Australian men charged with terrorism over mosque fires
August 20th, 20170 MELBOURNE- Australian police have charged three men with committing terrorist acts on suspicion of starting fires at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Melbourne last year, inspired by ISIS and intending to divide the Muslim community. Two of the men are already in custody and awaiting trial on suspicion of plotting bomb attacks in Australia's...
Van mows down crowd in Barcelona, 13 reported killed
August 17th, 20170 BARCELONA- A van plowed into crowds in the heart of Barcelona on Thursday and Spanish media reported at least 13 people were killed, in what police said they were treating as a terrorist attack. The death toll was reported by Cadena Ser radio, citing police sources. Police said some people were dead and injured but did not confirm the...
Nasrallah says U.S. can’t hurt Hezbollah, dismisses sanctions
August 16th, 20170 BEIRUT — On Sunday, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah dismissed the prospect of tougher U.S. sanctions against his group, which is backed by Iran, and said the U.S. administration had no way to harm it. "The American administration, with all available and possible means, will not be able to damage the strength of the resistance,"...
More than half a million children in Libya need help: UNICEF
August 10th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS - On Wednesday, the United Nations children agency UNICEF warned that more than half a million children in Libya need help and called on warring parties to end the violence and negotiate a political solution to the crisis. Libya has spiraled into turmoil after a civil war ousted longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011....
Clooneys to help 3,000 Syrian refugees go to school in Lebanon
August 2nd, 20170 BEIRUT- George and Amal Clooney said on Monday they would help 3,000 Syrian refugee children go to school this year in Lebanon, where the United Nations says 200,000 children are not receiving an education after fleeing the war in neighboring Syria. The Clooney Foundation for Justice said it has teamed up with Google and HP Inc to help...
Hezbollah: Nearing victory in battle at Lebanon-Syria border
July 28th, 20170 BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that the group was close to defeating Nusra Front militants in the battle along the Syrian-Lebanese border. "We are in the face of a very big military victory," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. The militants have "effectively lost" most of the land they...
Hariri stays silent as Trump mistakenly says he is fighting Hezbollah
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Questions have once again been raised over President Donald Trump’s grasp on foreign policy after he appeared to misunderstand the political and militery role played by the pwerful Lebanese party of Hezbollah in the Middle East’s complex geopolitics. During a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad...
Netanyahu climbdown in Al-Aqsa standoff, thousands of worshipers surge into holy site
July 27th, 20170 JERUSALEM - Thousands of Muslim worshippers surged into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday and at least 113 were hurt in scuffles with police after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the sacred site in the face of days of violent protests. Chaotic scenes unfolded as Israeli forces used stun grenades to try to control...
Israel replaces Al-Aqsa mosques metal detectors with surveillance cameras, Palestinians reject new measures
July 25th, 20170 JERUSALEM - Palestinians have vowed to continue protests and confrontations with Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, in rejection of new surveillance cameras installed at the gates to al-Aqsa Mosque compound. After a security cabinet meeting late on Monday, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
U.N.: Solution is needed by this Friday to curb escalating violence in Jerusalem
July 24th, 20170 NEW YORK - United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov warned on Monday that a solution was needed by Friday to the Jerusalem mosque crisis, which he said threatens to have "potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City." Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa mosque compound in...
Hezbollah says battle with Nusra Front almost won at Syria-Lebanon border
July 24th, 20170 BEIRUT – Hezbollah said on Monday its battle with Nusra Front jihadists at the Syria-Lebanon border was almost over and urged remaining insurgents in the area to give up, pressing its campaign to take their last foothold at the frontier. With the Nusra Front almost beaten in the mountainous area on the outskirts of the Lebanese town...
Free Iranian citizens, Iran tells U.S. in response to Trump
July 22nd, 20170 BEIRUT - Iran demanded on Saturday that the United States release Iranians detained there, a day after U.S. president Donald Trump called on the Islamic Republic to release three U.S. citizens. "America should quickly release Iranian prisoners in the country," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, according to the Iranian...
Lebanon names former Bloomfield Hills resident Gabriel Issa as its ambassador to Washington
July 20th, 20170 BEIRUT — On Thursday, the Lebanese Cabinet passed long-awaited diplomatic appointments as President Michel Aoun called for “improving the state's revenues” in the wake of parliament's approval of a new wage scale for civil servants and the armed forces. As per protocol, the names of the appointed ambassadors will be announced...
