Lebanon’s largest Christian bloc warns against sidelining president
March 27th, 20210 BEIRUT — Lebanon’s largest Christian bloc, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), warned prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Saturday against sidelining President Michel Aoun and other parliamentary blocs in talks over forming a cabinet. Hariri and Aoun have been at loggerheads over the cabinet for months, dashing hopes of a...
Roadblocks cleared in Lebanon after week of protests
March 12th, 20210 BEIRUT — Growing resentment and outrage among the Lebanese led to eight days of protests this week, with protesters using burnt tires to block roadways across the country in anger over the nation's economic meltdown and political deadlock amid a pandemic lockdown. The Lebanese army said on Wednesday it had started clearing...
Biden is on the verge of making the same dangerous mistakes as his predecessors
March 7th, 20210 By Frank Giustra and Andrew Bacevich If the escalating tensions between the United States and China aren't causing you concern yet, you've not been paying attention. Any conflict between the two superpowers would result in unimaginable devastation — if not physical, at least economic. And don't forget: Both China and the United...
Lebanese anger at economy grows as political deadlock persists
March 6th, 20210 BEIRUT — Protesters blocked some roadways in Lebanon for a second day on Wednesday, after the currency’s fall to a new low further enraged a population long horrified by the country’s financial meltdown. In the past year, Lebanon has been through a popular uprising against its political leaders, the bankruptcy of the state and...
Pope Francis departs Rome for risky, historic Iraq tour
March 5th, 20210 ROME – Pope Francis left Rome on Friday to start a four-day trip to Iraq, his most risky foreign trip since his election in 2012 and the first visit by a pontiff to the country. An Alitalia airplane carrying the 84-year-old pope, his entourage, a security detail and about 75 journalists left Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport for the...
Pentagon: U.S. carries out airstrikes against Iraqi militia facilities in eastern Syria
February 26th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, President Biden ordered U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria, on the border with Iraq, against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon described as "Iran-backed militia", in a calibrated response to recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. The strikes appeared to be limited in scope,...
Lebanese court removes investigator who charged politicians over Beirut blast
February 19th, 20210 BEIRUT — On Thursday, a Lebanese court dismissed a judge who had charged top politicians with negligence over last year’s Beirut port explosion, infuriating families of victims who said it showed that the state would never hold powerful men to account. Judge Fadi Sawan had led the investigation into one of the largest non-nuclear...
Biden ready to return to Iran nuclear deal; lifts Trump-era sanctions
February 19th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration, through Secretary of State Antony Blinken, affirmed on Thursday it is willing to come to the negotiation table with Iran over a return to a nuclear accord, if Tehran came into full compliance with the deal. The Iran Nuclear Deal, first struck in 2015, is aimed at preventing the country...
Israel indicates it may not engage with Biden on Iran nuclear deal
February 16th, 20210 TEL AVIV — The Biden administration and Israel seem to have embarked on an uncertain and rocky relationship, in contrast to what the country's right-wing government enjoyed with former President Trump. More friction arose this week, with Israel throwing cold water on U.S. hopes to engage with the country on the topic of Iran and its...
UAE’s Hope Probe enters orbit in first Arab Mars mission
February 12th, 20210 DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates’ first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million-km (307 million-mile) journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate. The Mars program is part of the UAE’s efforts to develop its scientific and...
Blinken stops short of endorsing Trump’s recognition of the Golan Heights as Israel
February 12th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing the Trump administration’s recognition of the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel, instead noting that the territory was important for Israel’s security. Former President Trump officially granted U.S. recognition of the Golan as Israeli...
“Freedom is never voluntarily given”: Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist
February 11th, 20210 Claims made by Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in a recent op-ed in the Jewish weekly, “The Forward”, point to the prevailing ignorance that continues to dominate the U.S. discourse on Palestine and Israel. Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, is vying for the Jewish vote in New York City....
Travelers could be fined $1,500 or more for violating mask order
February 9th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says travelers who violate President Biden’s latest mask order for domestic and international travel could be charged $1,500 or more. The TSA recently made an update to its original bulletin regarding Biden’s executive order on promoting COVID-19 safety in...
