U.N. aims to air drop food to ISIS-besieged city in eastern Syria
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations plans to make its first air drops of food aid in Syria, to Deir al-Zor, an eastern town of 200,000 besieged by ISIS militants, the chair of a U.N. humanitarian task force said on Thursday. U.N. aid agencies do not have direct access to areas held by ISIS, including Deir al-Zor, where civilians face...Hezbollah chief threatens to bomb Israeli gas facilities if Beirut is attacked
BEIRUT — Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to attack Israeli gas facilities if Israel targets Beirut. Nasrallah said Tuesday that his group would bombard the Israeli coastal city of Haifa if a future confrontation escalates. "Israel knows Hezbollah has missiles and rockets that can strike anywhere in its...Legendary journalist and historian Heikal dies at 92
Mohamed Hassanein HeikalCAIRO — Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, the Arab world's best known political commentator, died on Wednesday at age 92, Egyptian state television reported.The leading Egyptian journalist rose to prominence as editor in chief of Egypt's Al-Ahram, widely regarded as the newspaper of record in the Arab world during his...Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security fears
A sign indicating radioactive material is shown in Anaheim, California, 2011.BAGHDAD — Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by ISIS.The...UAE soldier killed in Yemen fighting
An electronics warehouse store after a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa Feb. 14SANAA — A United Arab Emirates soldier was killed and another was wounded while fighting in Yemen as part of a Saudi-led military coalition, state news agency WAM reported on Sunday, citing the army general command.The coalition is fighting to stop the...Israel returns 134 goats to south Lebanon in ‘bad condition’
Lebanese farmers demonstrate in front of UNIFIL office in Kfar Shuba village over Israeli abduction of goats, Feb. 11. Photo: The Daily StarBEIRUT — Israeli forces returned 134 goats to Lebanese farmers. The animals were in "bad condition," and Israeli authorities are still holding another 91, the state-run National News Agency...
Russia: Syria conflict could unleash World War III
February 11th, 20160 A destroyed neighborhood in AleppoMOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said all powers must sit at the negotiating table to forge an end to the war in Syria "instead of unleashing a new world war.""The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?" Medvedev told Germany's Handelsblatt...
In Yemen war, hospitals bombed to rubble, starvation spreads
February 10th, 20160 A man reacts at the site of a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Feb. 10SANAA — Elderly Hamama Yousif was rushed to the main hospital in one of Yemen's largest cities after an artillery round lashed her chest with shrapnel, only to find that the doctors there had run out of the oxygen tanks needed to save her life.In a...U.S. general: ISIS unlikely to be pushed out of Mosul this year
ISIS militants in MosulWASHINGTON — An Iraqi-led operation to retake the ISIS stronghold of Mosul is unlikely to take place this year, a top U.S. intelligence official told Congress on Tuesday.The comments by Marine Corps Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart were more pessimistic than some recent predictions by U.S. and Iraqi officials...Lebanese army kills 6, arrests 16 ISIS members
BEIRUT — The Lebanese army said its troops killed six extremists and arrested 16 others near the Syrian border on Wednesday, in its largest operation against ISIS. The soldiers launched the raid, in which local ISIS chief Anas Zaarour was killed, at dawn in the Arsal region of eastern Lebanon, a military spokesman said. A "most...
Clinton, Sanders take new combative tone ahead of New Hampshire primary
February 5th, 20160 NEW HAMPSHIRE — Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take an increasingly combative tone into their first one-on-one debate on Thursday, cranking up a fight over who is best suited to lead the party's liberal agenda on the economy and healthcare. Five days before New Hampshire voters render a...Top al-Qaeda chief killed in Yemen drone attack
SANAA — An air strike believed to have been carried out by a U.S. drone in south Yemen on Thursday killed a prominent chief of al-Qaeda's branch in the war-torn country, a family member said. Jalal Belaidi, alias Abu Hamza, a top commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed along with two guards in the Maraqesha...
