Four die during Saudi police raid on house in eastern town
RIYADH- Two Saudi security officers and two people they were trying to detain were killed in a gunfight on Thursday, Feb. 20, in the eastern town of al-Awamiya, the government said, an area where minority Shi'a have staged regular anti-government protests. Shi'a in the region complain of discrimination, a charge denied by the kingdom,...Lawyer: Sudan sentences rape victim to jail
KHARTOUM — A pregnant Ethiopian teenager who was gang-raped in Sudan, according to activists, received a one-month jail term for "indecent activities" after a video of the alleged rape spread on social media, on Thursday, Feb. 20.Her sentence was suspended because she is pregnant, but she was also fined 5,000 pounds ($625).A...Five killed at blast in Syrian refugee camp near Turkey
DAMASCUS- An explosion believed to have been caused by a car bomb tore through a Syrian refugee camp at a border post on the frontier with Turkey on Thursday, Feb. 20, killing five people, a monitoring group said.Ambulances ferried the injured from the refugee camp to the southern Turkish city of Kilis, where a state hospital official...Turkey offers residency to Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria
ANKARA — The Turkish government has agreed to grant residency permits to Palestinians who have fled Syria for Turkey, the Palestinian ambassador to Turkey said in a statement.Nabil Maroof said that the agreement means that any Palestinian refugee coming from Syria will be able to live, work, and study legally in Turkey. The decision...Nine dead, 14 troops seized after south Yemen clash
SANAA — Nine people were killed and 14 soldiers kidnapped on Tuesday, Feb. 18, after a clash between gunmen and Yemeni troops in the southern city of Dalea, a separatist stronghold, local residents and the defense ministry said. The incident occurred when gunmen attacked a truck carrying food supplies, the defense ministry said on its...Deadly mortar attacks kill 17 in crowded area south of Baghdad
BAGHDAD — Five mortar rounds struck the Mussayib area south of Baghdad on Thursday, Feb. 20, killing 17 people, police and a doctor said.The shelling, which hit an area of shops and restaurants that draws crowds at night, also wounded 70 people, the sources said.A car bomb also killed one person in Mussayib on Tuesday, one of 10 such...Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence announces candidacy for 14th Congressional District
SOUTHFIELD — Mayor Brenda Lawrence recently announced her candidacy for the 14th Congressional District, which stretches from Pontiac to southwest Detroit. Lawrence.In 2001, Lawrence became both the first female and African-American mayor of Southfield. She has served as mayor for more than a decade. In 2012, she unsuccessfulyy ran for...Iran, Britain resume diplomatic relations
Britain and Iran on Thursday, Feb. 20, officially resumed diplomatic relations which were severed by London after students stormed its Tehran embassy in November 2011."The UK has agreed with Iran that from today bilateral relations will be conducted directly through non-resident charge d'affaires and officials," a Foreign Office...
Even orphans are victims of terrorism in Lebanon
February 21st, 20140 Children at al-Majad Center in a state of shock and sorrow after the twin suicide bombings in South Beirut, Wednesday, Feb. 19. BEIRUT — The twin suicide bombings Wednesday in Bir Hassan, south of Beirut, were rightfully described as "an attack on the Islamic orphanage." In fact, the two blasts shook the neighborhood containing...Egypt adjourns Al Jazeera journalists’ trial
CAIRO- The trial of three Al Jazeera English journalists in Egypt has been adjourned until March 5 after they appeared in court in Cairo, on Thursday, Feb. 20, and pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohammed are accused of joining, or aiding and abetting a terrorist...Syria talks approaching “failure,”mediator seeks U.S. and Russian help
GENEVA - Warning that "failure" was staring him in the face, the Syria peace talks mediator said on Thursday, Feb. 13, that the United States and Russia had promised renewed support to keep rival Syrian allies talking.U.N. diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi met senior diplomats from Washington and Moscow in Geneva, hoping the co-sponsors of the...Algerian military plane crashes into mountain, 77 killed
ALGIERS - A military transport plane carrying members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives crashed into a mountain on Tuesday, Feb. 11, killing 77 people, the worst air disaster in the North African country in a decade.State television showed footage of the wreckage of the plane near the village of Ouled Gacem in eastern...Qatar seeks to improve tarnished image over migrant workers treatment
DOHA - Qatar revealed on Tuesday, Feb. 11, a set of guidelines aimed at protecting the rights of thousands of expatriate workers employed on construction projects, as the emirate prepares to host the 2022 football World Cup. The gas-rich Gulf state, which is under mounting criticism from rights groups over the conditions of migrants...Fifteen pilgrims die in Saudi Arabia hotel fire
MEDINA, Saudi Arabia - Fifteen people died and around 130 were injured when a fire broke out in a hotel packed with Muslim pilgrims in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina on Saturday, Feb. 8, the state news agency said.All 15 were Egyptians and the blaze was started by an electrical short circuit, according to a separate report on Egypt's...Lebanese army seizes top al-Qaeda-linked militant
A car found with explosives is being taken away in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood as the Lebanese army investigates the scene. PHOTO: Marwan Tahtah/Al-AkhbarBEIRUT - Lebanon's army arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 12, a senior al- Qaeda-linked militant described by officials as a "mastermind of car bombs" targeting mostly......
