Saudi grand mufti: Driving would expose women to evil
Abdul Aziz Al ShaikhROYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh has reiterated his opposition to allowing women to drive.The Mufti who has regularly held out against the lifting of the ban said driving would leave women vulnerable to a number of grave problems.“Driving cars could mean the opening of floodgates that...Israel intensifies demolition campaign against Palestinians
A Palestinian girl plays outside her family structure after it was demolished by Israeli forces, April 7UNITED NATIONS — In the past three months, the Israeli military has more than tripled its demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, United Nations' figures show, raising alarm among diplomats and human rights...Lebanon detains Australian TV crew over child custody row
The grandmother of the kidnapped children carries a picture of one of her grandkids BEIRUT — Lebanese police have detained an Australian film crew and accused them of involvement in a kidnapping of two children from their Lebanese father on behalf of their Australian mother."Four Australian nationals have been stopped on suspicion of...Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces will join offensive to retake Mosul
PMF fighters fire at ISIS militants near Tikrit, May 25, 2015BAGHDAD — An Iraqi Shi'a paramilitary group said it will join government forces preparing to fight ISIS for Mosul despite objections of politicians who fear this could instigate sectarian bloodshed in the mostly Sunni Muslim city.A much-touted government offensive to retake...
UAE jails three for alleged Hezbollah links
April 5th, 20160 DUBAI — A United Arab Emirates court sentenced two Lebanese nationals and a Lebanese-Canadian citizen to six months in jail followed by expulsion for setting up a group affiliated to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, local media said on Monday.The state news agency WAM did not identify the three but said they had set up a group of...War is killing starving children in Yemen
UNITED NATIONS — Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition, millions lack access to health care or clean water, and some have been drafted as soldiers in the year-old war, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Tuesday.A UNICEF report said all sides had "exponentially increased" the use of...EgyptAir hijacker wanted to see ex-wife
LARNACA, Cyprus — An Egyptian man accused of hijacking a passenger plane and diverting it to Cyprus has told police he acted because he wanted to see his estranged wife and children, saying "what should one do?"The suspect, whom Cypriot and Egyptian authorities have identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, 59, surrendered on...Lebanese newspaper As-Safir will not close
BEIRUT — Lebanese daily As-Safir will not shut down, its editor-in-chief and publisher said on Wednesday, despite announcing last week it would close after more than 40 years because of falling revenues and Lebanon's political and sectarian problems.The paper is now looking for business partners to help it weather the tough...Messi in hot water for shoe donation to Egyptian charity
CAIRO — Some Egyptians are furious at soccer superstar Lionel Messi for donating a pair of his soccer boots to a charity. It was only a few weeks ago that Messi was widely praised for making a young fan's dream come true when he sent a shirt and a football to a young Afghan boy.However, when the player made a similarly...Iconic Lebanese newspaper to close
BEIRUT — Lebanese daily As-Safir is to cease its print and online operations after over 40 years, editor-in-chief and publisher Talal Salman said on Thursday, blaming falling revenues and Lebanon's political and sectarian problems. As-Safir, founded by Salman in 1974 with the slogan "a voice for those who have no voice", will end...Yemen combat to halt April 10, a week before peace talks
UNITED NATIONS — The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a cessation of hostilities starting at midnight on April 10 and peace talks in Kuwait beginning a week later, United Nations special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Wednesday. There have already been several failed attempts to defuse the conflict in Yemen, which has...
If Syria succumbs to federalism, others will follow
March 25th, 20160 The apparently sudden Russian military withdrawal from Syria, starting on March 15, left political commentators puzzled, but few of the analyses offered should be taken seriously. There is little solid information about why the Russian leader decided to end his country's military push in Syria. The intervention, which began last...
Syrian army expects to retake Palmyra from ISIS ‘within hours’
March 23rd, 20160 Syrian soldiers and their allies advanced to within 1 km of Palmyra on Thursday and soldiers speaking from the outskirts of the historic city said they hoped to recapture it from ISIS fighters within hours.The Syrian army is trying to retake Palmyra, which the ultra-hardline terrorist militants seized in May, to open a road to the...Putin: Russia can make powerful Syria military comeback in hours
Putin.MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia could scale up its military presence in Syria again within hours and would still bomb terrorist groups there despite a partial draw-down of forces ordered after military successes. Speaking in one of the Kremlin's grandest halls three days after he ordered Russian...Sisi warns against intervention in Libya
CAIRO — Military intervention in Libya is risky and foreign powers would be better off supporting a military commander based in the east, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of neighboring Egypt was quoted as saying on Thursday. A power struggle between two rival administrations in Libya has allowed ISIS militants to gain ground there......
Saudi-led air strikes on Yemeni market kills more than 100
SANAA — The death toll from Saudi-led air strikes on an outdoor market in northwestern Yemen has risen to more than 100, a provincial health director and a U.N. official said on Thursday, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the year-old war. Spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri said the Saudi-led coalition, which has...Syria’s Kurds vote to seek autonomy under federal system
Members of the self defense forces, Feb. 9.RMEILAN, SYRIA — Syria's Kurdish-controlled northern regions voted to seek autonomy under a federal system on Thursday, angering both the Damascus government and neighboring power Turkey with a move that could complicate new U.N.-backed peace talks. The vote to unite three Kurdish-controlled...EU to pitch migrant plan to Turkey but no done deal
Refugees and migrants at a makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 17ANKARA — European Union leaders agreed to offer Turkey financial and political concessions if it stops migrants reaching Greece and will meet the Turkish prime minister in Brussels on Friday to try and clinch the deal. Even if they can overcome...In Bekaa Valley camp, Angelina Jolie urges support for Syrian refugees
Angelina Jolie during her visit to Syrian refugees in the Bekaa valley, March 15BEIRUT — U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie urged world powers on Tuesday to do more to end Syria's five-year war and help the millions who have fled the conflict, as she visited refugees in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.The war has killed 250,000 people,......
Russians to start withdrawing from Syria, as peace talks resume
March 15th, 20160 MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin announced out of the blue on Monday that "the main part" of Russian armed forces in Syria would start to withdraw, telling his diplomats to step up the push for peace as U.N.-mediated talks resumed on ending the five-year-old war.Damascus rejected any suggestion of a rift with Moscow, saying...ISIS used ‘poisonous substances’ in Iraqi village shelling
Children receive oxygen, after suffering from choking, at a hospital in Taza south of Kirkuk, March 9BAGHDAD — More than 40 people suffered partial choking and skin irritation in northern Iraq when ISIS fired mortar shells and Katyusha rockets filled with "poisonous substances" into their village late on Tuesday, local officials......
Lebanese soldier, five militants killed in clashes
BEIRUT — A Lebanese soldier and five ISIS militants were killed Thursday in clashes on the outskirts of a northeastern border town, a Lebanese Army statement said. The statement said that the clashes ignited at 3:30 a.m., after the army carried out a preemptive strike against a large group of extremists on the outskirts of Ras...U.S. raised concerns with Saudis about halting aid to Lebanese army
WASHINGTON — The United States said on Tuesday it had raised concerns with Saudi Arabia about the kingdom's cutting off aid to the Lebanese army, adding that international assistance to Lebanon is essential to curbing the influence of Hezbollah.Saudi Arabia said last month it had suspended a $3 billion aid package for the Lebanese......
