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...Britain’s foreign secretary: UK helping Saudi-led Yemen campaign
People flee after air strikes in Sanaa, May 10, 2015LOMDON —Britain's foreign minister said U.K. troops are helping identify targets for a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, and have not found any "deliberate" breaches of humanitarian law.Britain's support for Saudi airstrikes has been criticized by human rights groups, who accuse......
Iraq military says ISIS spokesman Adnani wounded
Abu Muhammad al-AdnaniBAGHDAD — ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has reportedly been wounded in an air strike in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a military statement said on Thursday."There are confirmed reports that the so-called terrorist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani the spokesman of the Daesh (ISIS) terrorists was wounded in an...Iran accuses Saudi warplanes of attacking its embassy in Yemen
A demonstration outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa, Jan. 7SANAA — Iran said Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in Yemen's capital on Thursday, a development that would exacerbate tensions between the major Shi'a and Sunni powers in the region, and Riyadh said it would investigate the accusation."Saudi Arabia is responsible for......
Sayings of executed Saudi cleric Nimr al-Nimr
January 6th, 20160 Nimr al-NimrExecuted cleric Nimr al-Nimr was the most vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's ruling Al Saud family in the kingdom's Shi'a Muslim minority, but he also poured scorn on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and distanced himself from Iran.Here are excerpts from video and audio recordings of his speeches and sermons published online."We...Hezbollah targets Israeli forces with bomb, Israel shells south Lebanon
An Israeli artillery gun fires a shell into Lebanon, Jan. 4. Photo: ReutersBEIRUT — Hezbollah set off a bomb targeting Israeli forces at the Lebanese border on Monday in an apparent response to the killing in Syria last month of a prominent commander, triggering Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon.Israel has struck its Iran-backed......