Little prospect of Syria peace progress seen in Geneva talks
November 27th, 20170 BEIRUT — A breakthrough in U.N.-backed Syria peace talks in Geneva this week seems hardly more likely than in seven failed earlier rounds as President Bashar al-Assad pushes for total military victory and his opponents stick by their demand he leave power. U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Monday the Syrian government had...
Death toll in Egypt mosque attack rises to 305 killed: state news agency
November 26th, 20170 CAIRO - The death toll in a devastating terrorist attack on a mosque on Friday in Egypt’s North Sinai has risen to 305 killed, including 27 children, and 128 more people were wounded, MENA state news agency said on Saturday. The gunmen were carrying an ISIS flag and were between 25 to 30 in number, the public prosecutor’s office...
Saudi Crown Prince calls Iran leader ‘new Hitler’: NYT
November 24th, 20170 DUBAI- Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince called the Supreme Leader of Iran “the new Hitler of the Middle East” in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals. The Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite Iran back rival sides in wars and political...Egypt: Hundreds dead in a terrorist attack on mosque in north Sinai
November 24th, 20170 CAIRO - A terrorist attack killed 230 people at a mosque in Egypt’s north Sinai region on Friday, detonating a bomb and shooting at fleeing worshippers and ambulances, state media and witnesses said. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the region. No group claimed immediate responsibility, but since 2014 Egyptian security forces...
Hariri puts resignation on hold
November 22nd, 20170 BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Saad al-Hariri on Wednesday shelved his decision to resign as prime minister at the request of President Michel Aoun, easing a crisis that had deepened tensions in the Middle East. Hariri made his announcement after returning to Beirut for the first time since he quit abruptly on Nov. 4 in a broadcast from Saudi...
Hariri back in Lebanon on the eve of Independence Day
November 21st, 20170 BEIRUT - Saad al-Hariri returned to Beirut on Tuesday for the first time since he resigned as Lebanon’s prime minister in a broadcast from Saudi Arabia and plunged his country into political crisis. Hariri’s sudden resignation on Nov. 4 thrust Lebanon to the forefront of regional tussle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose...
Putin hosts Assad for talks in Russia
November 21st, 20170 MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to talk about the need to move from military operations to the search for a political solution to Syria’s conflict, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Russia is actively trying to build an international consensus around a peace deal for Syria, over two years...
Iran’s president declares end of Islamic State
November 21st, 20170 BEIRUT - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared the end of Islamic State on Tuesday while a senior military commander thanked the thousands of martyrs killed in operations organized by Iran to defeat the militant group in Syria and Iraq. “Today with God’s guidance and the resistance of people in the region we can say that this...
Lebanon’s Hariri to visit Egypt on Tuesday
November 20th, 20170 BEIRUT — Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanese prime minister in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4, will visit Egypt on Tuesday to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Hariri’s office said on Sunday. Hariri has since Saturday been in Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron,...
Hariri to return to Lebanon for Independence Day
November 18th, 20170 PARIS - Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanon’s prime minister this month while in Saudi Arabia, said on Saturday he would clarify his position when he returns to Beirut next week for Independence Day. Hariri’s resignation on Nov. 4 threw Lebanon into political crisis and put it center-stage in the Middle East’s overarching...
Lebanese Americans in Michigan condemn Saudi intervention, stand by Hariri
November 17th, 20170 DEARBORN — They might be thousands of miles away, but news of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri's resignation – and the prospect that Saudi Arabia has something to do with it – has Lebanese expatriates on edge. Dozens of Lebanese Americans in Metro Detroit joined a protest at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in Dearborn...
‘Made in Syria’: Refugees in Germany drive exports from home
November 14th, 20170 HAMBURG ― Many Syrian refugees in Germany have resigned themselves to the reality that there will be no swift return to the land of their birth, where a civil war is nearing the start of its eighth year. They are starting to build new lives in their host country, driving up demand for “Made in Syria” goods there as they seek...
Is Lebanon preparing for an unwelcome war?
