The siege of Kobani and the failure of American policy
October 10th, 20140 Kurds vented their fury at the Turkish government for standing by as Isis fighters looked poised to take the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani in view of the Turkish border and the watching Turkish army.At least 12 people died and dozens of people were wounded in demonstrations across Turkey. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters...Bahrain activist to go on trial over ‘insulting’ tweets
Rajab.MANAMA — Leading rights activist Nabeel Rajab is to remain in custody and go on trial October 19 on charges of posting tweets deemed insulting to authorities, the prosecution said Thursday.A general prosecutor, Hussein al-Buali, said Rajab was charged with "publicly insulting government institutions," after the defence and...Hizbullah bomb wounds two Israeli soldiers
An injured Israeli soldier is evacuated to a hospital in the northern city of Haifa Oct. 7.BEIRUT — Lebanese Hizbullah fighters detonated a bomb on Lebanon's border with Israel on Tuesday, wounding two Israeli soldiers and drawing artillery fire in response.The incident in the Shebaa hills area marked the first time that Hizbullah has...France says $3 billion Lebanon arms deal to go ahead
BEIRUT — France will soon provide weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese army as part of a $3 billion grant from Saudi Arabia to help it fight extremists encroaching into Lebanon from Syria, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.One of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague...Egypt, Libya announce deeper cooperation to ‘fight terrorism’
CAIRO — Egypt will train Libyan forces to fight terrorism and help secure a shared border, the prime ministers of the two states announced in Cairo on Wednesday, stepping up efforts against Islamist insurgents in both countries.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has expressed concerns over militants who have capitalized on the...Saudi women’s right-to-drive campaign hits social media
RIYADH — Activists in Saudi Arabia are revving up a right-to-drive campaign using social media in the world's only country that bans women from getting behind the wheel, a campaigner said on Thursday.An online petition asking the Saudi government to "lift the ban on women driving" has attracted more than 2,400 signatures ahead of the...
Voter registration deadline is Oct. 6
October 3rd, 20140 MICHIGAN — Voter registration deadline for the Nov. 4 general election is Monday, Oct. 6. Key races include the governor’s race between incumbent and republican candidate Rick Snyder and his opponent, democrat Mark Schauer and the competition between democratic Congressman Gary Peters and former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land...Assad: Countries that backed terrorism can’t defeat jihadists
DAMASCUS — Extremists cannot be defeated by countries that have "spread terrorism," Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday in an apparent jab at members of the U.S.-led coalition against the "Islamic State."Speaking during a meeting with a senior Iranian official in Damascus, the Syrian leader took aim at countries he said...Egyptian army kills Sinai militants’ commander
CAIRO — Egypt's army killed a field commander in Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the country's most dangerous militant group, during clashes on Thursday in the lawless north of the Sinai Peninsula, security sources said.Mohamed Abu Shatiya, among militants behind the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai last year, died during fighting...Palestinians draft UN resolution to end the occupation
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Sept. 26.UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians have drafted a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an end to Israeli occupation by November 2016, which they have shared informally with Arab states and...School bombing kills 41 children in Syria
A picture released by SANA shows Syrian Red Crescent members providing medical assistance to a victim a car bomb explosion outside the Akrameh al-Makhzumi school in Homs on October 1.DAMASCUS — At least 41 Syrian children aged under 12 were killed on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in a double bombing at a school in the government-controlled city...Turkey authorizes military action in Syria and Iraq, as ‘Islamic State’ advances
A Syrian Kurdish refugee carries her belongings after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town of Kobani. Photo Murad Sezer Reuters.SURUC, Turkey — Turkey's parliament authorized the government to order military action against "Islamic State" on Thursday as the insurgents tightened their grip on a Syrian border town, sending...