Egypt negotiates arms deal with Russia as Putin backs Sisi presidential bid
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Thursday, Feb. 13, his support for a presidential bid by Egyptian Army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, voicing his hope to strengthen the ties between the two countries.Russia is looking to take advantage of strains between Cairo and Washington, which has withheld some of...Islamist insurgents seize parts of northern Iraqi town
BAGHDAD - Islamist extremist militants took over parts of a town in northern Iraq on Thursday, Feb. 13, local officials said.The mayor of Sulaiman Pek said the militants belonged to the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a fundamentalist group that was involved in the takeover of the city of Falluja last month and is also active......
New U.S. bill to punish academic boycott inspired by Israeli ambassador
WASHINGTON — Weeks after Ambassador Michael Oren, Israel’s former envoy to the United States, suggested it, members of the United States Congress have introduced a bill to punish American universities if their members support the academic boycott of Israeli institutions.The so-called “Protect Academic Freedom Act” would deny...
Bursting the ‘blood bubble’
February 14th, 20140 MISHOR ADUMIM INDUSTRIAL ZONE, Occupied West Bank — The longstanding Israeli practice of labeling settlement products “Made in Israel” is leading to mounting opposition to the occupation.Settlements are considered a violation of international law. In Israel, they aren’t. And so, more often than not, consumers of Israeli products...
Lebanese olympic skier faces investigation after appearing in racy photos
February 14th, 20140 BEIRUT — Lebanese skier Jackie Chamoun is being investigated by the Lebanese Olympic Committee for appearing in racy photos and a Youtube video with nothing but underpants, covering her breasts with skis. The skier, who is not expected to be a medal contender, may have given the Sochi Games its first controversy after partially nude...UN: Clashes in Iraq’s Anbar displaced 300,000
BAGHDAD - Violence in Iraq's Anbar province, where armed groups fully control one city and parts of another, has displaced up to 300,000 people in six weeks, the United Nations has said.The province has been hit by a surge in fighting between pro- and anti-government forces that began at the end of last year, as Iraq suffers its worst......
Libya TV studios attacked by gunmen
BENGHAZI — Gunmen attacked the Benghazi studios of two privately run television channels overnight, journalists and security officials said Thursday, Feb. 6, as violence in Libya's second city showed no let-up.The attacks were the latest in a spate of assaults by suspected former-rebel militia on the independent media, which have...Yemenis protest to scrap ‘corrupt’ gas deals with foreign firms
SANAA — Several hundred protesting Yemeni youths demanded Thursday, Feb. 6, that the government scrap "corrupt" gas deals with foreign firms, including France's Total, which they claim are at vastly lower rates than market prices."Total out! Our gas is ours," chanted the demonstrators, who had gathered outside the Sanaa residence of......
Israel approves plans for 550 settlement homes in East Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday, Feb. 6, approved building plans for more than 550 new homes in illegal settlement neighborhoods of annexed east Jerusalem, the city council said.In a statement listing "building permits that were approved" during a local planning committee session, it said permits were granted to private...Bahrain toughens penalties for insulting king
MANAMA — The king of Bahrain has approved on Thursday, Feb. 6, a law imposing a jail sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10,000 dinars ($26,000) for anyone who publicly insults him.bin Isa Al-Khalifa's measure highlights the sensitivity of Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states to criticism of senior officials and ruling......
