UAE executes woman for killing American teacher
July 16th, 20150 Ibolya Ryan with her twins.DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates executed a UAE woman convicted of terrorism early on Monday, after the militant-inspired killing of an American kindergarten teacher in December 2014, the state news agency WAM reported. Ala'a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 31, was sentenced to death on June 29 for stabbing...UAE executes woman for killing American teacher
Ibolya Ryan with her twinsDUBAI — The United Arab Emirates executed a UAE woman convicted of terrorism early on Monday after the militant-inspired killing of an American kindergarten teacher in December 2014, the state news agency WAM reported.Ala'a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 31, was sentenced to death on June 29 for stabbing...Egyptian terrorism bill a “deadly blow to human rights”
CAIRO — A draft law in Egypt that would make it a crime to contradict the official version of terrorist attacks should be scrapped, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, calling the bill a "strike at the very heart of basic freedoms." The law, which also sets up new courts for dealing with terrorism suspects, was proposed after a...Humanitarian truce in Yemen fails
A girl cries after her father was killed by a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, July 13United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "very much disappointed" that a humanitarian pause in fighting in Yemen didn't take hold, his spokesman said on Monday, after Saudi Arabia did not recognize the truce and continued air strikes.A Saudi-led...Warring sides in Yemen agree to a humanitarian truce
SANAA — Yemen's warring factions confirmed their agreement on Thursday to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire set to begin on Friday night, United Nations envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said. The pause in the fighting will last about a week until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and aims to allow the delivery of assistance...Emir: Kuwait foiled bid to sow sectarianism after bombing
Imam Sadiq Mosque in Kuwait City, June 26, after a bomb killed 27 during Friday prayers.KUWAIT CITY — The emir of Kuwait said on Thursday his country had thwarted attempts to sow sectarian divisions after last month's suicide bombing but warned that the world needs to do more to confront the "satanic" behavior of Islamist extremist...Israeli blockade makes Gaza recovery “impossible”
Destruction in the Gaza Strip after the 2014 warGAZA — Israel's blockade of building materials for Gaza has created one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world and made it impossible for the small coastal enclave to recover from the war a year ago, aid agencies said on Wednesday.Less than one percent of the materials needed...Aoun’s party rallies against prime minister in Lebanon
Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement during a protest in Beirut, July 9BEIRUT — Hundreds of supporters of a Lebanese Christian politician protested in Beirut on Thursday against the prime minister they say is marginalising Christian influence, stirring tensions in a country already in crisis over war in neighbouring...Netanyahu: Two Israelis are held by Hamas
Tel AVIV — Two Israeli citizens are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, a situation that could lead to demands for a prisoner exchange between Israel and the militant group.Hamas declined to confirm or deny it had the captives."We are working for the return of the two Israelis...Former Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal dies
RIYADH — Former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal died Thursday, two Saudi sources said, two months after he was replaced following 40 years on the job.Prince Saud, who was appointed in 1975, was the world's longest serving foreign minister when he was replaced on April 29 by Adel al-Jubeir, the then ambassador to...Red Cross: Real risk of famine in Yemen
Conflict-ridden Yemen, where more than 3,000 people have been killed and one million displaced since war broke out in March, is at risk of famine, aid chiefs said on Tuesday, the day after the conflict's highest one-day death toll was recorded.The situation is "clearly deteriorating by the day," said Antoine Grand, head of the...ISIS clashes with Egyptian army in Sinai, more than 100 dead
CAIRO — Egypt's army said on Wednesday that more than 100 militants and 17 soldiers were killed after simultaneous assaults on military checkpoints in North Sinai, in the deadliest fighting in years in the restive province. After a day of fighting, which involved F-16 jets and Apache helicopters, the army said it would not stop its...Red Cross: Civilians in Aden struggling to survive
GENEVA — Civilians struggling to survive street battles and Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen's southern port city of Aden are also facing shrinking supplies of food and fuel, a senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.Hunger and disease are threatening the 1 million residents of Aden, now a war zone...Kuwait arrests two police officers in crackdown on militants
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait arrested two police officers in a security crackdown on Islamist militants launched after last week's deadly bombing of a mosque claimed by "Islamic State", newspapers reported on Wednesday.The attack by a suicide bomber on Friday killed 27 people and injured more than 200, prompting the government...Dubai plans to build 3-D printed office building
DUBAI — Fast-growing Dubai, where something new is always being added to the skyline, may have found a way to make construction move even faster.The Gulf commercial hub Tuesday announced plans to add the world’s first office building made using three-dimensional printer technology to its collection of eye-catching......
Morocco breaks up militant cell linked to ISIS
RABAT — Morocco said Thursday security forces had dismantled a terrorist militant cell affiliated to ISIS, including members with knowledge in handling weapons and explosives.North African governments are on high alert after last Friday’s rampage by a gunman at a Tunisian beach resort attack.The Moroccan group of nine...Iraq’s Christians train to recapture homes
BAGHDAD — With wooden crosses around their necks and others tattooed on their arms, several dozen Iraqi Christians are training to recapture their homes overrun by ISIS militants.A year ago, ISIS launched a fierce offensive in northern Iraq, quickly capturing second city Mosul with its large Christian minority, and...ISIS suicide bomber kills 27 in Kuwait mosque
KUWAIT CITY — A suicide bomber killed 27 people when he blew himself up inside a packed Shi'a Muslim mosque in Kuwait city during Friday prayers, the health ministry and witnesses said, the first attack of its kind in the major oil-exporting state.ISIS militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 227...ISIS reenters Kobani, captures parts of Hasaka
DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" fighters have launched simultaneous attacks against Syrian government and Kurdish militia forces, moving back onto the offensive after losing ground in recent days to Kurdish-led forces near the capital of their "caliphate." ISIS sought to retake the initiative with incursions into the Kurdish-held town of......
Saudi cables highlight “checkbook diplomacy”
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (R) chats with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.CAIRO — The Gulf States were willing to pay $10 billion for the release of deposed Egyptian President Mubarak, according to the so-called 'Saudi Cables' released by WikiLeaks. The whistleblowing site has published 60,000 top-secret documents from these...U.N. report: Israel, Palestinians committed war crimes in Gaza
GAZA — U.N. investigators said on Monday Israel and Palestinian militant groups committed grave abuses of international humanitarian law during the 2014 Gaza conflict that may amount to war crimes. They called on all sides to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened a separate preliminary......
Watchdog: Egypt’s imprisonment of journalists at all-time high
CAIRO — Egypt is holding the highest number of journalists behind bars since record keeping began, using the pretext of national security to crack down on press freedoms, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. A prison census conducted by the CPJ on June 1 found at least 18 Egyptian journalists were being held in...Israeli cluster bomb kills Syrian boy in Lebanon
BEIRUT — A nearly decade-old Israeli cluster bomb killed a nine-year-old Syrian boy and wounded three of his relatives in south Lebanon, on Thursday, June 25. A security source said the cluster bomb, dropped by an Israeli warplane during the 2006 invasion of Lebanon, killed Khaled Barakat, 9, and wounded his two brothers, Hasan,......