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...
Iran sentences Israeli spy to death over scientist killings
October 25th, 20170 Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian doctor, had several meetings with Mossad agents and provided them with sensitive information about Iran’s military and nuclear sites in return for money and residency in Sweden. BEIRUT - Iran has sentenced to death a person found guilty of providing information to Israeli intelligence to help them......
Iraq’s Kurdistan region in turmoil, delays elections
October 25th, 20170 BAGHDAD - Elections for Iraq’s Kurdistan region’s presidency and parliament set for Nov. 1 will be delayed because political parties failed to present candidates. Iraqi forces captured the oil city of Kirkuk and other territory claimed by the Kurds in retaliation for the referendum, dealing a severe blow to Kurdistan Regional...
Russia vetoes UN resolution to renew Syria chemical attacks investigation
October 24th, 20170 NEW YORK - Russia cast a veto at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday preventing the renewal of the mandate for a mission that investigates the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Russia wanted to discuss the report by the Joint Investigative Mechanism before voting on the extension of the mandate The investigation by the...
Suicide bombers attack two Afghan mosques, at least 72 dead
October 20th, 20170 KABUL- Suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 72 people including children, officials and witnesses said. One bomber walked into a Shi‘ite Muslim mosque in the capital Kabul as people were praying on Friday night and detonated an explosive, one of the worshippers...
VIDEO: Kuwaiti delegation kicks Israeli delegation from the International Parliament Summit
October 18th, 20170 SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia – Kuwaiti delegation kicked the Israeli delegation out of the International Parliament Summit held this Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia. With crowds cheering for Marzouq Al-Ghanim, the Speaker of the Kuwaiti Parliament, who called them “oppressors” and “children killers.” The Israeli delegation......
Federal Judge blocks Trump’s third iteration of travel ban
October 17th, 20170 SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON—A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s latest bid to impose restrictions on citizens from several countries entering the United States, which would have taken effect this week. The open-ended ban, announced last month, targeted people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and...
Trump hostility set to deepen Iran power struggles
October 15th, 20170 ANKARA - Iranians quickly closed ranks against a hawkish new U.S. approach to Tehran, but Iran’s powerful hardliners are set to exploit the latest dispute with Washington to weaken domestic rivals who are open to the West, analysts and insiders say. President Donald Trump’s warning on Friday that he might ultimately......
Russia protests to U.S. over ‘shameful’ theft of consulate flags
October 11th, 20170 MOSCOW - Russia protested to the United States on Wednesday after it said Russian flags were stolen from its consulate in San Francisco. Russian staff left the consulate last month after Washington ordered Moscow to vacate some of its diplomatic properties, part of a series of tit-for-tat actions as relations sour between the two...
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis recommends sticking with Iran nuclear deal
October 3rd, 20170 WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Tuesday the United States should consider staying in the Iran nuclear deal unless it were proven Tehran that was not abiding by the agreement or that it was not in the U.S. national interest to do so. Though Mattis deferred to President Donald Trump’s review of the......
