Iran, Saudi Arabia among 30 countries to attend Geneva II
December 13th, 20130 GENEVA - Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back opposite sides in Syria's war, are among more than 30 countries slated to attend a peace conference next month, diplomats said.The Geneva 2 conference, a follow-up to a 2012 meeting, is aimed at mapping out a political transition to end nearly three years of fighting that has killed more than...Saudi Grand Mufti to suicide bombers: You will go to hell
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh branded suicide bombers as "criminals" who will go to "hell," Al-Hayat daily reported Thursday, Dec. 12.Suicide bombings are "great crimes" and bombers are "criminals who rush themselves to hell by their actions," Sheikh said during a lecture in Riyadh a few...Romania bars citizens from working in Israeli settlements
Bucharest - A diplomatic spat has erupted between Israel and Romania after Bucharest reportedly refused to allow Romanian construction workers to be employed in Israel's illegal West Bank settlements, Israel's military radio said on Tuesday, Dec. 10.The row comes in the wake of tensions between Israel and the European Union over new...Deceiving the U.S. Public on Syria
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has confirmed that President Barack Obama misled the American people over the Aug. 21 Syrian chemical attack by cherry-picking evidence about the Syrian government’s presumed guilt and excluding suspicions about the rebels’ capability to produce their own sarin gas.Hersh also reported that he...Nasrallah blames Saudis for Iran embassy bombings
BEIRUT — Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday, Dec. 3, blamed Saudi Arabia for a twin suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut that killed 25 people last month.The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that claimed responsibility for the attacks, "has an emir and he is Saudi, and I am convinced that it is...Egyptian activists to stand trial over breach of new protest law
CAIRO — Egypt ordered on Thursday, Dec. 12, three prominent political activists to stand trial on protest-related charges, judicial officials said, in another sign of growing intolerance of dissent.One of them, leading dissident Ahmed Maher, was charged with protesting without permission, marking the first time anyone had been ordered...Kuwaiti court upholds law restricting freedom of speech
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's top court on Monday, Dec. 2, upheld as constitutional a disputed law under which people who "offend" the emir can be jailed for up to five years. The constitutional court rejected challenges by lawyers defending activists to demand the penal code provision be abolished for allegedly suppressing freedom of speech...String of execution-style killings raises fears in Iraq
BAGHDAD — In the past week, Iraqi police have found the bodies of at least 41 men who were either shot in the head or decapitated in a wave of killings in Baghdad and northern Iraq.The spate of execution-style killings in Iraq has rekindled memories of attacks carried out at the height of the country's sectarian bloodshed and raised...Saudi women launch new drive to get behind wheel
RIYADH — Saudi women activists have re-launched a campaign for the right to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, urging women to get behind the wheel on Dec. 28.The call for action is a "reminder of the right so it is not forgotten," activist Nasima al-Sada said, adding that women nationwide are being urged to drive on the chosen...Tunisian rapper sentenced to four months in jail for insulting police
TUNIS — A Tunisian rapper who went on the run after receiving a 21-month jail sentence in absentia in August for songs deemed insulting to police was jailed for four months at a retrial Thursday, Dec. 5.Weld El 15, whose real name is Alaa Yacoubi, had surrendered to the authorities at the courthouse for the hearing. The court found...Attack on Yemen’s Defense Ministry kills more than 50
SANAA — A car bomber and gunmen dressed in army uniforms attacked Yemen's Defense Ministry compound in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, Dec. 5, killing at least 52 people and injuring over 100, in the worst attacks in Yemen in 18 months.No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. But the country has been grappling with a security...