Our mutual fight: The case against Pakistani normalization with Israel
February 6th, 20210 The Pakistani government should never, under any circumstances and no matter the pressure, normalize with Israel. Doing so is not only dangerous — as it will embolden an already vile, racist, violent apartheid Israel — but it would also be considered a betrayal of a historic legacy of mutual solidarity, collective affinity and...
International Criminal Court rules it has jurisdiction over Palestinian Territories
February 5th, 20210 AMSTERDAM - The International Criminal Court ruled on Friday that it has jurisdiction over war crimes or atrocities committed in the Palestinian Territories, paving the way for a criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections. Judges said their decision was based on jurisdictional rules in the Hague-based court’s founding......
Lebanese filmmaker and Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim shot dead
February 5th, 20210 BEIRUT — Activist, publisher and filmaker Lokman Slim was found dead in a car in Southern Lebanon on Thursday. Slim died from four bullets in the head and one in the back. Slim’s sister Rasha al-Ameer suggested he had been murdered because of his ardent criticism of Shi’a Hezbollah. He was last seen after visiting a poet...
First big suicide attack in Baghdad in three years kills at least 32
January 21st, 20210 BAGHDAD — ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in a crowded Baghdad market on Thursday, killing at least 32 people in Iraq’s first big suicide bombing in three years, authorities said, describing it as a possible sign of the reactivation of ISIS. ISIS claimed early on Friday that two of its men blew themselves up in Tayaran......
International year in review: Palestinians betrayed, calamity in Beirut, crisis in Yemen
January 14th, 20210 The following is a year in review for the top international news that we covered in 2020. Palestinians betrayed, calamity in Beirut, crisis in Yemen. Protests in Lebanon over deepening economic crisis Authorities in some of the most populous areas of Lebanon cracked down on mass protest by Lebanese expressing their frustration...
Iraq issues arrest warrant for President Trump
January 7th, 20210 BAGHDAD — A judge in Baghdad has issued an arrest warrant for President Trump for the killing of an Iranian general and Iraqi militia leader last year. The Washington-directed drone strike had killed Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside of the capital’s airport last January. Al-Muhandis was the deputy...
Lebanon orders three-week lockdown to fight virus spread
January 4th, 20210 BEIRUT - Lebanon announced a full lockdown for three weeks, including a night curfew, to stem a rise in COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals in a country already facing financial meltdown. Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan said the lockdown would start on Thursday and run until Feb. 1, with further details on...
At least 22 killed in Yemen airport explosion
December 30th, 20200 YEMEN - As the newly formed government arrived at Aden Airport in Yemen, several explosions went off, killing at least 22 and injuring more than 50 people. https://youtu.be/KN2bmuo5CKQ Above: Deadly explosions hit Yemen's Aden Airport as newly formed government arrives (viewer discretion advised) All of the Cabinet members are safe,......
A country in turmoil: Why Netanyahu is a symptom, not cause of Israel’s political crisis
December 23rd, 20200 It is convenient to surmise that Israel’s current political crisis is consistent with the country’s unfailing trajectory of short-lived governments and fractious ruling coalitions. While this view is somewhat defensible, it is also hasty. Israel is currently at the cusp of a fourth general election in less than two years. Even by...
Lebanon’s airline warns of new ticket challenge facing dollar account holders
December 20th, 20200 BEIRUT — The head of Lebanon’s airline said on Sunday the carrier would at some point need to demand payment for tickets bought in Lebanon using “fresh dollars”, or recently transferred currency that is not subject to restrictions imposed since a financial crisis. Middle East Airlines (MEA) Chairman Mohamad El-Hout did not......
Washington Spirit Women’s Soccer Team visits Qatar, plays friendly match
December 18th, 20200 DOHA, QATAR — Players from the Washington Spirit Women’s Soccer Team played a friendly match with members of the Qatar Women’s National Soccer team on Tuesday, Dec. 15. The Spirit’s visit was organized by the Embassy of the State of Qatar in the U.S. in partnership with the Qatar Museums and the U.S. Embassy in Doha. The...
When the people rose: How the Intifada changed the political discourse around Palestine
December 16th, 20200 December 8 came and went as if it was an ordinary day. For Palestinian political groups, it was another anniversary to be commemorated, however hastily. It was on this day, 33 years ago, that the First Palestinian Intifada (uprising) broke out, and there was nothing ordinary about this historic event. Today, the uprising is merely......
