Air strikes by Damascus regime ally Russia killed 78 rebels in northwestern Syria yesterday, a monitor said, in the bloodiest surge in violence since a truce almost eight months ago.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health announced Monday that it reported 682 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the country to 122,317.

An 18-year-old Palestinian died yesterday after a confrontation with Israeli troops, with the army saying it happened while trying to flee and Palestinian officials saying he had been beaten.

Iraqi security forces and protesters clashed in Baghdad yesterday during demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of mass anti-government protests demanding the ouster of the ruling class.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called yesterday for strict punishments for violators of Covid-19 restrictions as the Middle East’s hardest-hit nation battled a third wave.

Iran has delivered several gasoline and crude oil shipments to Syria, easing a near two-month gasoline shortage aggravated by tougher U.S. sanctions, shippers, port officials and traders said.

The United States has imposed sanctions on two officials from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, the US Treasury Department said, including one who served as a senior military commander in the south of the country.

The US army said Thursday it carried out a drone strike against Al-Qaeda leaders in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, killing 17 militants, according to a war monitor.

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun designated politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister on Thursday to form a new government to tackle the worst crisis since the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun officially launched consultations Thursday to find a new prime minister, nearly a month after the previous appointee failed to form a government.

Crisis-hit Lebanon’s next prime minister, the third in a year, will have to spearhead reforms and battle corruption, President Michel Aoun said yesterday.

Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah called yesterday for national unity to meet challenges facing the Gulf state, in a speech to lawmakers ahead of elections on Dec 5.