Interpol approves membership for State of Palestine over Israeli objections
September 29th, 20170 JERUSALEM ― Interpol voted on Wednesday to admit the State of Palestine as a member over Israeli objections at the international police organization’s general assembly in Beijing. The decision came despite Israeli efforts to delay a vote and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the Palestinians’ joining the...
Germany’s Merkel hangs on to power but bleeds support to surging far right
September 29th, 20170 BERLIN ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office on Sunday but Europe’s most powerful leader will have to govern with a far less stable coalition in a fractured parliament after her conservatives poured support to a surging far right. Two years after Merkel left German borders open to more than 1 million...
ISIS releases audio recording of Baghdadi urging militants to keep fighting
September 28th, 20170 CAIRO ― ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has exhorted followers across the world to wage attacks against the West and to keep fighting in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. The message released on Thursday was his first purported audio communication in almost a year during which his jihadist group lost much of its self-proclaimed...
If threatened, Trump vows to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea
September 19th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS ― President Trump escalated his standoff with North Korea over its nuclear challenge on Tuesday, threatening to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million people and mocking its leader, Kim Jong Un, as a “rocket man.” In a hard-edged speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump offered a grim portrait...
Home-made bomb injures 22 on packed London commuter train
September 15th, 20171 A home-made bomb on a packed rush-hour commuter train in London engulfed a carriage in flames and injured 22 people on Friday in Britain's fifth major terrorism incident this year, but apparently failed to fully explode. Passengers heading into the British capital fled in panic after the blast as the train was about to depart Parsons...
Lebanon to complain to U.N. over Israel violating airspace
September 14th, 20170 BEIRUT ― Lebanon will file a complaint to the United Nations against Israel for violating the country’s airspace and causing damage by breaking the sound barrier in the south of the country, its foreign minister said on Monday. Israeli jets flew low over the southern city of Saida on Sunday, causing sonic booms that broke windows...
Saudi Arabia’s calls for social media informants decried as ‘Orwellian’
September 14th, 20170 Saudi Arabia ― The Saudi Kingdom has urged its people to report subversive comments spotted on social media via a phone app, a move denounced by a human rights watchdog as “Orwellian”. The appeal, announced on a Twitter account run by the interior ministry late on Tuesday, coincides with an apparent crackdown on potential...
Hezbollah declares Syria victory, Russia says much of country won back
September 13th, 20170 BEIRUT/MOSCOW — The Lebanese group Hezbollah has declared victory in the Syrian war while Russia said government forces had driven militants from much of the country where President Bashar al-Assad’s rule seemed in danger two years ago. The comments from two Syrian government allies mark the most confident assessments yet of...
Nasrallah declares victory: Lebanon fully liberated from ISIS terrorists
September 3rd, 20170 BEIRUT —A convoy of ISIS fighters and their families left the Lebanon-Syria border region on Monday under Syrian military escort, surrendering their enclave and traveling to eastern Syria after a week-long battle. A line of ambulances and buses were shown on Syrian state television driving slowly through the arid countryside, the...
ISIS forced out form Lebanon-Syria border, Nasrallah declares victory
August 29th, 20170 BEIRUT - A convoy of ISIS fighters and their families left the Lebanon-Syria border region on Monday under Syrian military escort, surrendering their enclave and traveling to eastern Syria after a week-long battle. A line of ambulances and buses were shown on Syrian state television driving slowly through the arid countryside, the...
Six dead in clashes in Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
August 24th, 20170 SIDON, Lebanon ― Two members of the Palestinian group Fatah were killed in clashes with Islamist groups in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon on Wednesday, medical sources said, bringing the number of dead to six in nearly a week of fighting. The two sides later agreed a ceasefire deal, Palestinian officials said, as a security...
Trump commits U.S. to Afghanistan war; Taliban vow ‘graveyard’
August 22nd, 20170 WASHINGTON — President Trump committed U.S. troops to an open-ended war in Afghanistan, a decision the Afghan government welcomed on Tuesday but which Taliban insurgents warned would make the country a "graveyard for the American empire". Trump offered few specifics in a speech on Monday but promised a stepped-up military campaign...
