Dengue rife, malaria spreading in the streets of Yemen
SANAA – Trash piling up on the streets of Yemeni towns is helping the spread of dengue fever and malaria, a charity employing local people to clear up the filth said on Wednesday, as fighting, baking heat and a lack of food and water add to their hardships.Garbage lying in the streets has contaminated soil and water and attracted...Iraqis protest against corruption, poor services
BAGHDAD — Iraqis complaining about corruption and poor services, epitomized by power cuts during a heatwave, took to the streets on Tuesday, underlining the pressures on a government struggling to fend off radical insurgents. The unrest, though limited and largely peaceful, could weigh down the government of Prime Minister Haider...U.S.-trained Syrian rebels captured by al-Qaeda
DAMASCUS — The United States said on Tuesday it had indications that Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military were captured by fighters from al-Qaeda's Syria wing, Nusra Front, in the latest blow to a fledgling program at the center of America's war strategy. The Pentagon said in a statement it was monitoring the situation but had...200 migrants feared drowned off Libya
TRIPOLI — More than 200 migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean were feared to have drowned Wednesday after their overcrowded fishing boat capsized off Libya. The boat, believed to have been carrying more than 600 migrants, including women and children, ran into difficulty about 15 nautical miles off Libya...Suicide bombing in Saudi mosque for security forces kills 17
RIYADH — A suicide bomb attack on the mosque of a local security force headquarters in Abha city in south west Saudi Arabia killed 14 people on Thursday, most of them members of the force, the Saudi interior ministry said. The mosque in Abha, the capital of Asir province, was part of the local headquarters of the Special Emergency...Diversion of aid ships in Yemen spreads fear of shortages
SANAA — Residents in the Yemeni capital Sanaa are stocking up on rare food and fuel supplies after the government in exile decided to divert aid ships from the Houthi rebel-held north to loyalist areas farther south. Sources in Yemen's government confirmed the move, though there has been no official announcement, and Yemen's exiled...Gaddafi loyalists stage rare protest in eastern Libya
BENGHAZI — Supporters of toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi staged a rare demonstration in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday, shouting "Muammar, Muammar", but dispersed after opponents opened fire with guns and hurled rocks. No one appeared to have been hurt among dozens of supporters of Gaddafi, who was toppled in 2011 and...Suicide bombing in Saudi mosque for security forces kills 15
Emir of Asir region visits injured in the bombing. Photo: SPARIYADH - A suicide bomb attack on the mosque of a local security force headquarters in Abha city in south-west Saudi Arabia killed 15 people on Thursday, most of them members of the force, the Saudi interior ministry said.The mosque in Abha, the capital of Asir province, was...Israeli settlers burn Palestinian baby to death
The body of Ali Dawabsheh who was killed after his family's house was set to fire by Jewish extremists in Duma villageWEST BANK — An 18-month-old Palestinian boy has burned to death after Israeli settlers set fire to his family house in Duma village, south of Nablus city, in the occupied West Bank.The parents of Ali Saad...ISIS car bomb kills four in Yemeni mosque
SANAA — A car bomb exploded outside a mosque in Yemen's war-ravaged capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing four people and wounding six, health authorities and a security source said. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the Al Faydh Alhatemy mosque, more commonly known as Burhani, in the eastern Sanaa of Nuqum, describing the...Israel authorizes force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners
A protest supporting Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan in the West Bank.JERUSALEM — On Thursday, Israel's parliament authorized the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, a move that has met vehement opposition from the country's medical association and rights groups. The legislation promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin...Jordan jails eight for “plotting terrorist acts”
AMMAN — Jordan handed down jail sentences Wednesday against seven of its citizens and a Syrian for planning attacks on U.S. soldiers in the country and on the Israeli embassy, a judicial source said. The plots in question would have involved "terrorist acts" against the U.S. service personnel at a Jordan military base in Al-Moaqar in...Libyan court sentences Gaddafi’s son Saif to death
TRIPOLI — On Tuesday, a Libyan court sentenced Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, and eight others to death over war crimes, including killings of protesters during the 2011 revolution that ended his father's rule. The former Gaddafi regime officials sentenced to die by firing squad included former intelligence chief...Voters encouraged to cast ballots in Aug. 4 elections
LANSING — All eligible voters are encouraged to cast their ballots in local elections on Tuesday, Aug. 4. According to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, 46 of Michigan’s 83 counties are holding elections. "Because many of these elections are for schools, townships and cities, everyone’s vote is essential," Johnson said. "I...
Israeli media: Drone strike targeted Samir Kuntar in Syria
July 30th, 20150 Samir Kuntar in Beirut, 2008 (AP)Several Israeli media outlets have reported that a drone strike on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights targeted Samir Kuntar, a former Lebanese guerrilla fighter who spent 29 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2008.Kuntar, 53, was apprehended at age 16 while carrying......
Iraqi militia leader says U.S. not serious about fighting ISIS
Qais al-KhazaliBAGHDAD - The head of one of Iraq's fiercest Shi'a militias called the U.S.-led coalition's campaign against ISIS ineffective and accused Washington of lacking the will to uproot extremists controlling large swathes of Iraq and Syria.Qais al-Khazali, leader of Iranian-backed paramilitary group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said the...Another ceasefire fails in Yemen
A child injured in a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, July 25 (Reuters) SANAA - Yemen's Houthi group carried on fighting across Yemen on Monday despite a ceasefire announcement by its Saudi-led foes, and media controlled by the Iran-allied movement acknowledged that its forces had shelled targets inside Saudi Arabia.The violence prolongs...
Yemeni businessman competes in Hamtramck City Council race
July 23rd, 20150 HAMTRAMCK — Mohamed Alsomiri, a Yemeni American, is one of nine candidates competing in the race for Hamtramck City Council. He is also one of two Yemeni American candidates. The other is Saad Almasmari. The primary election will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Only six candidates will compete in the general election this November for...The garbage scandal in Lebanon: Another catastrophe of a failed system
Lebanon is being hit by a "garbage storm" that is proving to be an embarrassment to the political establishment, which has demonstrated its incompetence and inability to address the country's issues once more. Trash is piling up in the streets of Beirut as the landfill of Naameh has stopped accepting the garbage of the......
The Iran nuclear agreement: A chance for Arab-Iranian reconciliation
“The Americans have taken the Shi'a Muslim side in the Middle East’s sectarian war,” declared Robert Fisk in the 'Independent' newspaper on July 15, a day after the U.S. and five major world powers reached a landmark agreement with Iran about its nuclear programs.Fisk’s proclamation is quite cursory. Aside from the fact that he...Saudi arms shipment arrives in Aden airport
ADEN — A Saudi military plane loaded with arms for fighters loyal to Yemen's deposed president landed at Aden airport on Wednesday, an airport official said, the first flight to reach the embattled port city in four months. Saudi-backed militiamen meanwhile exchanged heavy artillery fire with their Houthi foes in the northern......
Kurdish militants kill two Turkish police to avenge ISIS bombing
SURUC, Turkey — Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for the killing of two Turkish police officers on Wednesday in what they said was retaliation for a suspected ISIS suicide bombing, which killed 32 mostly young students. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said in a statement on one of its websites that the two police officers...Iraqis launch offensive near Anbar base as blasts kill 32
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters launched an offensive on Tuesday to dislodge ISIS militants and secure a supply route in Anbar province, police and tribal sources said.In an other action, bomb attacks across the country killed at least 32 people.The deadliest was when a car packed with explosives was......