#TODAYS 5 TOP STORIES
![Zarif is set to meet his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed al-Hakim, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi [Carlo Allegri/Reuters file]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/3415c9197fda4855971ee37501f81944_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
![Damage is seen at a school in Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz [File: Anees Mahyoub/Reuters]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/e9b74adc2fe9466c84f2193cbaa59309_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
Turkey sends weapons to opposition fighters in Syria
AMMAN: Turkey has equipped an array of mainstream Syrian opposition fighters it backs with fresh supplies of weaponry to help...
Read more![Zarif is set to meet his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed al-Hakim, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi [Carlo Allegri/Reuters file]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/3415c9197fda4855971ee37501f81944_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
![Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is sailing the Arabian Sea [Garrett LaBarge/US Navy via AP]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/f7b540e077784a398a53f4768b828e01_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
![Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in Moscow on April 8, 2019 [Reuters/Maxim Shipenkov]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cebe3219b4a248098f567febefe7a970_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
Are Russia and Turkey making deals or parting ways in Syria?
Over the past few weeks, northwest Syria witnessed yet another serious military escalation. Russian and Syrian regime forces unleashed a deadly campaign...
![Some 800,000 Palestinians were forcefully expelled from their homes and land when Israel was founded in 1948 [File: Reuters/Ali Hashisho]](https://i0.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8afd88f7bb7942deb4d37938ca3f10ad_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
The return of Palestinian refugees is quite possible
Еvery year, a day after Israel marks its independence day on May 14, we commemorate with sadness and nostalgia the Nakba...
How Hezbollah evades sanctions in Venezuela and partakes in Maduro’s drug trade
The international media has been rife with analysis about the events of April 30th and May 1st, when Venezuelan Interim...
Getting the most out of Saudi Arabia’s new residency permit
Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council just approved a special residency permit for entrepreneurs, investors, and skilled expatriates. This is a potentially...
The scramble for Jerusalem
Recent foreign policy decisions by the United Stateshave opened yet another chapter in the long history of the competition for the...
Saudi Ministry: Improved pilgrim services have had positive impact
MAKKAH: Bassam Ghulman, deputy minister for transportation affairs at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, said that the Cabinet’s decision...
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Syrian troops regain control of village they lost to rebels
DAMASCUS: Syrian state media say government forces have regained control of a northwestern village, just days after losing it to...
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Sudan main opposition group rejects general strike call
Sudan’s main opposition group and supporter of the protest movement on Sunday rejected its call to stage a two-day general...
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Algeria poll deadline passes with ‘no candidates’
A deadline to register for Algeria’s controversial presidential election has passed without a single candidate putting themselves forward, national radio...
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![Sudanese protesters attend a demonstration in front of the defence ministry compound in Khartoum, Sudan on May 6, 2019 [Reuters/Umit Bektas]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/95140e3275bb4581ac83c9ca2b6b3ba5_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
![Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in Moscow on April 8, 2019 [Reuters/Maxim Shipenkov]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cebe3219b4a248098f567febefe7a970_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
![Some 800,000 Palestinians were forcefully expelled from their homes and land when Israel was founded in 1948 [File: Reuters/Ali Hashisho]](https://i0.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8afd88f7bb7942deb4d37938ca3f10ad_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