Australian men charged with terrorism over mosque fires
August 20th, 20170 MELBOURNE- Australian police have charged three men with committing terrorist acts on suspicion of starting fires at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Melbourne last year, inspired by ISIS and intending to divide the Muslim community. Two of the men are already in custody and awaiting trial on suspicion of plotting bomb attacks in Australia's...
Van mows down crowd in Barcelona, 13 reported killed
August 17th, 20170 BARCELONA- A van plowed into crowds in the heart of Barcelona on Thursday and Spanish media reported at least 13 people were killed, in what police said they were treating as a terrorist attack. The death toll was reported by Cadena Ser radio, citing police sources. Police said some people were dead and injured but did not confirm the...
Nasrallah says U.S. can’t hurt Hezbollah, dismisses sanctions
August 16th, 20170 BEIRUT — On Sunday, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah dismissed the prospect of tougher U.S. sanctions against his group, which is backed by Iran, and said the U.S. administration had no way to harm it. "The American administration, with all available and possible means, will not be able to damage the strength of the resistance,"......
Jordanian companies on the hunt for opportunities in Detroit
August 15th, 20170 DETROIT — On Thursday, Aug. 3, the Honorary Consulate of Jordan in Michigan hosted a reception and forum welcoming a Jordanian trade delegation to Detroit. The key objective of the mission was to promote the growth of trade and business diversification of the Jordanian exports to the U.S. in several manufacturing sectors that are...
More than half a million children in Libya need help: UNICEF
August 10th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS - On Wednesday, the United Nations children agency UNICEF warned that more than half a million children in Libya need help and called on warring parties to end the violence and negotiate a political solution to the crisis. Libya has spiraled into turmoil after a civil war ousted longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.......
UN study: Foreign fighters in Syria ‘lack basic understanding of Islam’
August 10th, 20170 Young men who leave their homes to fight for terrorist groups in Syria mainly come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have low levels of education and “lack any basic understanding of the true meaning of jihad or even the Islamic faith”, according to a study for the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The report, which was...
Old cinemas find new life in Lebanon as cultural hubs
August 4th, 20170 TRIPOLI, Lebanon — With paint peeling from the ceiling and crumbling plasterwork, renovating an abandoned picture house in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli is more than a dream for Qassem Istanbouli. The 31-year-old has reopened three such cinemas— two in his home city of Tyre in southern Lebanon and another in Nabatiyeh—...
Clooneys to help 3,000 Syrian refugees go to school in Lebanon
August 2nd, 20170 BEIRUT- George and Amal Clooney said on Monday they would help 3,000 Syrian refugee children go to school this year in Lebanon, where the United Nations says 200,000 children are not receiving an education after fleeing the war in neighboring Syria. The Clooney Foundation for Justice said it has teamed up with Google and HP Inc to help...
Lebanon-Syria refugee transfer delayed
August 1st, 20170 BEIRUT ― The transfer of thousands of Syrian militants and refugees from a Lebanese border region into rebel territory in Syria stalled for a second day on Tuesday. Lebanese television station al-Mayadeen said Nusra Front militants were demanding the release of a fifth prisoner being held by Beirut and accused of killing Lebanese......
Saudi Arabia seeks to end U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks
August 1st, 20170 NEW YORK — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss 25 lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and should pay damages to victims. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Saudi Arabia said the plaintiffs cannot show that the kingdom or any affiliated charities were behind the attacks. It...
Hezbollah: Nearing victory in battle at Lebanon-Syria border
July 28th, 20170 BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that the group was close to defeating Nusra Front militants in the battle along the Syrian-Lebanese border. "We are in the face of a very big military victory," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. The militants have "effectively lost" most of the land they......
Hariri stays silent as Trump mistakenly says he is fighting Hezbollah
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Questions have once again been raised over President Donald Trump’s grasp on foreign policy after he appeared to misunderstand the political and militery role played by the pwerful Lebanese party of Hezbollah in the Middle East’s complex geopolitics. During a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad...
Netanyahu climbdown in Al-Aqsa standoff, thousands of worshipers surge into holy site
July 27th, 20170 JERUSALEM - Thousands of Muslim worshippers surged into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday and at least 113 were hurt in scuffles with police after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the sacred site in the face of days of violent protests. Chaotic scenes unfolded as Israeli forces used stun grenades to try to control......
