Red Cross: Real risk of famine in Yemen
Conflict-ridden Yemen, where more than 3,000 people have been killed and one million displaced since war broke out in March, is at risk of famine, aid chiefs said on Tuesday, the day after the conflict's highest one-day death toll was recorded.The situation is "clearly deteriorating by the day," said Antoine Grand, head of the...ISIS clashes with Egyptian army in Sinai, more than 100 dead
CAIRO — Egypt's army said on Wednesday that more than 100 militants and 17 soldiers were killed after simultaneous assaults on military checkpoints in North Sinai, in the deadliest fighting in years in the restive province. After a day of fighting, which involved F-16 jets and Apache helicopters, the army said it would not stop its...Red Cross: Civilians in Aden struggling to survive
GENEVA — Civilians struggling to survive street battles and Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen's southern port city of Aden are also facing shrinking supplies of food and fuel, a senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.Hunger and disease are threatening the 1 million residents of Aden, now a war zone...Kuwait arrests two police officers in crackdown on militants
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait arrested two police officers in a security crackdown on Islamist militants launched after last week's deadly bombing of a mosque claimed by "Islamic State", newspapers reported on Wednesday.The attack by a suicide bomber on Friday killed 27 people and injured more than 200, prompting the government...Dubai plans to build 3-D printed office building
DUBAI — Fast-growing Dubai, where something new is always being added to the skyline, may have found a way to make construction move even faster.The Gulf commercial hub Tuesday announced plans to add the world’s first office building made using three-dimensional printer technology to its collection of eye-catching...Morocco breaks up militant cell linked to ISIS
RABAT — Morocco said Thursday security forces had dismantled a terrorist militant cell affiliated to ISIS, including members with knowledge in handling weapons and explosives.North African governments are on high alert after last Friday’s rampage by a gunman at a Tunisian beach resort attack.The Moroccan group of nine...Iraq’s Christians train to recapture homes
BAGHDAD — With wooden crosses around their necks and others tattooed on their arms, several dozen Iraqi Christians are training to recapture their homes overrun by ISIS militants.A year ago, ISIS launched a fierce offensive in northern Iraq, quickly capturing second city Mosul with its large Christian minority, and...ISIS suicide bomber kills 27 in Kuwait mosque
KUWAIT CITY — A suicide bomber killed 27 people when he blew himself up inside a packed Shi'a Muslim mosque in Kuwait city during Friday prayers, the health ministry and witnesses said, the first attack of its kind in the major oil-exporting state.ISIS militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 227...ISIS reenters Kobani, captures parts of Hasaka
DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" fighters have launched simultaneous attacks against Syrian government and Kurdish militia forces, moving back onto the offensive after losing ground in recent days to Kurdish-led forces near the capital of their "caliphate." ISIS sought to retake the initiative with incursions into the Kurdish-held town of...Saudi cables highlight “checkbook diplomacy”
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (R) chats with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.CAIRO — The Gulf States were willing to pay $10 billion for the release of deposed Egyptian President Mubarak, according to the so-called 'Saudi Cables' released by WikiLeaks. The whistleblowing site has published 60,000 top-secret documents from these...U.N. report: Israel, Palestinians committed war crimes in Gaza
GAZA — U.N. investigators said on Monday Israel and Palestinian militant groups committed grave abuses of international humanitarian law during the 2014 Gaza conflict that may amount to war crimes. They called on all sides to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened a separate preliminary...Watchdog: Egypt’s imprisonment of journalists at all-time high
CAIRO — Egypt is holding the highest number of journalists behind bars since record keeping began, using the pretext of national security to crack down on press freedoms, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. A prison census conducted by the CPJ on June 1 found at least 18 Egyptian journalists were being held in...Israeli cluster bomb kills Syrian boy in Lebanon
BEIRUT — A nearly decade-old Israeli cluster bomb killed a nine-year-old Syrian boy and wounded three of his relatives in south Lebanon, on Thursday, June 25. A security source said the cluster bomb, dropped by an Israeli warplane during the 2006 invasion of Lebanon, killed Khaled Barakat, 9, and wounded his two brothers, Hasan,...Houthi shelling kills four soldiers on Saudi border
The site of a bomb blast outside the Saba News Agency in Sanaa, June 25.SANAA — Shelling by Yemen's Houthi militia killed four soldiers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stationed on Yemen's border with the kingdom, Saudi state media reported on Thursday. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi border posts in...Two Lebanese prison guards arrested for torture
BEIRUT — Two prison guards accused of torturing inmates inside a prison in Lebanon have been arrested, ministers told reporters on Sunday, a day after videos of prisoners receiving harsh beatings sparked uproar in the country. Initially, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told reporters that two prison guards were arrested but the......