Gaza returns to donkey days
December 6th, 20130 GAZA CITY - The garbage trucks of Gaza city are at a standstill due to an ongoing fuel shortage affecting all aspects of daily life, including garbage collection, sewage and waste disposal and other vital services. But the local donkeys are here to help.Abu Hesham on his donkey cart won’t be able to clear all the streets of garbage. In...Lebanese burn down Syrian refugee camp
BEIRUT — Nasrallah blames Saudi for Iran embassy bombingsNasrallah blames Saudi for Iran embassy bombingsNasrallah blames Saudi for Iran embassy bombingsResidents of a village in eastern Lebanon forced hundreds of Syrian refugees from an informal campsite on Monday, Dec. 2, setting fire to tents after accusing them of raping a...Rebels abduct 12 Syrian nuns from Maaloula
DAMASCUS — Islamist fighters have abducted 12 nuns from the historic Christian town of Maaloula and moved them to a nearby town held by rebels. The leader of the Orthodox Church of Antioch has called on the international community to help save them.Vatican envoy to Syria, Mario Zenari, said on Tuesday, Dec. 3, that 12 nuns including...Turkey loses popularity in Middle East
ISTANBUL — Turkey's popularity in the Middle East has dropped sharply over the past two years, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, Dec. 4, reflecting Ankara's sometimes controversial foreign policy strategy.The biggest decline was registered in Egypt and war-ravaged Syria, where Turkey is strongly opposed to those in power, according to......
An embittered Riyadh may weigh nuclear option
UNITED NATIONS - Saudi Arabia’s unyielding opposition to last week’s interim nuclear agreement with Iran has triggered speculation about its own projection of military power in the Middle East.As the Wall Street Journal pointed out early this week, the Saudis may conclude that international acceptance of a nuclear program of any kind...
Beirut suicide bombers were followers of Assir
November 29th, 20130 BEIRUT — DNA tests revealed that the two suicide bombers behind the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut resided in South Lebanon and were followers of Salafi cleric Ahmad al-Assir.It was a sluggish weekend in Saida and its environs; the double suicide bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut resulted in a series of shocks for the......
WHO: Syria polio cases spread to Damascus and Aleppo
BEIRUT — The World Health Organization said on Tuesday, Nov. 26, that additional polio cases had been confirmed in two new areas of Syria, including near Damascus and in the northern city of Aleppo near Turkey. UNICEF has joined the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to launch a huge immunization campaign against polio in...Rebels reject ceasefire for Geneva talks as Syrian army advances in Damascus Countryside
DAMASCUS — The commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Tuesday, Nov. 26, his group would shun a planned peace conference in Switzerland in January and would pursue its fight to topple President Bashar al-Assad regardless.General Salim Idriss's stance highlights how hard it will be for international mediators to get...Dubai to host Expo 2020
DUBAI - The sky above the world's tallest building was illuminated by fireworks on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 26, as Dubai was named host city of the Expo 2020.The city, part of the United Arab Emirates, fought off competition from Brazil, Turkey and Russia in its much-hyped bid to run the exhibition.The exposition is an acclaimed...Egypt to vote on a new constitution in December
CAIRO - Egypt will hold a referendum on an amended constitution in December, the group drafting it said on Tuesday, Nov. 26, an important step in an army-backed roadmap meant to lead to elections.Hours before the timing of the referendum was announced, protesters took to the streets in defiance of a law passed on Sunday requiring police......
Benghazi declares civil disobedience after deadly clashes
BENGHAZI — Local officials called for civil disobedience including strikes for three days from Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi after deadly clashes between radical Islamist fighters and the army.The call issued by Benghazi's city council came as defense ministry officials, according to a source, were in...Battlefield gains to strengthen Assad position at peace talks
BEIRUT - Divisions in rebel ranks and more committed loyalist fighters are helping the Syrian regime notch up military victories that would give it the upper hand at peace talks, analysts and rebels say.The army's capture this week of the strategic town of Qara, north of Damascus, followed three days of fighting against Al-Nusra Front......
Syrian army makes major advances as militants calls for jihadi unification
DAMASCUS - Pro-government forces have made advances throughout Syria in recent days in fighting with rebels around the big cities of Damascus and Aleppo.Some of the key clashes have been close to the Lebanese border, where deadly twin suicide bombings this week hit the embassy of Iran, Syria's main regional ally, in what was widely seen...Hizbullah: “March 14” justifying Beirut terrorist attacks
BEIRUT - Hizbullah’s bloc took an indirect swipe Thursday at the March 14 coalition, which it accused of attempting to justify recent car bombings in the country particularly Tuesday's attack against the Iranian Embassy.Hizbullah, which issued a statement after its weekly meeting in the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, also called on......