Sisi warns against intervention in Libya
CAIRO — Military intervention in Libya is risky and foreign powers would be better off supporting a military commander based in the east, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of neighboring Egypt was quoted as saying on Thursday. A power struggle between two rival administrations in Libya has allowed ISIS militants to gain ground there...Saudi-led air strikes on Yemeni market kills more than 100
SANAA — The death toll from Saudi-led air strikes on an outdoor market in northwestern Yemen has risen to more than 100, a provincial health director and a U.N. official said on Thursday, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the year-old war. Spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri said the Saudi-led coalition, which has...Syria’s Kurds vote to seek autonomy under federal system
Members of the self defense forces, Feb. 9.RMEILAN, SYRIA — Syria's Kurdish-controlled northern regions voted to seek autonomy under a federal system on Thursday, angering both the Damascus government and neighboring power Turkey with a move that could complicate new U.N.-backed peace talks. The vote to unite three Kurdish-controlled...EU to pitch migrant plan to Turkey but no done deal
Refugees and migrants at a makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 17ANKARA — European Union leaders agreed to offer Turkey financial and political concessions if it stops migrants reaching Greece and will meet the Turkish prime minister in Brussels on Friday to try and clinch the deal. Even if they can overcome...In Bekaa Valley camp, Angelina Jolie urges support for Syrian refugees
Angelina Jolie during her visit to Syrian refugees in the Bekaa valley, March 15BEIRUT — U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie urged world powers on Tuesday to do more to end Syria's five-year war and help the millions who have fled the conflict, as she visited refugees in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.The war has killed 250,000 people,...
Russians to start withdrawing from Syria, as peace talks resume
March 15th, 20160 MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin announced out of the blue on Monday that "the main part" of Russian armed forces in Syria would start to withdraw, telling his diplomats to step up the push for peace as U.N.-mediated talks resumed on ending the five-year-old war.Damascus rejected any suggestion of a rift with Moscow, saying...ISIS used ‘poisonous substances’ in Iraqi village shelling
Children receive oxygen, after suffering from choking, at a hospital in Taza south of Kirkuk, March 9BAGHDAD — More than 40 people suffered partial choking and skin irritation in northern Iraq when ISIS fired mortar shells and Katyusha rockets filled with "poisonous substances" into their village late on Tuesday, local officials...Lebanese soldier, five militants killed in clashes
BEIRUT — A Lebanese soldier and five ISIS militants were killed Thursday in clashes on the outskirts of a northeastern border town, a Lebanese Army statement said. The statement said that the clashes ignited at 3:30 a.m., after the army carried out a preemptive strike against a large group of extremists on the outskirts of Ras...U.S. raised concerns with Saudis about halting aid to Lebanese army
WASHINGTON — The United States said on Tuesday it had raised concerns with Saudi Arabia about the kingdom's cutting off aid to the Lebanese army, adding that international assistance to Lebanon is essential to curbing the influence of Hezbollah.Saudi Arabia said last month it had suspended a $3 billion aid package for the Lebanese...Houthis, Saudis discuss ending Yemen war
A spices vendor works in his roadside stall in Sanaa, March 3. Photo: ReutersSANAA — Iran-allied Houthis and their Saudi foes have begun talks to try to end Yemen's war, two officials said, in what appears their most serious bid to close a theatre of Saudi-Iranian rivalry deepening political tumult across the Middle East.A delegation...Netanyahu seeks to expel families of Palestinians resisting occupation
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he hopes to curb a wave of Palestinian assaults by expelling to Gaza families of assailants found to have encouraged them to attack Israelis. Netanyahu, in a letter to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit released to the media, asked for a legal opinion on such a move,...
Gulf Arab states label Hezbollah a terrorist organization
March 2nd, 20160 The GCC defined Hezbollah as a 'terrorist' group. Photo: ReutersDUBAI — The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council named Hezbollah a terrorist organization on Wednesday, opening up the possibility of further sanctions against the Iran-allied group that wields influence in Lebanon and fights in Syria.The council - representing Saudi...Kurdish special forces rescue Swedish girl from ISIS
ERBIL — A teenage Swedish girl being held by ISIS militants in Iraq was rescued in a raid by Kurdish special forces last week, the autonomous region's security council said in a statement on Tuesday. The 16-year-old traveled from Sweden to Syria last year and later crossed into Iraq, where she was rescued near the ISIS stronghold of...Sisi ends up on eBay after saying he would sell himself
CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has come under withering criticism from Egyptians on social media after delivering a long televised speech on Wednesday. Signs are growing that the former army chief, who seized power in 2013, is losing popularity, though there are no clear indications his rule is under threat. Egyptian media,...Partition could be part of ‘plan B’ if Syria peace talks fail
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said he will move towards a plan B that could involve a partition of Syria if a planned ceasefire due to start in the next few days does not materialize, or if a genuine shift to a transitional government does not take place in the coming months."It may be too late to keep it as a whole......
Beirut’s river of trash captures international attention
A general view shows packed garbage bags in Jdeideh, Beirut, Feb. 23BEIRUT — Lebanon is known for its sandy beaches, majestic mountains and lush rivers. But a new kind of scenery is snaking its way through Beirut. A river of garbage in the country's capital has captured international headlines.An overflown landfill in the Beirut...Violence rages in Syria as Kerry and Lavrov reach provisional deal on ceasefire
A woman carries an injured boy inside a hospital after multiple bomb blasts hit a southern district of Damascus, Feb. 21AMMAN — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, had reached a provisional agreement on terms of a cessation of hostilities in Syria and the sides were closer to a......
Iraq sentences 40 ISIS militants to death
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi court sentenced 40 captured members of ISIS to death on Thursday for the killing of hundreds of soldiers after their capture by the terrorist group as it swept across northern Iraq in 2014, a judicial spokesman said. The slaughter of 1,700 soldiers after they fled from an ex-U.S. army base outside the northern...Turkey blames Kurdish militants for Ankara bomb
Turkish officials at a ceremony of a soldier killed in clashes with Kurdish militants, Ankara, Feb. 18.ANKARA — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed a Syrian Kurdish militia fighter working with Kurdish militants inside Turkey for a suicide car bombing that killed 28 people in the capital Ankara; and he vowed retaliation in...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......
