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen — were celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world were raising their hands to heaven and offering prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia.

A million pilgrims from across the globe are gathering in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj.

Austin Nola hit an RBI single off younger brother Aaron in the sixth inning and the San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0.

Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run triple in the ninth inning to complete his first cycle, giving him six RBIs in boosting Carlos Carrasco and the New York Mets to an 11-5 win against the San Diego Padres.

Ha-Seong Kim had a run-scoring double to give San Diego the lead in a four-run 11th inning and the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3.

The deeply divisive issue of the militant Hezbollah group's weapons has been at the center of the upcoming vote for a new 128-member parliament in Lebanon.

Residents of a cluster of Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank have vowed to stick to their land and resist an order by Israel's top court to evict them.

Palestinian medical officials say 17 people have been wounded in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem.

.A “people’s tribunal” has opened in the Netherlands to highlight the number of journalists around the world who were killed for doing their jobs. The tribunal, convened by a group of press freedom organizations, has no powers to sanction perpetrators. Instead, it plans to present evidence to raise awareness about journalists targeted to silence their reporting. The first hearing took place on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, an observance declared by the...

Two men have been convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of a Dutch lawyer who represented a witness in a high-profile criminal case against suspected gangland bosses.

Yu Darvish left a rocky start early with lower back tightness, and the Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage to beat the San Diego Padres 12-3.

Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims have visited a contested Jerusalem holy site under heavy police guard after Muslim worshippers briefly clashed with Israeli security forces there.

Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims are circling Islam’s holiest site in Mecca for the start of the hajj.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has stepped down, nine months after he was named to the post by the parliament.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, whose drama “Lingui” has been a standout of the first week of the Cannes Film Festival, has a unique relationship as a filmmaker to his native country of Chad.

Zach Davies allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings, Anthony Rizzo homered and drove in four runs, and Patrick Wisdom went deep again for the Chicago Cubs as they defeated the San Diego Padres 7-1.

Egypt has proved itself to the world again as an indispensable mediator after it brokered a cease-fire in the short but costly Israel-Hamas war.

Vaccinated Saudis are being allowed to leave the kingdom for the first time in more than a year as the country eases a ban on international travel aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus and its new variants.

The San Diego Padres already were minus star Fernando Tatis Jr. and two backups before the first pitch at Colorado because of COVID-19 concerns.

The San Diego Padres opened the second series of the season between Southern California’s big baseball rivals with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sticky bombs slapped onto cars trapped in Kabuls chaotic traffic are the newest weapons terrorizing Afghans in the increasingly lawless nation. But in the meantime violence is escalating and taking the occasional new twist, such as the sticky bombs. But the heavy use of sticky bombs is relatively new, said former interior minister Masoud Andarabi. Typically, sticky bombs consist of explosives packed in a small box, a magnet attached to the box and a mobile phone. Abdul Sami, 30, was accused of putting sticky bombs inside newly repaired vehicles.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters after the summit that diplomatic relations would be restored in full with Qatar, although no time frame was given. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are primarily concerned about Qatar’s ties with Iran. The rift between Abu Dhabi and Doha has been deepest, with the UAE and Qatar at sharp ideological odds. Egypt’s foreign minister also attended the meeting of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who spearheaded those deals, was at the summit for the signing of the Gulf declaration.

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019 file photo, Tunisian media mogul Nabil Karoui casts his ballot at a polling station during the second round of the presidential election, in Tunis, Tunisia. Former Tunisian presidential candidate and media mogul Nabil Karoui was arrested Thursday, Dec. 24 on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)TUNIS – Former Tunisian presidential candidate and media mogul Nabil Karoui has been arrested on charges of money laundering and tax evasion, a Tunis court spokesman said on Thursday. A judge in charge of financial cases ordered him jailed again on Thursday, said a Tunis court spokesman Mohsen Dali. Karoui, a populist media mogul, founded Nessma TV and heads the Qalb Tunis party, the second-largest party in parliament.

We love the project, we love Beirut and we love Lebanon and thats what we are.The day of the blast, Debs was at the house. Naji Raji, an activist and spokesman for Save Beirut Heritage, said the blast damaged more than 600 historic buildings in Beirut, of which about 40 are at risk of collapse. Raji said some estimates put the cost of renovating old buildings at about $300 million. The renovation work is being carried out by the Beirut Heritage Initiative, a coalition that includes among others the U.N. culture agency UNESCO, the French embassy and the architects syndicate, Raji said. Since the blast occurred there have been reports of middlemen scouting destroyed neighborhoods and making offers to buy old buildings.

BASRA Human rights monitors sounded the alarm over a recent spike in assassinations targeting civil rights activists in Iraq's south on Thursday, ahead of a much anticipated meeting between the prime minister and the U.S. president as part of ongoing strategic talks. Hundreds died as Iraqi forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds. Activist Tahseen Osama was killed Friday, prompting dozens to take to the streets and block roads. That represents a jump as the commission recorded 16 attempted targeted killings in the 10 months after the uprising started in October. Following a meeting in Washington with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that armed groups outside of state control have impeded our progress."

Israel and the UAE announced Thursday they were establishing full diplomatic relations in a U.S.-brokered deal that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians. Netanyahu has insisted the annexation plans are only on temporary hold at the request of the United States. Netanyahu also reiterated Sunday his interpretation of the UAE deal: that annexation was only being suspended and that it was still on the table, so long as it was done in coordination with Washington. UAE officials have indicated that the deal means annexation has been shelved entirely. After President Donald Trump released his Mideast plan earlier this year, which was favorable to Israel, Netanyahu said he would forge ahead with annexing parts of the West Bank.

In this Wednesday, June 17, 2020, workers unload boxes of medical supplies on arrival at Sanaa International Airport in Sanaa, Yemen. A U.N. humanitarian appeal for Yemen this month fell $1 billion short of what aid agencies needed. The World Food Program had to cut rations in half and U.N.-funded health services were reduced in nearly 200 hospitals nationwide. The Hayel Saeed Anam Foundation, a Yemeni-owned conglomerate, helped create the International Initiative on COVID-19 in Yemen. Its an unusual effort to bring crisis-stricken Yemen back from the brink of further disaster, as the virus overwhelms Yemen's hospitals.