Damascus warns Israel of ‘more surprises’ in Syria
February 16th, 20180 DAMASCUS — Israel will face "more surprises" should it again attack Syrian territory, Damascus said on Tuesday, after Syria's air defenses shot down an advanced Israeli warplane during the fiercest flare-up between the old foes in 36 years. The F-16 jet was hit over northern Israel on Saturday as it returned from a raid on a Syrian...
Tillerson says Hezbollah role is a threat to Lebanon
February 15th, 20180 BEIRUT — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday warned Lebanon over the Iran-backed Hezbollah group’s growing arsenal and said the movement’s involvement in regional conflicts threatened Lebanon’s security. Speaking alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in a Beirut news conference, Tillerson also said the...
Damascus warns Israel of ‘more surprises’ in Syria
February 13th, 20180 DAMASCUS - Israel will face “more surprises” should it again attack Syrian territory, Damascus said on Tuesday, after Syria’s air defenses shot down an advanced Israeli warplane during the fiercest flare-up between the old foes in 36 years. The F-16 jet was hit over northern Israel on Saturday as it returned from a raid on a...
Israeli police recommend bribery charges against Netanyahu
February 13th, 20180 TEL AVIV - Israeli police on Tuesday recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, opening the way for what could be the biggest challenge yet to the right-wing leader’s political survival. Against the backdrop of Israeli flags in a televised speech at his residence, a somber Netanyahu called the allegations...
Denmark plans to ban face veil
February 13th, 20180 COPENHAGEN — Denmark’s government said last Tuesday it planned to fine people who covered their face in public, putting it in line to join France and others restricting the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women. The center-right government, which is backed by the nationalist Danish People’s Party, said it would bring in...
Ahed Tamimi’s trail begins in Israeli court
February 13th, 20180 JERUSALEM — The teenage girl who became a hero to Palestinians after she was filmed slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank appeared in an Israeli military court on Tuesday for the start of her trial. Ahed Tamimi, 17, has drawn international attention following her arrest after the Dec. 15 confrontation...
Saudi Arabia building world’s tallest tower
February 9th, 20180 JEDDAH — Construction of the world's tallest skyscraper in Jeddah is going ahead, the head of the consortium behind the $1.5 billion project said, despite the detention of some businessmen backing the plan in Saudi Arabia's crackdown on corruption. His comments were a sign that the government is trying to prevent the purge from...
Washington: No U.S. contribution to Iraq in upcoming reconstruction conference
February 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON — The United States does not plan to contribute any money at a conference in Kuwait next week to fund Iraq's reconstruction drive after the war against ISIS militants, U.S. and Western officials said, a move critics say could deal a new blow to American standing internationally. "We are not planning to announce anything,"...
U.S. envoy visits Lebanon and Israel amid tensions over border wall, energy
February 9th, 20180 BEIRUT — A U.S. envoy has assured Lebanon that Israel does not seek an escalation between the countries following a surge in hostile rhetoric, Lebanese and Israeli officials said on Thursday. Lebanon and Israel have exchanged threats and condemnation over a border wall being built by Israel, a tender issued by Beirut for oil and gas...
Turkey, Russia and Iran to discuss Syria in Istanbul
February 9th, 20180 DAMASCUS/ANKARA — The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed on Thursday to meet in Istanbul to discuss the conflict in Syria, a Turkish presidential source said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the meeting in two phone calls on Thursday with the Russian and Iranian presidents, the source said. The date of the summit...
Air strikes kill 31, including children, in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta
February 7th, 20180 BEIRUT — Air strikes killed 31 civilians including 12 children in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near Syria’s capital Damascus on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said Syrian government air strikes and artillery hit the towns of Douma, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh in the insurgent-controlled...
‘Losing opportunities’, Lebanon campaigns for more women in parliament
February 7th, 20180 BEIRUT — In a country where women occupy only three percent of the parliament seats, Lebanon’s first women’s affairs minister - a man - is supporting a campaign to attract more female politicians. The government’s decision to appoint him as women’s minister in 2016 attracted some criticism. But Jean Oghassabian said the...
