Passport fees set to increase by $20 starting Dec. 27
December 23rd, 20211 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. State Department said this week that on Dec 27, the cost for a passport book will increase by $20. The department said the the increased fee is necessary to ensure it continues to produce one of the most secure travel and identity documents in the world. Travelers can learn more about their...
Facebook says Israeli and other spy firms targeted 50,000 people
December 17th, 20210 Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. is calling out half a dozen private surveillance companies for hacking or other abuses, accusing them in a report published Thursday of collectively targeting about 50,000 people across its platforms. The company's fight with the spy firms comes amid a wider move by American tech companies, U.S....
Beirut blast probe judge cleared to continue investigation
December 7th, 20210 BEIRUT — The probe into last year's deadly Beirut port blast has been cleared to resume after being suspended for more than a month on legal claims against its lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, a judicial source said. A Beirut court rejected the last of the suits preventing Bitar from questioning top officials on...
U.N. urged to restore scrutiny of war crimes in Yemen
December 3rd, 20210 GENEVA – Activist groups called on the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday to create a new panel of independent experts to collect and preserve evidence of possible war crimes by all sides in Yemen's bitter conflict for future prosecution. Bahrain, Russia and other members of the U.N. Human Rights Council pushed through a vote in...
Final results confirm Sadr’s victory in last month’s Iraqi vote
November 30th, 20210 BAGHDAD — Iraq released final results on Tuesday from last month's general election, confirming populist Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement's victory as the biggest bloc, with 73 seats in the fractious 329-seat house. The Taqaddum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats. Former Prime Minister...
Apple files lawsuit against NSO Group, saying U.S. citizens were targets
November 25th, 20210 CALIFORNIA — Apple Inc. said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli cyber firm NSO Group and its parent company OSY Technologies for alleged surveillance and targeting of U.S. Apple users with its Pegasus spyware. The iPhone maker said it is also seeking to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services or devices...
Children skipping meals in majority of families in Lebanon, UNICEF says
November 25th, 20210 BEIRUT — More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October amid a "dramatic deterioration of living conditions," the U.N.'s children's fund said in a report released on Tuesday. Children have been hit hard by the country's deep economic crisis exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic,...
We do exist: Why the Palestinian voice should take center stage
November 24th, 20210 At a recent New York event, the president of the Foreign Press Association, Ian Williams, declared, before an approving audience, that it is time “to reclaim the narrative on Palestine.” This phrase — “reclaiming the narrative” — is relatively new to the Palestinian discourse. Years ago, the concept, let alone its...
U.S. senators move to block $650 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia
November 18th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of U.S. senators are opposing the Biden administration's first major arms sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's involvement in the conflict in Yemen, three senators announced on Thursday. A joint resolution of disapproval to block a proposed $650 million in U.S. arms sales to the Kingdom of...
Gaddafi, Haftar announce election bids amid political uncertainty in Libya
November 16th, 20210 TRIPOLI — The entry of two men accused of war crimes into Libya's presidential race has ramped up the perils of an election meant to help end years of chaos but which could instead set the fuse for a new conflict. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in crushing the 2011 revolution that...
Bill Gates should know better: How the Israeli occupation ravages the environment in Palestine
November 15th, 20210 Those who are not familiar with how Israel, particularly the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, is actively and irreversibly damaging the environment might reach the erroneous conclusion that Tel Aviv is at the forefront of the global fight against climate change. The reality is the exact opposite. In his speech at the U.N....
Palestinian ends 113-day hunger strike
November 12th, 20210 A Palestinian prisoner ended a 113-day hunger strike on Thursday after Israel agreed not to extend his detention without trial beyond February, Palestinian officials said. Miqdad al-Qawasmi's mother voiced concern for his life earlier this week after his condition deteriorated. The officials said he refused food during the protest, but...
Lebanon’s PM attempts a way out of Gulf embargo placed on crisis-ridden country
November 5th, 20210 Lebanon is facing its worst rift yet with oil-rich Gulf Arab states, spurred by comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi before his official appointment about the Saudi-led campaign that has created a severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Thursday he had agreed with...