Saudi prince arrested over bloody “assault” video
July 20th, 20170 DUBAI - A Saudi prince was arrested after a video that appeared to show him assaulting a bloodied man stoked outrage online, Saudi police said, in a rare airing of public anger at a member of the royal family. The clip, apparently filmed by the attacker, shows a Yemeni driver berated for parking in front of the man's house and being...
Saudi-led air strikes kill at least 20 Yemeni civilians
July 19th, 20170 DUBAI - At least 20 Yemeni civilians were killed and many others were wounded when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a village in the south, officials from the armed Houthi movement and the government said on Wednesday. The U.N. said the victims of Tuesday's bombing, which hit al-Atera village in Taiz province where fighting between......
Palestinian driver shot dead after ramming car into Israeli soldiers
July 18th, 20170 JERUSALEM - A Palestinian driver rammed his vehicle into a group of Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday and was shot dead by the troops, the Israeli military said. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials. According to Israel's Magen David Adom, two of their soldiers were slightly wounded. "In...
Grandmas, grandpas from travel ban states now welcome
July 18th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Grandparents of U.S. citizens from six Muslim-majority countries are now eligible to receive U.S. visas, according to a State Department memo seen by Reuters that reflects the latest court ruling on U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. The memo, or cable, from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was sent to all U.S.......
North Korea may have more nuclear bomb material than thought
July 16th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Thermal images of North Korea's main nuclear site show Pyongyang may have reprocessed more plutonium than previously thought that can be used to enlarge its nuclear weapons stockpile, a U.S. think tank said on Friday. The analysis by 38 North, a Washington-based North Korean monitoring project, was based on satellite images...
Iran jails U.S. dual national for 10 years for spying
July 16th, 20170 IRAN- An Iranian court has sentenced a U.S. dual national to 10 years in jail on spying charges, Iran's judiciary spokesman said on Sunday, the latest case involving dual nationals held on security charges in the country. The spokesman did not name the person or give details about when the sentence was passed but said the person was a...
Iraqi PM declares victory over ISIS in Mosul
July 10th, 20170 MOSUL/ERBIL, IRAQ - Iraq's prime minister declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul on Monday, three years after the militants seized the city and made it the stronghold of a "caliphate" they said would take over the world. "I announce from here the end and the failure and the collapse of the terrorist state of falsehood and...
Iraqi Prime Minister congratulates armed forces for Mosul ‘victory’
July 9th, 20170 MOSUL, IRAQ- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on Sunday and congratulated the armed forces for their victory over ISIS after nearly nine months of urban warfare. ISIS's defeat in Mosul three years after taking the city is a major blow for the terrorist group, which is also losing ground in its operational base in......
Muslim leaders begin European tour to protest against terror
July 8th, 20170 Dozens of religious leaders boarded a bus on the Champs Elysees in Paris on Saturday to kick off a European tour of the sites of recent ISIS attacks to remember the victims and condemn violence. Imams from countries including France, Belgium, Britain and Tunisia were joined by representatives of other religious communities at the spot...
Qatar Airways joins major Middle East rivals in lifting laptop ban on U.S. flights
July 6th, 20170 DUBAI- Qatar Airways said on Thursday passengers traveling to the U.S. can now carry their laptops and other large electronics on board, ending a three month in-cabin ban on devices for the Doha-based airline. Qatar Airways joins Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Etihad Airways, which have also announced this week a lifting of the ban on......
Assad appears on Syrian currency for first time
July 4th, 20170 President Bashar al-Assad has appeared on the Syrian currency for the first time, his portrait printed on a new 2,000-pound banknote that went into circulation on Sunday. Central bank governor Duraid Durgham said the 2,000-pound note was one of several new notes printed years ago but the decision to put it into circulation was delayed...
Nearly half a million Syrians return to own homes this year
July 2nd, 20170 Nearly half a million Syrians have returned to their homes so far this year, including 440,000 internally displaced people and more than 31,000 returning from neighboring countries, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday. Most returned to Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Damascus, it said, on the view that security had improved in parts of the......