Clinton and Sanders to hold debate in Flint
February 4th, 20160 FLINT- The water crisis is bringing the democratic candidates to Michigan. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will debate each other in Flint on March 6 on the heels of the contaminated water crisis that has garnered national media attention.The debate was confirmed in a statement released by Democratic National Committee Chair...
Blame regarding the Middle East’s turmoil starts with us
January 29th, 20160 The funeral of an Egyptian soldier killed in an attack in Sinai, July 2.The blood of Syrian children spills onto the Earth as countless bombs are dropped and buildings are decimated. Palestinian mothers mourn and bellow to the skies over their martyred sons. Yemeni people cannot leave their homes without the fear of spontaneous attacks...Iraq’s Mosul dam could face catastrophic collapse
A general view of Mosul DamBAGHDAD — The U.S. military has a contingency plan to deal with a potential collapse of Mosul dam in northern Iraq, which would be catastrophic, the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Thursday.U.S. Army Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland said Iraqi authorities understood "the potential" for the collapse......
Israeli defense minister: Turkey funded ISIS
Refugees fleeing Syria on the Turkish borderTel AVIV — Israel's defense minister said on Tuesday that ISIS militants had been funded with 'Turkish money,' an assertion that could hinder attempts to mend fences between the two countries after years of estrangement."It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to...Syria peace talks derailed as opposition stays away
A rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan, Jan. 12. Photo: ReutersGENEVA — The Syrian opposition said it will not attend peace talks due to begin in Geneva on Friday, derailing the first attempt in two years to hold negotiations aimed at ending the five-year-long war.An opposition council convening in Riyadh said its delegation would......
Egyptian writer sentenced to three years for blasphemy
Fatima NaootCAIRO — A prominent Egyptian writer was sentenced to three years in prison for criticizing the tradition of slaughtering sheep during Muslim holiday Eid Al-Adha.Writer Fatima Naoot was also fined LE20,000 (over $2550) after being found guilty of contempt of religion.The jail sentence is effective immediately, meaning the...UN: Saudi strikes on Yemen civilians may be crimes against humanity
A Sanaa house destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike, Jan. 25SANAA — A Saudi-led coalition fighting in neighboring Yemen has targeted civilians with air strikes and some of the attacks could be a crimes against humanity, United Nations sanctions monitors said in an annual report to the Security Council.The report by the U.N. panel that...Lebanese priest says yoga is a Satanic ritual
Father Marwan Khoury. Photo: AljoumhouriaA Lebanese priest is waging jihad against yoga. Father Marwan Khoury wrote an article for Arabic daily Aljoumhouriya, arguing that yoga is a form of devil worship. Lebanon is struggling with economic, environmental and security problems. There has been no regular trash collection in Beirut...Saudi Arabia’s top cleric bans chess
Sheikh Abdulaziz Al- SheikhSaudi Arabia’s grand mufti has ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam, saying it encourages gambling and is a waste of time.Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh was answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers’ queries on everyday religious matters.He said chess was......
Lebanon speaker says Christian tie-up not enough to secure presidency
BEIRUT — The influential speaker of Lebanon's parliament has cast doubt on whether the reconciliation of the country's rival Christian leaders will help the country install a new president after nearly two years with the post empty. In a surprise move, Christian politician Samir Geagea declared his support for 80-year-old rival...Israel will seize West Bank land; demolishes EU structures
JERUSELAM — Israel confirmed on Thursday it was planning to appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing international condemnation. In an email sent to Reuters, COGAT, a unit of Israel's Defense Ministry, said the......
ISIS slashes salaries of fighters by half, citing economic challenges
The Islamic State jihadist group has announced plans to halve the monthly salaries of its members in Syria and Iraq as the economic reality of waging war on several fronts takes its toll. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, medics, and fighters across Syria for information on Isis,...
Geagea backs Aoun for Lebanese presidency
January 18th, 20160 Geagea and Aoun during a press conference. Photo: The Daily StarBEIRUT — Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea backed his rival Michel Aoun for the presidency on Monday, in an apparent break with his Saudi-backed allies that aligns him with a civil war era enemy supported by Hezbollah.The announcement edges 80-year-old Aoun......