The forgotten refugees: Internally displaced population is growing
It’s a tale of hidden suffering of monumental proportions. The estimated number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world has reached a record 38 million, but that number is still by far an underestimation. The figure comes from a recent report issued by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center , with 11...ISIS kills 14 Iraqi soldiers
BAGHDAD — "Islamic State" militants detonated a car bomb and then opened fire on Iraqi troops in the western province of Anbar on Thursday, killing 14 soldiers, security sources said. Iraqi government forces and their Shi'a militia allies are hoping to recapture Anbar's provincial capital, Ramadi, which was seized by the terrorist......
Iraqi town bans political debates, smoking and honking
BAGHDAD — Smoking, horn honking and political debating — these may sound like a few of Iraq's favorite things, but one village has banned them all to beat the national doom and gloom. "Smoking just isn't good for you," said Kadhim Hassoon, standing proudly by a red-and-white crossed out cigarette sign marking the entrance of Albu...Quadruple car bombing in Yemen capital kill two
SANAA — Four car bombs that struck mosques in Sanaa and the headquarters of Yemen's dominant Houthi movement on Wednesday killed two people and wounded 60 others, a medical source told state news agency Saba on Thursday. Coming on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the bombings were claimed by "Islamic State" and...Arson targets “miracle” church in Israel
TEL AVIV — An arson attack on Thursday gutted part of a church at the traditional site of what Christianity reveres as Jesus' miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Israeli fire brigade said. A verse from a Hebrew prayer denouncing the worship of "false gods" was spray-painted in red on a church...U.N. envoy to Syria condemns attacks on civilians by rebels and government
GENEVA — On Wednesday, the United Nations mediator for Syria, who held talks with President Bashar al-Assad this week, condemned the government's heavy bombing of civilian areas near Damascus and deadly rebel attacks on Aleppo. U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura called on both sides to allow greater access to besieged areas,......
U.N. chief criticizes Israel over deaths of children in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel for the death and suffering of many Palestinian children during last summer’s conflict in Gaza and urged the Israeli government to take immediate steps to prevent such killings. The U.N. chief referred to the controversy over his decision not to include Israel on his...ISIS says blows up two warplanes at seized Libyan base
LIBYA — This week the terrorist group "Islamic State" claimed responsibility for blowing up two warplanes at an air base it seized near the central Libyan city of Sirte. The group published pictures on social media that it said showed the destroyed two military aircraft parked in front of a hangar. The Islamist rebel fighters......
More than 20 million in war-torn Yemen need humanitarian aid
YEMEN — Eighty percent of Yemen's population, or more than 20 million people, need some form of humanitarian assistance as Arab air strikes and civil war ravage the impoverished country, aid agency UNICEF said this week. The figure is up by almost 5 million people since the organization's latest report this month. For...Thousands flee into Turkey from Syria as Kurds fight “Islamic state”
TURKEY — Thousands of people fled from Syria into Turkey on Wednesday as moderate rebels and Kurdish forces fought "Islamic State" insurgents holding the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad. The refugees had entered Turkey through a makeshift border crossing overseen by Turkish gendarmerie officers. Many of them were women and......