Yemen’s Islah party suspends membership of Nobel laureate Karman
February 6th, 20180 DUBAI — Yemeni Nobel Prize winner Tawakkol Karman was suspended from a party allied with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after she accused the Saudi-led coalition that backs him in the country’s civil war of acting as occupiers. Karman won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in Arab Spring protests that ousted authoritarian...
Cash or custody: Israel kicks off deportation of African migrants
February 5th, 20180 JERUSALEM — Israel has started handing out notices to 20,000 male African migrants giving them two months to leave the country or risk being thrown in jail. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is offering the migrants, most of whom are from Sudan and Eritrea, $3,500 and a plane ticket to what it says is a safe...
Syrian rebels down Russian plane, kill pilot
February 3rd, 20180 DAMASCUS/MOSCOW - Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane on Saturday and killed its pilot on the ground after he ejected from the plane, Russia’s defense ministry and Syrian rebels said. The SU-25 came down in an area of northern Idlib province that has seen heavy air strikes and fighting on the ground between Syria’s......
Lebanon, Israel clash over offshore energy, raising tensions
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun said on Thursday that Lebanon was using diplomatic means to counter Israel's stance regarding an offshore energy block in disputed territory on their maritime border. On Wednesday Israel described as "very provocative" Lebanon's first offshore oil and gas exploration tender and said it would be a...
Protests erupt in response to Bassil’s slur against Berri, Aoun urges forgiveness and stability
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — On Tuesday, President Michel Aoun called for forgiveness and stability in Lebanon after a political row involving his son-in-law triggered street protests and deepened a rift with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri a "thug" in a closed meeting. Berri......
Lebanon will not force Syrian refugees to return
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday that Lebanon would not force refugees to return to Syria but called for more international help in dealing with the refugee crisis. More than a million Syrians fled into neighboring Lebanon after war broke out in their country in 2011 and now account for about a...
Palestinian President Abbas to address U.N. Security Council amid U.S. tensions
February 2nd, 20180 UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 20 during the body's monthly meeting on the Middle East amid tensions over the United States decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Since President Trump broke from decades of United States policy with his Dec....
Syrian opposition will work with Sochi proposal under U.N. guidance
February 2nd, 20180 ISTANBUL — Syria's opposition will cooperate with proposals made at a Russia-hosted conference this week to rewrite the country's constitution as long as the process remains under U.N. auspices, the chief opposition negotiator said on Thursday. Participants at Tuesday's meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia - which is a...
U.S. State Department designates Hamas leader as “terrorist”
January 31st, 20180 WASHINGTON - The State Department said on Wednesday it had designated Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas Movement, as a "terrorist". The State Department said in a statement that Haniyeh, along with two active groups in Egypt and one in the Palestinian territories, were listed as specially designated "global terrorists". It......
DHS extends TPS for current Syrian holders, but refuse to re-designate Syria
January 31st, 20180 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took a decision to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 7,000 Syrian beneficiaries residing in the U.S. Today’s decision only allows current TPS holders to renew their status and remain temporarily in the U.S. However, DHS refuse to...
U.S. defends role of Lebanon army as Israel threatens to attack it
January 31st, 20180 BEIRUT — The United States pledged continued support for Lebanon’s military on Wednesday, calling it a potential counterweight to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, even as Israel said the two forces were indistinguishable and fair game in any future war. Such a public difference of opinion between the allies was remarkable enough, but......
Lebanon President Aoun urges forgiveness, stability after protests
January 30th, 20180 BEIRUT ― Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for forgiveness and stability on Tuesday after a political row involving his son-in-law triggered street protests and deepened a rift with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Berri supporters set tires ablaze and blocked roads on Monday in protest against comments by Aoun’s son-in-law,...
Protests erupt in response to Bassil’s slur of Berri, Aoun urges forgiveness and stability
January 30th, 20180 BEIRUT - President Michel Aoun on Tuesday called for forgiveness and stability in Lebanon after a political row involving his son-in-law triggered street protests and deepened a rift with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Gebran Bassil called Nabih Berri “a thug” in a video that went viral on social media in Lebanon. Berri......
