Relatives of Iraq massacre victims demand death penalty for Blackwater guards
BAGHDAD — Four former Blackwater guards found guilty for their roles in the 2007 massacre of at least 14 civilians in Baghdad's busy Nisur Square should be executed, relatives of victims said Thursday.Their convictions followed a two-month trial that heard how they opened fire with sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers in...Saudi Arabia jails mothers for preparing sons to wage jihad
RIYADH — Four women in Saudi Arabia have been jailed for preparing their sons to wage war and for supporting al-Qaeda, official media said, in the kingdom's latest "terrorist" convictions.They were sentenced to between six and 10 years in prison, the Saudi Press Agency reported late Wednesday following the verdicts.It said a court...Two Israeli soldiers wounded in attack along Egypt border
CAIRO — Gunmen in Egypt's Sinai peninsula opened fire on Israeli troops across the border on Wednesday, wounding two soldiers, the Israeli military said.Islamist militants are active in the lawless peninsula, which borders southern Israel, though assaults across that boundary are rare.The attackers fired guns and an anti-tank missile...Tunisian policeman killed in pre-election clash with militants
TUNIS — A Tunisian policeman was killed and another wounded on Thursday when security forces clashed with Islamist militants on the outskirts of Tunis, three days before parliamentary elections, which voters hope will advance the country towards full democracy.Police negotiators in the suburb Oued Ellil, to west of Tunis, were trying...Russia’s PM: U.S. no longer insists on Assad’s departure
Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Oct. 16.DAMASCUS — The United States is no longer insisting on the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad and is trying to establish separate contacts...Al-Qaeda and Houthis clash in central Yemen
Houthi rebels ride a patrol truck in Sanaa on Oct. 9.SANAA — At least 10 people were killed in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and militants linked to al-Qaeda in central Yemen on Thursday, witnesses said, part of a growing struggle over territory and influence between the two sides.The Shi'a Muslim Houthis established themselves as...Palestinians protest after Israel restricts access to Al-Aqsa Mosque
Palestinians are blocked by Israeli security forces from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Oct. 14.Four Palestinians were arrested and three police were wounded in the confrontation, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.Police used stun grenades as a crowd of about 400 people gathered near the entrance to the mosque.For...Libyan Red Crescent calls for Benghazi ceasefire as fighting rages
Irregular forces loyal to former army general Khalifa Haftar stand by an armed vehicle during clashes with Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi.BENGHAZI — Libya's Red Crescent called on Thursday for a ceasefire in the eastern city of Benghazi to allow the evacuation of families trapped by street fighting between Islamist...Prominent Shi’a cleric sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
Nimr al-Nimr.RIYADH — A Saudi court sentenced prominent Shi'a cleric Nimr al-Nimr to death Wednesday, sparking fears of renewed unrest from his supporters in Saudi Arabia’s troubled east and neighboring Bahrain.The 54-year-old cleric, an outspoken critic of the Saudi government was arrested in July 2012 after being shot by...Suicide bombings in Yemen kill 67 after PM quits
Houthi rebels react near dead and wounded men at the scene of a suicide attack, Oct. 9.SANAA — Suicide bombers targeting Yemen's powerful Houthi group and an army camp killed at least 67 people in two separate attacks on Thursday, hours after a political crisis forced the new prime minister to step down.At least 47 people were killed,...
The siege of Kobani and the failure of American policy
October 10th, 20140 Kurds vented their fury at the Turkish government for standing by as Isis fighters looked poised to take the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani in view of the Turkish border and the watching Turkish army.At least 12 people died and dozens of people were wounded in demonstrations across Turkey. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters...Bahrain activist to go on trial over ‘insulting’ tweets
Rajab.MANAMA — Leading rights activist Nabeel Rajab is to remain in custody and go on trial October 19 on charges of posting tweets deemed insulting to authorities, the prosecution said Thursday.A general prosecutor, Hussein al-Buali, said Rajab was charged with "publicly insulting government institutions," after the defence and...Hizbullah bomb wounds two Israeli soldiers
An injured Israeli soldier is evacuated to a hospital in the northern city of Haifa Oct. 7.BEIRUT — Lebanese Hizbullah fighters detonated a bomb on Lebanon's border with Israel on Tuesday, wounding two Israeli soldiers and drawing artillery fire in response.The incident in the Shebaa hills area marked the first time that Hizbullah has...France says $3 billion Lebanon arms deal to go ahead
BEIRUT — France will soon provide weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese army as part of a $3 billion grant from Saudi Arabia to help it fight extremists encroaching into Lebanon from Syria, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.One of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague...Egypt, Libya announce deeper cooperation to ‘fight terrorism’
CAIRO — Egypt will train Libyan forces to fight terrorism and help secure a shared border, the prime ministers of the two states announced in Cairo on Wednesday, stepping up efforts against Islamist insurgents in both countries.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has expressed concerns over militants who have capitalized on the......
Saudi women’s right-to-drive campaign hits social media
RIYADH — Activists in Saudi Arabia are revving up a right-to-drive campaign using social media in the world's only country that bans women from getting behind the wheel, a campaigner said on Thursday.An online petition asking the Saudi government to "lift the ban on women driving" has attracted more than 2,400 signatures ahead of the...
Voter registration deadline is Oct. 6
October 3rd, 20140 MICHIGAN — Voter registration deadline for the Nov. 4 general election is Monday, Oct. 6. Key races include the governor’s race between incumbent and republican candidate Rick Snyder and his opponent, democrat Mark Schauer and the competition between democratic Congressman Gary Peters and former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land...Assad: Countries that backed terrorism can’t defeat jihadists
DAMASCUS — Extremists cannot be defeated by countries that have "spread terrorism," Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday in an apparent jab at members of the U.S.-led coalition against the "Islamic State."Speaking during a meeting with a senior Iranian official in Damascus, the Syrian leader took aim at countries he said...Egyptian army kills Sinai militants’ commander
CAIRO — Egypt's army killed a field commander in Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the country's most dangerous militant group, during clashes on Thursday in the lawless north of the Sinai Peninsula, security sources said.Mohamed Abu Shatiya, among militants behind the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai last year, died during fighting......
Palestinians draft UN resolution to end the occupation
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Sept. 26.UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians have drafted a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an end to Israeli occupation by November 2016, which they have shared informally with Arab states and...School bombing kills 41 children in Syria
A picture released by SANA shows Syrian Red Crescent members providing medical assistance to a victim a car bomb explosion outside the Akrameh al-Makhzumi school in Homs on October 1.DAMASCUS — At least 41 Syrian children aged under 12 were killed on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in a double bombing at a school in the government-controlled city......
Turkey authorizes military action in Syria and Iraq, as ‘Islamic State’ advances
A Syrian Kurdish refugee carries her belongings after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town of Kobani. Photo Murad Sezer Reuters.SURUC, Turkey — Turkey's parliament authorized the government to order military action against "Islamic State" on Thursday as the insurgents tightened their grip on a Syrian border town, sending...
French, U.S. planes strike “Islamic State” across Syria and Iraq, Britain to join coalition
September 26th, 20140 BAGHDAD — French fighter jets struck Islamic State targets in Iraq on Thursday and the United States hit them in Syria, as a U.S.-led coalition to fight the militants gained momentum with an announcement that Britain would join.In the United States, FBI Director James Comey said Washington had identified the masked "Islamic State"......