November 14th, 20171 By Farah Harb The Arab American News – intern LEBANON - As speculations continue to surface in the wake of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri's resignation on Nov. 4, there is still no answer to the questions, what's next for Lebanon and who are the potential parties involved in the equation? From Riyadh, Hariri said he's...Hariri says will return to Lebanon in days
November 12th, 20170 Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon's prime minister on November 4 while in Saudi Arabia, said on Sunday he would return to his country within days. Speaking from Saudi Arabia in an interview with Future TV, a station affiliated with his political party, Hariri said he had offered his resignation in the interest...
U.S., EU affirm support for Lebanon
November 8th, 20170 BEIRUT — The European Union and the United States on Wednesday reaffirmed support for Lebanon after the resignation of its prime minister, striking a sharp contrast to Saudi Arabia, which accuses Beirut of declaring war because of Hezbollah. Statements of support from EU ambassadors to Lebanon and the United States have set a......
Lebanese president won’t accept or reject Hariri’s resignation until he returns home
November 6th, 20170 BEIRUT - Lebanon’s president appealed for national unity on Monday after Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri quit in a broadcast from Saudi Arabia, plunging the coalition government and country into political crisis. After Hariri’s shock announcement, political uncertainty deepened further when Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker said it...
Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near Yemen
November 5th, 20170 Prince Mansour bin Moqren, the deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's southern Asir province, and several colleagues were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, Saudi state TV Ekhbariya reported. Local newspaper Okaz reported the helicopter went down while the officials were taking a tour of an area near the coast in Asir, which borders......
Hezbollah says Saudi Arabia forced Lebanon PM to resign
November 5th, 20170 The leader of Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had forced Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to resign, and called for calm and patience in Lebanon. Hariri, a political ally of Saudi Arabia resigned on Saturday in an unexpected declaration from the kingdom, citing a plot...
Donald Trump-Benjamin Netanyahu kiss mural unveiled on West Bank wall
November 4th, 20170 WEST BANK - Another Donald Trump mural believed to be the work of Australian graffiti artist Lushsux has popped up on Israel’s barrier in the occupied West Bank, this time depicting the US President sharing a kiss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His face hidden by a headdress, a man who identified himself as...
Lebanon Prime Minister Hariri resigns over assassination fears
November 4th, 20170 BEIRUT ― Lebanon’s prime minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on Saturday, saying he believed there was an assassination plot against him and accusing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation thrusts Lebanon back into the frontline of Saudi-Iranian regional rivalry and seems likely to...
Lebanese PM resigns, saying his life in danger
November 4th, 20170 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Lebanon's prime minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on Saturday, citing an assassination plot against him and accusing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation thrusts Lebanon back into the frontline of Saudi-Iranian regional rivalry and seems likely to exacerbate......
A century on, UK’s Jewish homeland declaration stirs mourning in Middle East
November 3rd, 20170 LONDON/WEST BANK ― In a 67-word statement composed 100 years ago, Britain endorsed the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East, triggering a process that would culminate in the creation of Israel - and with it one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. On Thursday British and Israeli leaders commemorated the...
Israeli airstrike hits near Syria’s Homs
November 1st, 20170 BEIRUT - An Israeli airstrike targeted a factory south of the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday and the Syrian army responded by firing a surface-to-air missile at the aircraft, a commander in a military alliance fighting in support of Damascus said. The commander told Reuters the airstrike had hit a copper factory in the industrial......
Catalan parliament declares independence from Spain
October 27th, 20170 BARCELONA/MADRID - Catalonia’s regional parliament declared independence from Spain on Friday in a disputed vote that is now likely to be declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court. However, the Spanish government moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia the same day, stripping the region of its autonomy less than an...
Airlines implement tougher U.S. security rules on incoming passengers
October 25th, 20170 New rules will affect 325,000 passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United States, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries WASHINGTON - New security measures including stricter passenger screening take effect this Thursday on all U.S.-bound flights to comply with government requirements designed......
