Bahrain

Britain’s Prince Andrew continues to face many hurdles despite his decision to step down from royal duties because of his friendship with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The 59-year-old prince, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s son, is struggling to stay at the helm of his Pitch&Palace charity, with some British media reports indicating he has already stepped down. A number...

The Taliban on Tuesday freed an American and an Australian held hostage since 2016 in exchange for three top Taliban figures — a move that the insurgent group asserted could help rekindle talks to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war. The hostages — American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks — were released in an area of southern Afghanistan heavily controlled by...

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday announced that his government has released three prominent Taliban figures in an effort to get the insurgents to free two university professors — an American and an Australian — they abducted three years ago. At a press event broadcast live on state television, Ghani told the nation that the “conditional release” was a very...

The State Department’s third-ranking official testified Wednesday for more than six hours in the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry as they investigate President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. David Hale had been expected to tell lawmakers that political considerations were behind the agency’s refusal to deliver a robust defense of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

House Democrats will launch a major new phase of their impeachment inquiry next week with public hearings that will feature three State Department officials who have testified about their concerns about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who is leading the impeachment investigation, announced Wednesday that the committee will hear from top Ukraine diplomat...

The U.S. Embassy in Tehran remains frozen in 1979 as the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis approaches, a time capsule of revolutionary graffiti, Underwood typewriters and rotary telephones. The diplomatic compound was overrun by students angered when Washington allowed ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi into the U.S. for medical treatment. What initially began as a sit-in devolved into...

Iran’s president called Sunday on Western powers to leave the security of the Persian Gulf to regional nations led by Tehran, criticizing a new U.S.-led coalition patrolling the region’s waterways as nationwide parades showcased the Islamic Republic’s military arsenal. Hassan Rouhani separately promised to unveil a regional peace plan at this week’s upcoming high-level meetings at the United Nations, which...

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations an “act of war” against the kingdom by Iran, as the Saudis displayed missile and drone wreckage and cited other evidence they said shows the raid was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran.” Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack, warned the U.S. it will...

Attorney General William Barr removed the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons in the latest fallout over the death of Jeffrey Epstein in federal custody. Barr named a former director, Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, to replace Hugh Hurwitz.

Iranian forces seized a ship in the Persian Gulf suspected of carrying smuggled fuel, state media reported Sunday, marking the Revolutionary Guard’s third seizure of a vessel in recent weeks and the latest show of strength by the paramilitary force amid a spike in regional tensions. State TV and the semi-official Fars news agency reported that seven crew members were...

American officials looked on Sunday as Israel opened a newfound Roman-era street at a divisive archaeological site in east Jerusalem, a move that deepened Palestinian animosity toward the White House’s mediation efforts. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman attended the event along with three other visiting American ambassadors as well as President Donald Trump’s Mideast negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, and Republican...

American officials looked on Sunday as Israel opened a newfound Roman-era street at a divisive archaeological site in east Jerusalem, a move that deepened Palestinian animosity toward the White House’s mediation efforts. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman attended the event along with three other visiting American ambassadors as well as President Donald Trump’s Mideast negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, and Republican...

When the Trump administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars of aid for Palestinians last year, the Parents Circle, a coexistence group of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, lost 30% of its budget overnight. So members were shocked Sunday to learn that the White House is now using its photos in promotional materials for a U.S. peace plan that has...

When the Trump administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars of aid for Palestinians last year, the Parents Circle, a coexistence group of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, lost 30% of its budget overnight. So members were shocked Sunday to learn that the White House is now using its photos in promotional materials for a U.S. peace plan that has...

The Trump administration on Saturday unveiled a $50 billion Palestinian investment and infrastructure proposal intended to be the economic engine to power its much-anticipated but still unreleased “deal of the century” Middle East peace plan. The scheme, which calls for a mix of public and private financing and intends to create at least a million new jobs for Palestinians, was...

The Trump administration on Saturday unveiled a $50 billion Palestinian investment and infrastructure proposal intended to be the economic engine to power its much-anticipated but still unreleased “deal of the century” Middle East peace plan. The scheme, which calls for a mix of public and private financing and intends to create at least a million new jobs for Palestinians, was...

FIFA scrapped plans to expand the 2022 Qatar World Cup to 48 nations, deciding Wednesday to stick with 32 countries due to the political and logistical complexities of using another Persian Gulf nation. FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s hopes of expanding the Middle East’s first World Cup in the region were stymied by the regional diplomatic crisis and the governing body’s...

Iran quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity amid tensions with the U.S. over Tehran’s atomic program, nuclear officials said Monday, just after President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister traded threats and taunts on Twitter. Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal with world...

The Trump administration will unveil the first phase of its long-awaited blueprint for Mideast peace next month at a conference in the region designed to highlight economic benefits that could be reaped if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, the White House said Sunday. The plan, which has been two years in the making, envisions large-scale investment and infrastructure work in...

Four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged by what Gulf officials described as sabotage, though satellite images obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed no major visible damage to the vessels. Details of the alleged sabotage to two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati oil tanker on Sunday remained unclear, and Gulf officials have declined to say...