A suicide bomber has struck a market in the northern Yemen town of Saada, killing at least two other people.Witnesses said the man blew up a bomb-laden motorbike in the town, which lies about 130km (80 miles) north of the capital, Sanaa. At least eight other people were injured in the attack.Saada is a mainly Shia city in the north of majority Sunni Yemen, and has been under the control of Houthi Shia rebels for several years. "The bodie... Read more »

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has appointed a number of Islamist allies as regional governors.The move strengthens what many see as the Muslim Brotherhood's grip on power.The Brotherhood and its allies now control 13 of Egypt's 27 governorships.The most significant appointment is for the tourist hotspot of Luxor, where the new governor comes from a party set up by an extremist group that carried out deadly attacks on foreigners in the... Read more »

A wave of car bombings across central and southern Iraq has killed at least 30 people, police and medics say.Most of the attacks took place in cities with a high concentration of Shia Muslims - including Kut, Najaf, Mahmoudiya, Nasiriya and Basra.Iraq has been hit by almost daily attacks, raising fears of a return to the worst levels of sectarian violence.Last month was the bloodiest in Iraq since June 2008, with 1,045 civilians and secu... Read more »

At least 93,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the conflict, according to latest United Nations figures.This represents a rise of more than 30,000 since the UN last issued figures covering the period to November 2012.
At least 5,000 people have been dying in Syria every month since last July. But it says these statistics are an underestimate as it believes many deaths have not been reported. Over 80% of those ... Read more »

Jordan's parliament has approved a treaty with the UK designed to lead to the deportation of Abu Qatada. The treaty is now awaiting approval by Jordan's King Abdullah - the final key stage before the deal becomes law. The vote in Parliament means the process to deport the radical cleric is likely to resume within weeks. The cleric has already indicated he will not challenge deportation if the treaty is passed because the document guarant... Read more »