Egypt's highest court on Sunday invalidated the Islamist-dominated Senate and a panel that drafted the constitution, throwing the country into fresh political uncertainty.The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) said the law governing the elections of the Shura Council was unconstitutional, as were the rules for the selection of the members of a committee that drafted the constitution. Presiding Judge Maher al-Beheiry said that the Shura C... Read more »

Seven suspected al-Qaeda militants have been killed in two drone air strikes in southern Yemen, officials say.The militants were travelling in two cars which were hit in the airstrikes. The strikes come nine days after US President Barack Obama said he would only use such strikes when a threat was "continuing and imminent". Yemen is considered a stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP). Militants have gained ground because ... Read more »

Lebanon's parliament has voted to postpone elections due in June because of security concerns over the conflict in Syria, officials say. MPs voted to extend their mandate until November 2014. It is the first time they have done so since the Lebanese civil war ended in 1990. The move follows the failure of MPs to agree on a new electoral law. Tensions have risen since Lebanon's Shia movement Hezbollah began fighting openly alongside the S... Read more »

Seven police officers were injured when a homemade device exploded in a town near the capital Manama, Bahrain's Ministry of Interior says.The explosion, which happened Wednesday night in the town of Bani Jamri, was a "terrorist act", it said.It said that one of the police officers was in a critical condition.More than 60 people, including 6 police officers have died since pro-democracy protests broke out in the Gulf island kingdom in Feb... Read more »

The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to add more than 1,100 extra troops to the international peacekeeping force in Abyei amid new tensions between Sudan and South Sudan over the territory.The move comes after the killing of a tribal leader and an Ethiopian peacekeeper in the past month.The Security Council voted unanimously to increase the strength of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to 5,326 troops following repea... Read more »

At least 57 people have been killed in a series of car bombs targeting mainly Shia areas in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say.Many more were wounded as at least a dozen bombs hit busy shopping areas and markets in the city.The violence comes amid a recent marked rise in attacks linked to growing political and sectarian tension.It has raised fears of a return to the levels of sectarian violence seen in 2006 and 2007, in which thousan... Read more »

At least three people have been wounded by a rocket strike on the southern part of the Lebanese capital Beirut.Two rockets hit a district controlled by the Hezbollah organisation, officials and residents were quoted as saying by news agencies.Tension has been high over the conflict in neighbouring Syria.On Saturday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised his supporters they would prevail in Syria, where they are backing President Bas... Read more »

The fragile security situation in Tunisia, where radical Islamists are blamed for a wave of violence in recent months, makes it necessary to extend the state of emergency, Defence Minister Rachid Sabbagh said on Friday."The current security situation in the country requires an extension of the state of emergency," said Sabbagh, cited by the official TAP news agency.The state of emergency, in effect since veteran strongman Zine El Abidine... Read more »

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis have participated in a sit-in in protest at a raid on a senior Shia cleric's home.The sit-in was called by al-Wefaq, Bahrain's largest opposition political society, after a late night raid on the home of Sheikh Isa Qassim.Last week's raid provoked anger in the Shia Muslim community.Sheikh Qassim is the most senior Shia cleric in the Gulf state. Bahrain has a majority Shia population but the ruling royal fam... Read more »

Islamist militants staged twin suicide car bombings on an army base and a French-run uranium mine in Niger on Thursday, killing at least 20 people and taking several trainee officers hostage in the impoverished West African state.An Islamist group claimed the unprecedented attacks as revenge against the country's involvement in France's offensive against militants in neighbouring Mali.They come just four months after Al-Qaeda linked mili... Read more »