Iranian attackers fought for ISIS in Syria, Iraq
June 12th, 20170 ANKARA — Iran said on Thursday that gunmen and bombers who attacked Tehran were Iranian members of ISIS who had fought in the militants' strongholds in Syria and Iraq - deepening the regional ramifications of the assaults. The five attackers raided Iran's parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum on Wednesday morning, in a rare...
Israel advances plans for additional 1,500 settler homes
June 12th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Israel has advanced plans for a further 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Peace Now, an Israeli non-profit organization advocating for a two-state solution, said on Thursday, the second such announcement in a week. More than 3,000 units have been advanced this week, a spokeswoman for the group...
UN: Yemen cholera passes 100,000 cases
June 12th, 20171 GENEVA — The number of suspected cholera cases in war-torn Yemen has risen to more than 100,000 since an outbreak began on April 27, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The rapid spread of the disease through 19 of Yemen's 23 governorates highlighted a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen after two years of civil war that...
Muslim comedian shares six things not to say to those fasting
June 11th, 20171 In 2015, British Muslim stand-up comedian Bilal Zafar wrote an article for The Independent called “Six things you shouldn’t say to someone fasting for Ramadan.” “I have been fasting during the month of Ramadan every year since I was about 8-years-old and the experience has been changing for me in many ways, teaching me a lot...
50 years later, the 1967 Naksa continues to shape policies and inflict misery
June 10th, 20171 DEARBORN — The 1967 Six Day War was one of the most salient events of the Arab-Israeli conflict, its effect evident through its shaping of Israeli and Arab political discourse. While its byproducts continue to resonate, the events of the Six Day War are solidified largely through oration and narrative. "There's historical...
At least 12 killed in ISIS attack in Iran, Guards blame Saudi Arabia
June 7th, 20170 TEHRAN- Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault which Iran's Revolutionary Guards blamed on regional rival Saudi Arabia. ISIS claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the...
UK police rush to three attacks in central London, at least one dead
June 3rd, 20171 LONDON- British armed police rushed to three incidents in central London on Saturday after a van plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge and reports of multiple stabbings in the nearby Borough Market area. Police sent out security advice to Londoners on Twitter saying "run, hide, tell" if they were caught in an attack. The BBC cited...
Suicide bomber kills 13, injures 24 at Baghdad ice cream shop
May 29th, 20170 BAGHDAD - On Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated a rigged vehicle outside of a popular ice cream shop in the Karrada district of Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding at least 30 others, officials said. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) claimed responsibility, stating its intent in attacking a "gathering of...
Car bomb explodes, kills four in Syria’s Homs
May 24th, 20170 SYRIA- A car bomb exploded in Homs on Tuesday morning, Syrian state television said, two days after the city went back under full government control for the first time since 2011. Authorities destroyed another vehicle rigged with explosives near a Shi'ite Muslim shrine south of Damascus, the broadcaster and other state media...
British police name suicide bomber, May condemns ‘sickening’ attack
May 23rd, 20170 MANCHESTER- British police on Tuesday identified the suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in an attack on a crowded concert hall in Manchester, and said they were trying to establish whether he had acted alone or with help from others. The man suspected of carrying out Britain's deadliest bombing in nearly 12 years...
At least 19 dead in blast at Ariana Grande concert in British arena
May 22nd, 20170 MANCHESTER- A blast on Monday night at a concert in the English city of Manchester where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing left at least 19 people dead and about 50 injured in what British police said was being treated as a terrorist incident. Police said they were responding to reports of an explosion and that there were a...
Trump reaps Saudi arms deal, stronger ties
May 20th, 20170 RIYADH- Under political fire at home, U.S. President Donald Trump sealed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Saturday on his maiden foreign trip as he struggled to shift attention from the aftermath of his firing of the director of the FBI. The arms deal, plus other investments that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said...
US: Syrians built crematorium at prison to dispose of bodies, Syria denies accusations
May 16th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States has evidence Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government has built a crematorium at a large military prison outside the capital Damascus, a State Department official said on Monday. Stuart Jones, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said U.S. officials believe the...