U.S. blacklists Israeli hacking tool vendor NSO Group
November 3rd, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department added Israel's NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the equipment to target government officials, journalists and others. Positive Technologies of Russia and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE...
Israel, France to handle NSO spyware case “discreetly”, Israeli official says
November 1st, 20210 Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron that the alleged misuse of spyware developed by an Israeli company, including against Macron, would be handled "discreetly", an Israeli official said on Monday. Israel says it has been investigating whether cyber firm NSO Group's Pegasus software,......
Just how does Biden differ from Trump on Palestine?
October 31st, 20210 When Joe Biden was declared the winner in the U.S. elections last November, expectations in Ramallah were high. A Biden administration, compared to the brazenly pro-Israel Trump administration, would surely be much fairer to Palestinians, was the conventional wisdom at the time. Hence, unsurprisingly, Palestinian Authority President...
Despite opposition from U.S. and rights groups, Israel moves ahead with some 3,000 apartheid homes
October 29th, 20211 PALESTINE — Despite objections from the otherwise-aligned U.S. government, and condemnation from Palestine-rights groups, Israel moved forward on Wednesday with plans to build some 3,000 homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The move does stand in defiance of the Biden administration's strongest criticism to date of......
Jerusalem’s mayor says he won’t shun U.S. consulate if it reopens
October 26th, 20210 JERUSALEM — Jerusalem's mayor dismissed media speculation on Tuesday that a U.S. consulate for Palestinians in the city would be denied municipal services if the Biden administration reopens it despite Israeli opposition. The rightist mayor, Moshe Lion, also said Washington's plan to reverse the Trump administration's subsuming of...
Colin Powell, not a hero
October 22nd, 20210 — Iqbal Jassat is an acclaimed writer, analyst and commentator and one of the founding members of Media Review Network. This article, edited for style, also appears in the Palestine Chronicle Will Colin Powell be remembered as America’s hero or as a war criminal? Since his death a few days ago, there appears to be a rush to...
The cultural genocide in Palestine: On Sally Rooney’s decision to Boycott Israel
October 20th, 20210 The pro-Israel crowd on social media was quick to pounce on award-winning Irish novelist Sally Rooney as soon as she declared that she had “chosen not to sell… translation rights of her best-selling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You to an Israeli-based publishing house.” Expectedly, the accusations centered on the standard...
Deadly shooting rocks Beirut as tensions over blast probe erupt
October 14th, 20210 BEIRUT — At least six Shi'as were shot dead in Beirut on Thursday, in an attack on protesters who were heading for a demonstration called by Hezbollah to demand the removal of the judge investigating the explosion that ripped through the city's port last year. The Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally, the Shi'a Amal Movement, accused......
Despite official Israeli objection, U.S. pushes ahead with Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem
October 13th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. will push ahead with the reopening of its Palestinian diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, despite repeated objections from top Israeli officials over the development. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the reopening, which is opposed by Israel’s new cross-party power-sharing...
Cleric Sadr wins Iraq vote, former PM Maliki close behind
October 11th, 20210 Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's party was the biggest winner in an Iraqi election on Monday, increasing the number of seats he holds in parliament, according to initial results, officials and a spokesperson for the Sadrist Movement. Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki looked set to have the next largest win among Shi'a......
Climate choices: Scenes from 2050
October 9th, 20210 A yellow-gray haze stains Midwestern skies. Fueled by years of drought and record-setting heat, smoke from the annual devastation of Western wildfires mixes with that from fires spreading across Wisconsin and Minnesota’s Northwoods. Tired of running on an indoor treadmill since May, a young man from Detroit joins his friends for a...
U.N. ends Yemen war crimes probe opposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Russia
October 8th, 20210 GENEVA — Bahrain, Russia and other members of the U.N. Human Rights Council pushed through a vote on Thursday to shut down the body's war crimes investigations in Yemen, in a stinging defeat for Western states that sought to keep the mission going. Members narrowly voted to reject a resolution led by the Netherlands to give the......
