Hezbollah leader sees “nothing to worry about” with Iran protests
January 3rd, 20180 BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Wednesday played down protests in Iran as economic discontent, saying they were not rooted in the political issues which spurred huge numbers to demonstrate in 2009 and were expected to end soon. “In Iran there is nothing to worry about and the issue is being taken...
Israeli parliament changes law to tighten grip on Jerusalem
January 2nd, 20180 JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament passed an amendment on Tuesday that would make it harder for it to cede control over parts of Jerusalem in any peace deal with the Palestinians, who condemned the move as undermining any chance to revive talks on statehood. The legislation, sponsored by the far-right Jewish Home coalition party,...
Iran protests continue for fifth day, at least 10 killed
January 1st, 20180 DUBAI — Anti-government demonstrations continued for a fifth day in Iran on Monday, after 10 people were killed during the biggest protests since the pro-reform unrest of 2009. Video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some chanting “Death to the dictator!”, walking through the streets. The Fars news agency...
Palestinian teenager who slapped Israeli soldier to face charges
December 28th, 20170 OFER PRISON, West Bank — A 16-year-old Palestinian girl who slapped an Israeli officer two weeks ago will face assault charges in an Israeli military court, prosecutors said on Thursday. The Dec. 15 incident in the occupied West Bank was captured on video and posted on the Internet, drawing attention on both sides of the...
Lebanese foreign minister Gebran Bassil criticized over Israel comments, claims TV distorted his interview
December 28th, 20170 BEIRUT - Lebanese politicians on Thursday criticized Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over a television interview in which he was shown saying that Lebanon did not have an ideological problem with Israel and was not against it having security. The comments, made to al-Mayadin satellite channel during a long interview on Tuesday, had...
Apple apologizes after outcry over slowed iPhones, promises to fix battery issues
December 28th, 20170 NEW YORK - Facing lawsuits and consumer outrage after it said it slowed older iPhones with flagging batteries, Apple Inc is slashing prices for battery replacements and will change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good. In a posting on its website Thursday, Apple apologized over its handling of the battery...
Egyptian parliament discusses plans to criminalize atheism
December 26th, 20170 CAIRO — Amro Hamroush, head of the Egyptian parliament’s committee on religion, said he was drafting a bill that plans to make atheism a crime in Egypt to fall under the category of ‘contempt of religion’. Hamroush said that the“phenomenon” -referring to atheism- is widely spreading among youth claiming that it falls under...
Hamas: Palestinian unity deal is collapsing
December 24th, 20170 GAZA —Hamas’ leader in Gaza said on Thursday a reconciliation deal with President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction was collapsing, just 10 weeks after the agreement was reached. The rivals signed a deal brokered by Cairo on Oct. 12 after Hamas agreed to hand over administrative control of the Gaza Strip, including its border...
Prominent Palestinian girl Ahed Tamimi hailed as hero after confronting Israeli soldiers
December 22nd, 20170 NEBI SALEH, West Bank — Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 16-year-old Palestinian activist, was detained Tuesday during a pre-dawn raid on her home by the Israeli army and border police in the occupied West Bank. Ahed's mother, Nariman, was also arrested on Tuesday afternoon during a visit to Ahed at an Israeli police station. According...
U.N. to join Syria talks in Astana after deadlock in Geneva
December 22nd, 20170 ASTANA — U.N. special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he would take part in the latest round of Syrian peace talks in the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Friday, with a month to go before he hopes to break the deadlock in political talks in Geneva. Delegations from the Syrian government and some opposition groups are...
Red Cross: Suspected cholera cases in Yemen hit 1 million
December 22nd, 20170 DUBAI/GENEVA — Yemen's cholera epidemic has reached one million suspected cases, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday, with war leaving more than 80 percent of the population short of food, fuel, clean water and access to healthcare. Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, is embroiled in a proxy...
Arab Americans rally in Dearborn for Jerusalem, against Trump
December 22nd, 20171 DEARBORN — This week, world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council voted to condemn President Trump for his decision to designate Jerusalem as Israel's capital. On the grand stage, they reflected their respective countries' shared sentiments of solidarity with the Palestinian people and criticized Trump...