North Korea fires missile that lands in sea near Russia
May 14th, 20170 SEOUL- North Korea, defying calls to rein in its weapons program, fired a ballistic missile that landed in the sea near Russia on Sunday, days after a new leader came to power in South Korea pledging to engage Pyongyang in dialogue. The U.S. military's Pacific Command said it was assessing the type of missile that was fired but it was...
Macron wins French presidency, to sighs of relief in Europe
May 7th, 20171 PARIS- Emmanuel Macron was elected French president on Sunday with a business-friendly vision of European integration, defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who threatened to take France out of the European Union. The centrist's emphatic victory, which also smashed the dominance of France’s mainstream parties, will bring......
China bans ‘Muhammad’ and ‘Jihad’ as baby names in Muslim populated region
April 30th, 20172 BEIJING — The Chinese government has prohibited parents from choosing certain Islamic names for their children, like "Muhammad", "Arafat" and "Jihad." Officials described the ban as part of an effort to "curb religious fervor" in the western region of Xinjiang, home to more than 10 million Uighurs, a mostly Muslim minority...
‘I had no choice:’ Odeh accepts plea deal, resists admission of guilt
April 27th, 20170 DETROIT— Hours before Rasmea Odeh entered her plea in court on Tuesday, dozens of supporters, ranging from organizers and Chicago-based defense team members, rallied outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in opposition to the parameters set around her conviction. Groups in attendance included the U.S.......
Top Navy commander: U.S. may need stronger defense against North Korea missiles
April 26th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The United States may need to strengthen its missile defenses, particularly in Hawaii, given the advancing threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific told Congress on Wednesday. Just hours before the entire U.S. Senate was due to receive a top-level briefing on...
BREAKING: Federal government drop charges against AMP staffers
April 24th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Federal authorities have dropped charges against AMP (American Muslims for Palestine) staffers Taher Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny. The two men, both employees for the group, faced charges for disrupting David Freidman's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, vocalizing opposition to the U.S. Ambassador to...
Turkey’s referendum grants Erdogan increased powers
April 23rd, 20170 ANKARA—On Wednesday, Turkey's electoral authority rejected appeals to annul a referendum granting President Tayyip Erdogan wide new powers, but the main opposition party said it would maintain its legal challenge to the result. Sunday's referendum narrowly backed the largest overhaul of Turkey's political system since the founding...
Emirates reduces flights on five U.S. routes as Trump’s restrictions hit demand
April 19th, 20170 DUBAI ― Emirates, the largest international airline by passenger traffic, said on Wednesday it was cutting flights on five U.S. routes after restrictions imposed by President Trump's administration weakened demand from the Middle East. Since taking office, Trump has signed two executive orders banning refugees and citizens from......
More than a thousand Palestinians in Israeli jails begin hunger strike
April 17th, 20170 WEST BANK ― Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on Monday in response to a call by prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a possible future Palestinian president. Palestinians termed the open-ended strike a protest against poor conditions and an Israeli policy of detention without trial that...
Death toll from Aleppo bus convoy bomb attack exceeds 125, half of the victims are children
April 16th, 20170 DAMASCUS, Syria - The death toll from a bomb attack on a crowded bus convoy outside Aleppo has reached at least 126 in the deadliest such incident in Syria in almost a year, human rights groups reported on Sunday. Human rights groups and United Nations agencies cited reports that more than 60 children were among the......
ISIS attacks IraqI forces in Mosul with chemical weapons
April 16th, 20171 BAGHDAD, Iraq -Â ISIS used chemical weapons against Iraqi forces taking part in the operation to recapture Mosul, injuring some security personnel, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. ISIS has periodically carried out attacks using chemical weapons, but both the toll and the impact on military operations has been minimal and the...
German cabinet agrees to fine social media over hate speech
April 16th, 20170 BERLIN- Germany's cabinet approved a plan on Wednesday to fine social networks up to 50 million euros ($53 million) if they fail to remove hateful postings quickly, prompting concerns the law could limit free expression. Germany has some of the world's toughest laws covering defamation, public incitement to commit crimes and threats of......
