Seven members of Yemeni family killed in Saudi-led strike
A Houthi follower hangs a banner outside the Saudi embassy with photos of people killed by Saudi-led air strikes, Sanaa, May 25ADEN — Seven members of a family were killed in an overnight strike by Saudi-led warplanes on a border village in northern Yemen, residents said, as heavy clashes erupted across the frontier after Houthi fire...Students respond with “leg selfies” to Algerian university dress code
ALGIERS — Algerians are revealing some leg on Facebook in solidarity for a girl who was banned from taking a law exam in because the university thought her skirt was too short. The dean of the University of Algiers’ Faculty of Law stands by the decision. He told news website TSA Algérie, “Wearing a short skirt is not...Palestinians to press on suspending Israel from FIFA
RAMALLAH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter saw his Mideast peacemaking mission crumble Wednesday after the Palestinians vowed to press efforts to have Israel suspended at the upcoming World Football Congress. After months of rising tensions over plans by the Palestinian Football Association to have its Israeli counterpart expelled from...ISIS captures Gaddafi’s hometown
Libya Dawn fighters fire an artillery cannon at ISIS militants near Sirte, March 19.TRIPOLI — "Islamic State" militants have effectively taken over former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's home city of Sirte as they exploit a civil war between two rival governments to expand in North Africa. Libya, which has descended into near anarchy...
The war against ISIS fails in Ramadi
May 22nd, 20150 "A setback." That's how President Obama described the fall of Ramadi to ISIS, after nine months of bombing the terrorist group. But a quick look at the geo-military map, specifically at the vast swaths of land seized by ISIS in Anbar, tells a different story. The strategic location of the city— which is the capital of...Egyptian court sentences Morsi and 106 supporters to death
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Saturday sought the death penalty for former president Mohamed Morsi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011. Morsi and his fellow defendants, including top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, were convicted for killing and kidnapping policemen, attacking...Hezbollah warns of partition, commits to Syrian war
BEIRUT — Hezbollah says the Middle East is at risk of partition and sees no end to the war in Syria, where it is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad against insurgents supported by his regional enemies. Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iranian-backed group, said the insurgents would be unable to topple the Assad...ISIS seizes Syria’s ancient Palmyra
DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" militants tightened their grip on the historic city of Palmyra in Syria, days after capturing a provincial capital in neighboring Iraq, suggesting the growing momentum of the group which a monitor says now holds half of Syrian territory. The twin successes pile pressure not just on Damascus and Baghdad,...Nasrallah to declare victory in Qalamoun
DAMASCUS — Lebanon's Hezbollah and Syria's army made big advances against insurgents in mountains north of Damascus on Wednesday, Hezbollah and Syrian state media said, shoring up President Bashar al-Assad's grip on the border zone. The Arab American News correspondent in Beirut, Nabil Haissam, learned from sources close to Hezbollah...
Nakba should be the center of the Palestinian strategy
May 22nd, 20150 “What is the Palestinian strategy?” is a question that I have been asked all too often, including on May 15, the day that millions of Palestinians around the world commemorated the 67th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians by Zionist militias in 1947-48. The question itself doesn’t require much...The Palestinian Nakba becomes the Arab Nakba
Palestinian refugees at the Jaramana Refugee Camp, Damascus, 1948.In a western capital far away from Gaza and Cairo, I recently shared a pot of tea with an “Egyptian refugee.” The term is familiar to me, but never have I encountered an Egyptian who refers to himself as such. He stated it as a matter of fact by saying: “As an...Obama vows to ‘stand by’ Gulf allies amid concern over Iran threat
President Obama welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef at the White House, May 13.MARYLAND — President Obama vowed on Thursday to back Gulf allies against any "external attack", seeking to reassure them of Washington's iron-clad commitment to their security amid Arab anxiety over U.S.-led efforts to reach a nuclear...Sectarian violence, bombs leave 17 dead during Baghdad pilgrimage
BAGHDAD — Deadly violence erupted overnight when Shi'a worshipers marched through a Sunni neighborhood on their way to a shrine for an annual ritual, police said Thursday. Mobs burned several buildings in the Sunni district of Adhamiyah, which the pilgrims have to cross to reach the holy Shi'a site on the other side of the...Egypt is justice minister resigns over classist remarks
CAIRO — Egypt's justice minister has resigned after raising a public uproar by saying in a TV interview that the children of garbage collectors are too lowly to become judges. The comments on Sunday by Mahfouz Saber brought a heavy backlash on social media from Egyptians denouncing elitism and what some saw as the arrogance of...
Nasrallah to declare victory in Qalamoun
May 15th, 20150 DAMASCUS — Lebanon's Hezbollah and Syria's army made big advances against insurgents in mountains north of Damascus on Wednesday, Hezbollah and Syrian state media said, shoring up President Bashar al-Assad's grip on the border zone.The Arab American News correspondent in Beirut Nabil Haissam learned from sources close to Hezbollah......
Seven children killed in Benghazi rocket attack
BENGHAZI — Eight people were killed, including seven children, when a rocket hit a residential building in the city of Benghazi in eastern Libya on Thursday, medics said, two days after a similar attack claimed by "Islamic State" militants. A Reuters reporter saw several dead children in a hospital in the city, where army forces...Syria-linked Lebanese ex-minister sentenced to 4.5 years in bomb plot
BEIRUT — A former Lebanese minister who was arrested three years ago for smuggling explosives into Lebanon from Syria was sentenced on Wednesday to four and a half years in prison for forming a group to carry out terrorist attacks. Michel Samaha was tried by a military court on charges related to a plot allegedly devised with Syria's...
Vatican recognizes state of Palestine
May 15th, 20150 VATICAN CITY — The Vatican concluded its first treaty that formally recognizes the State of Palestine, with an agreement on Catholic Church activities in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, the Holy See said on Wednesday. The agreement "aims to enhance the life and activities of the Catholic Church and its recognition at...
Netanyahu forms new government with far right
May 8th, 20150 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Naftali Bennett, the head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, May 6.TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement Thursday giving a senior role to the far-right Jewish Home party, which firmly opposes a Palestinian state, hours after forging a new......
Houthis attack Saudi town, air strikes continue
SANAA — Saudi-led forces said on Thursday they would respond harshly against Yemen's Houthi rebels following attacks on citizens in border areas, hours after the kingdom offered a five-day humanitarian truce if the militants stopped fighting. Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis had...
Hezbollah advances in Qalamoun, U.S. military to train rebels
May 8th, 20150 DAMASCUS — Syrian army bombing in the mountainous area along the border with Lebanon killed dozens of insurgents and helped regain hilly territory overlooking Hezbollah strongholds, the Lebanese group said on Thursday. For years, hideouts in the Qalamoun mountains have allowed al-Qaeda-linked insurgents to attack Syrian soldiers and......
Libya’s coast guard detains almost 600 African migrants
TRIPOLI — Libya's coast guard detained on Wednesday almost 600 illegal African migrants, among them pregnant women and 18 children, who had tried to sail to Europe on a fishing boat, a security official said. The North African country, gripped by violence and a breakdown of state authority four years after the ousting of Muammar...Lauryn Hill cancels Israel show
HillLOS ANGELES — Singer and songwriter Lauryn Hill is canceling a planned concert in Israel because she was unable to schedule a performance in the Palestinian territories, she announced Monday, May 5.The decision was hailed as a victory by Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists, who had launched a campaign urging Hill to......