French, U.S. planes strike “Islamic State” across Syria and Iraq, Britain to join coalition
September 26th, 20140 BAGHDAD — French fighter jets struck Islamic State targets in Iraq on Thursday and the United States hit them in Syria, as a U.S.-led coalition to fight the militants gained momentum with an announcement that Britain would join.In the United States, FBI Director James Comey said Washington had identified the masked "Islamic State"...IS blows up ancient church and Muslim shrine in Tikrit
Arbaeen Wali shrine Photo Al-Sumaria News.BAGHDAD — "Islamic State" militants controlling the Iraqi city of Tikrit blew up a Muslim shrine and rigged one of the region's oldest churches with explosives, security sources and witnesses said Thursday.A police lieutenant from the area around the city, which is controlled by the "Islamic...Fatah-Hamas reach agreement to give unity government control over Gaza
CAIRO — A unity government is to take control of the Gaza Strip, after a breakthrough in talks between Palestinian factions on Thursday which could strengthen their hand in talks with Israel next month.The Gaza ceasefire struck in August between Israel and the Palestinians called for the Palestinian Authority, led by President......
Lebanese army raids Syrian refugee camps, arrests 4 militants
Syrian refugees tents burn as Lebanese soldiers raid it in Ersal, Thursday, Sept. 25.BEIRUT — The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) detained four Nusra Front extremists and investigated 470 suspected Islamist militants in Ersal, Tripoli, Akkar and Koura, Lebanese security sources said on Thursday, as it steps up efforts to prevent them from...
Houthi rebels take over Sanaa, as Yemen president warns of civil war
September 26th, 20140 A Houthi rebel holds an RPG near the presidential palace in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Wednesday Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters.SANAA — President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has warned Yemenis their country is heading toward civil war after the takeover of the capital by Houthi rebels, a move that has allowed the insurgents to......
Nakhwa without borders: Gaza and the end of ‘Arab gallantry’
On its own, the Arabic word al-Nakhwa means “gallantry.” Combined with the word “al-Arabiya” - “Arab gallantry” - the term becomes loaded with meanings, cultural and even political implications and subtext. But what is one to make of “Arab gallantry” during and after Israel’s most brutal war on Gaza between July 8 and...Syrian Army recaptures town in Damascus countryside
DAMASCUS — Syrian government forces have overrun rebels in a town northeast of Damascus, strengthening President Bashar al-Assad's grip on territory around the capital.The town - Adra al-Omalia - is about 30 km from central Damascus, but far from parts of Syria where the United States has launched air strikes against fighters from the...IS-linked group execute French tourist in Algeria
ALGIERS — Algerian militants beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped by gunmen on Sunday in what the group said was a response to France's action against "Islamic State" militants in Iraq.In a video released by his captors on Wednesday, Gourdel, a 55-year-old from Nice, is seen kneeling with his arms tied behind his...Egypt accuses Turkish president of supporting terrorism after UN speech
CAIRO — Egypt has accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of supporting terrorists and seeking to provoke mayhem in the Middle East after he questioned the legitimacy of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a speech at the UN General Assembly.Ties between Ankara and Cairo have been strained since then-army chief Sisi toppled......
“Islamic State” captures Kurdish villages, U.S. Congress approves arming rebels
September 19th, 20140 Syrian militants carry a rocket before firing it towards Hama military airport that is controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in the Hama countryside July 25.DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" militants backed by tanks captured 16 Kurdish villages in northern Syria near the Turkish border, on Thursday, prompting...
Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem: Obama does not want to finish ISIS
September 19th, 20140 BEIRUT — When Hizbullah intervened in Syria, it was accused by anti-Syrian government politicians in Lebanon of supporting the Syrian president for sectarian regions. However, the group maintains that it joined the war in Syria to protect the Lebanese border from the threat of takfiris, extremists who consider others infidels.In an......
Houthi militants push into Sanaa
A follower of the Houthi movement holds up a photo showing Yemen's President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi (R) sitting with General Ali Muhssein (L) and General Saleh Fadhil, outside Fadhil's house.SANAA — Armed Shi'a rebels pushed into Yemen's capital Sanaa after clashing with the army on the northwestern outskirts on Thursday, security...Miltants abduct Lebanese soldier from home
BEIRUT — Militants Wednesday kidnapped a Lebanese Army soldier as he went to visit his family in Wadi Hmeid on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Ersal, security sources said.According to eye witnesses, gunmen in two pickup trucks snatched First Adjutant Kamal Mohammad Hujeiri, taking him by surprise, and fled to Ersal's......