UN seeks ceasefire in Aleppo
A rebel fighter of al-Jabha al-Shamiya (the Shamiya Front) covered with mud carries his weapon as he sits near the front line with Bashkuwi village, north of Aleppo Feb. 19.DAMASCUS — Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army...Egypt asks for UN help against militants in Libya
"Islamic State" militants hold down Egyptian Chiristian hostages before execution.CAIRO — Libya and Egypt asked the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on Libya, impose a naval blockade on areas not under government control and help build the country's army to tackle "Islamic State" and other...Three Syrian refugee children die in fire
BEIRUT — Three Syrian refugee children were killed when their tent caught fire Thursday, after an apparent electrical short caused by the severe weather. Storm “Windy” has brought high winds, thunderstorms and heavy snow, flooding rivers and fields and blocking mountain roads. Officials have announced that schools will be...
A practical solution to Lebanon’s oil and gas dilemma
February 18th, 20150 Believe it or not, the window of opportunity to engage Lebanon in the new and vast oil and gas exploration frontier is narrowing and the ship of the International Oil Companies (IOC) is sailing away. As a geologist, I have studied (in depth) the GeoScience Offshore EMED. I have discussed the subject matter with Lebanon’s...“Islamic State” says it’s holding ‘Israeli spy’ in Syria
The mother of Muhammad Musallam, weeps as she holds his photograph, Feb. 12DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" said on Thursday it was holding an Israeli Arab who had posed as a foreign fighter in order to spy for Mossad, an account denied by Israel and by the man's family, who said he had been kidnapped. In an interview published by IS...Syrian army, Hezbollah advance in campaign against rebels in south
People inspect a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.DAMASCUS — Syrian government forces and their Lebanese allies took new ground in a major offensive in southern Syria pressing a campaign against insurgents posing one of the biggest remaining threats to Damascus. The...“Islamic State” seizes western Iraqi town
A banner is placed at a IS checkpoint, in Anbar province, July 22, 2014. The banner reads, ''Islamic State, State of Anbar, City of Rawah.''BAGHDAD — "Islamic State" insurgents took control on Thursday of most of the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, threatening an air base where U.S. Marines are training Iraqi troops, officials...
UN warns Yemen is on the brink of collapse
February 13th, 20150 Houthi rebels drive through Sanaa amid rival protests for and against them, Oct. 11.SANAA — Al-Qaeda-linked fighters seized a large army base in a dawn attack in southern Yemen on Thursday, militants and residents said, hours after the United Nations warned that the country was on the brink of civil war. The base in the southern...Egypt releases Al Jazeera journalists on bail
Mohamed Fahmy's fiancée Marwa Omara is pictured here reacting to the news in a Cairo courtroom, Feb. 12.CAIRO — Two remaining Al Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt on charges of aiding a "terrorist organization" were freed on bail on Thursday after more than 400 days, but the court said the case against them was still pending. The...Russia to help build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant
Putin and Sisi at a joint press conference in Cairo.CAIRO — The presidents of Russia and Egypt have announced after talks in Cairo, that the two countries are to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant together, as well as boosting natural gas trade among other deals. Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi made the announcement on...Israel bans Arab MP from next elections
JERUSALEM — Firebrand Arab MP Haneen Zuabi, a regular critic of Israel's right-wing government, was banned Thursday from standing in next month's general election. The elections committee gave no reason for the disqualification, reported on its website, but Zuabi's lawyer Hassan Jabareen said it was because she was deemed "hostile to...Saudi Arabia beheads Pakistani man in 29th execution of 2015
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Thursday beheaded a convicted Pakistani drug smuggler, bringing to 29 the number of executions in the first six weeks of the year. Babir Hussein Mohammed Ishaq was found guilty of transporting heroin which he had ingested, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press...The battle of Sinai: How to lose a ‘War on Terror’
Smoke rises after a house was blown up during a military operation by Egyptian security forces in the Egyptian city of Rafah, Oct. 29, 2014.The Sinai Peninsula has moved from the margins of the Egyptian body politic to the uncontested center, as Egypt’s strong man – President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi – finds himself greatly undercut...UAE stops airstrikes against “Islamic State”
Pilots of the UAE Air Forces.ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates withdrew from coalition air strikes against the "Islamic State" group in Syria after the capture of a Jordanian pilot since murdered by the jihadists, US officials said Wednesday. The UAE pulled out of the flights soon after the pilot fell into IS hands in December, a...Gaza militants condemn Egypt’s branding of Hamas as terror group
GAZA — In a statement read by a masked gunman, 10 armed Palestinian factions jointly condemned on Thursday an Egyptian decision to list the military wing of the Islamist group Hamas as a terrorist organization. An Egyptian court last week banned the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, in line with a crackdown by......
Most Yemeni parties agree on transitional council
SANAA — Most Yemeni factions have agreed to set up an interim presidential council to manage the country for up to one year, negotiators said on Thursday, in a step to ease a power struggle that forced the president to step down two weeks ago. The dominant Houthi movement had set a Wednesday deadline for political factions to agree...
Jordanian jets pound “Islamic State” militants after pilot’s death
February 6th, 20150 Jordan's King Abdullah (C), walks with Safi al-Kasaesbeh (2nd L), the father of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh, as he arrives to offer his condolences at the headquarters of the family's clan Feb. 5. Photo: REUTERSAMMAN — Jordanian fighter jets pounded "Islamic State" hideouts in Syria on Thursday and then roared over the hometown...CIA, Mossad killed Hezbollah’s Imad Mughniyeh
WASHINGTON — The CIA and Israel's spy agency Mossad were behind an elaborate plot to kill Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in a 2008 car bomb attack in Syria, the Washington Post reported. Citing former intelligence officials, the newspaper reported that U.S. and Israeli spy agencies worked together to target Mughniyeh on Feb. 12,...Iraq PM orders lifting of decade-old Baghdad curfew
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an end to the nightly curfew that has been in force in Baghdad for years, Brigadier General Saad Maan said on Thursday. "The prime minister ordered that the curfew in the city of Baghdad be completely lifted starting from this Saturday," Maan, the spokesman for the Baghdad......
Heavy fighting in Libya’s Benghazi as army pushes to take port
BENGHAZI — Clashes erupted in the center of Libya's main eastern city on Thursday as pro-government forces pushed to take the port district from Islamist militants, and seven soldiers were killed, witnesses and military officials said. The fighting mirrors a wider struggle in the oil-producing North African state where two governments...Dubai airport becomes the busiest in the world
Dubai airport terminal.DUBAI — Dubai airport has soared ahead of London's Heathrow, riding a boom in long-haul flights between Asia and the West to become the world's top international travel hub, UAE airport authorities said Tuesday. Traffic at the airport increased 6.1 percent last year to 70.47 million passengers, Dubai Airports......
Saudi king orders payout to state employees, reshuffles cabinet
Saudi Arabia's King Salman.RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's new King Salman ordered a lavish payout to all state employees on Thursday and reshuffled some top government jobs while keeping in place the oil, foreign, finance, defense and interior ministers. The top oil exporter will pay two months of bonus salary to all state employees and...Attacks kill 26 Egyptian soldiers
Shaimaa Sabbagh.CAIRO — Twenty-five people were killed in a bomb attack on military buildings in the capital of Egypt's restive North Sinai province on Thursday, while an army major was shot dead at a checkpoint in Rafah near the Gaza Strip, medical and security sources said. The flagship government newspaper, al-Ahram, said its......