Defying Trump, over 120 countries at U.N. condemn Jerusalem decision
December 21st, 20170 UNITED NATIONS — More than 120 countries defied President Trump on Thursday and voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor. A total of 128...
Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile fired toward Riyadh, no reported casualties
December 19th, 20170 RIYADH — Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, the latest attack by a Yemeni group that could escalate a proxy war between the kingdom and regional rival Tehran. There was no immediate report of casualties or damages. The Iran-aligned Houthi...
U.S. vetoes U.N. call for withdrawal of Trump’s Jerusalem decision
December 18th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS — The United States was further isolated on Monday over President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital when it blocked a United Nations Security Council call for the declaration to be withdrawn. The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, which did not......
Lebanon detains Uber driver suspected of murdering British embassy worker
December 18th, 20170 BEIRUT — A Lebanese Uber driver with a previous arrest for drug use confessed to killing a British woman who worked at the British Embassy in Beirut, a senior Lebanese security official said on Monday. A spokesman for Uber said in an email: “We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her...
Iraq: More than 7,000 militia fighters lost in war against ISIS
December 15th, 20170 BAGHDAD — The mainly Shi'a Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries have lost more than 7,000 and sustained more than 21,000 injuries during the war against the ISIS terror group since 2014, an Iraqi militia leader has revealed. Qais al-Khazali, the head of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, which is funded and supported by Iran, said that with the......
Syrian top negotiator blames West, Saudis and U.N. for failed Geneva peace talks
December 15th, 20170 GENEVA — Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja'afari accused a Syrian opposition group, backed by Western countries and Saudi Arabia, of sabotaging a round of U.N.-led peace talks that ended in Geneva on Thursday without any results. He said Damascus did not want the talks to fail, but the opposition had put down a precondition...
Nazareth scales down Christmas celebrations in protest of Trump’s Jerusalem decision
December 15th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Nazareth, the Arab city occupied by Israelis, where Jesus is thought to have been raised, has canceled some Christmas celebrations in protest of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, an official said. Trump announced the move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week, reversing...
Yemen: Saudi-led coalition air raids kill dozens in Sanaa
December 15th, 20170 SANAA — Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck a military police camp in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people and wounding 90 more, including some prisoners, an official and witnesses said. The strike is part of an air campaign by the Western-backed coalition on the Iran-allied Houthis that has escalated...
Study: U.S. weapons given to Syrian rebels fell into ISIS’ hands
December 15th, 20170 WASHINGTON — Sophisticated weapons the U.S. military secretly provided to Syrian rebels quickly fell into the hands of ISIS, a study released Thursday disclosed. The study stated that ISIS's possession of these weapons remains a threat to the forces still operating against the terror group in Iraq and Syria. The arms included......
Egyptian singer jailed over video inciting debauchery
December 15th, 20170 CAIRO — An Egyptian court jailed a little-known singer for two years on Tuesday for inciting debauchery, judicial sources said, after she appeared in a music video in her underwear and suggestively eating a banana. Shyma's song, titled "I have issues", sparked controversy on social media in the conservative country. The singer,...
Muslim leaders call on world to recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital
December 13th, 20170 ISTANBUL — Muslim leaders on Wednesday condemned President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called on the world to respond by recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who hosted the summit of more than 50 Muslim countries in Istanbul, said the U.S.......
‘We are one’: Palestinian Christians and Muslims unite against Trump’s Jerusalem call
December 12th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Less than an hour after President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Palestinians protested by turning off the lights on the Christmas tree outside Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. It was a timely reminder that while headlines focused on Islamist calls for...
Trump senior National Security Adviser Dina Powell to resign early next year
December 11th, 20170 WASHINGTON —President Trump’s Deputy National Security Adviser for strategy, Dina Powell, plans to resign early next year but will continue to have a role in Middle East diplomacy, the White House said on Friday. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Powell, a key player in U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, had......
