Syria’s new game: The Russian factor
Many US media commentators were fairly accurate in labeling some of the language used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a New York Times article as "hypocritical." But mainstream U.S. media should be the last to point out anyone's hypocrisy, as it has brazenly endorsed every military intervention unleashed by their country since...
Security forces storm pro-Morsi town near Cairo to reassert control
September 19th, 20130 KERDASA, Egypt- Egyptian security forces and militants exchanged fire as police stormed a town near Cairo dominated by Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday Sept. 19, arresting dozens in an operation to reimpose state control.A police general was shot dead and at least nine policemen and soldiers were wounded...Iraq announces five-year plan to diversify economy
BAGHDAD--Iraq's government has released a five-year economic plan which will try to diversify beyond oil production and develop the industrial sector.The plan, announced this week, faces major obstacles including a rising level of sectarian violence and political infighting within the country's fractious coalition government.But if...Former Guantanamo prisoner killed in Syria after joining Islamist brigade
DAMASCUS-- A former prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base died fighting for anti-government rebels in Syria, according to an Islamist opposition group which posted a video of his funeral on YouTube.Moroccan-born Mohammed al Alami, who was released in 2006, is the first former Guantanamo detainee to die in battle in the Syrian...Opposition suspends role in Bahrain talks after leader arrest
MANAMA- Bahrain's largest opposition party on Wednesday, Sept. 18, suspended its participation in talks with the government aimed at ending 2-1/2 years of political turmoil in protest at the arrest of its deputy leader.Al Wefaq was responding to an announcement by the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom that Khalil al-Marzouq...Egypt returns $2 billion to Qatar in sign of growing tensions
CAIRO-- Egypt has returned $2 billion that Qatar had deposited with its central bank, after talks to convert the funds into three-year bonds broke down, central bank Governor Hisham Ramez said on Thursday, Spet. 19. Egypt authorities have also refused a Qatari request to increase the number of flights between the two states, according...Sudanese woman on trial for wearing ‘indecent’ clothing
KHARTOUM-- A woman is on trial in Sudan for failing to cover her head and wearing "indecent" clothing, in a case Amnesty International says may violate international law.Amira Osman Hamed, 35, was arrested Aug. 27 and charged with "indecent or immoral dress" for refusing to wear a headscarf.Amnesty International said police arrested...Egypt military court sentences five Palestinian fishermen to one-year in jail
CAIRO- An Egyptian military court on Wednesday, Sept. 18, sentenced five Palestinian fishermen to a year in jail for illegally crossing into Egypt's territorial waters, Egyptian security sources said."The court had arrested five Palestinians recently for crossing without permits to the Egyptian waters in North Sinai (that borders Israel...Attack on power lines leaves parts of Yemen in darkness
SANAA- Large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been left without electricity after Yemeni tribesmen attacked power lines on Thursday Sept. 19, a Yemeni official said.The attack in the Maarib province resulted in a key power station shutting down and came less than 24 hours after tribesmen targeted another part of the...Syria diplomacy helps shuffle global order
NEW YORK - When U.S. President Barack Obama tried to drum up momentum for airstrikes in Syria to punish and deter the use of chemical weapons, he failed to gain much of a following.At the G20 summit in St. Petersburg – which featured leaders from 20 of the world’s top economies – the U.S. proposed a statement to condemn Syria’s...Tale of Two Cities: Ramallah, Gaza and the Identity Crisis
The distance between Gaza and Ramallah, in sheer miles, is hardly significant. But in actuality, both cities represent two different political realities, with inescapable cultural and socioeconomic dimensions. Their geopolitical horizons are vastly different as well – Gaza is situated within its immediate Arab surroundings and turmoil,...Egypt extends state of emergency by two months
CAIRO — Egypt extended a state of emergency by two months on Thursday Sept. 12 because of the security situation, the presidency said in a statement.The most populous Arab state has been gripped by political turmoil since the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 3. A week ago the interior...Tunisia arrests senior Islamist militant leaders
TUNIS — Tunisian police on Monday, Sept. 9, arrested a senior leader from a banned Islamist group and killed two other militants, during a raid near the capital Tunis, authorities said.Tunisia's government, led by moderate Ennahda Islamists, in coalition with two smaller secular parties, is under popular pressure to crack down on...Bombings at Baghdad mosque kill dozens
BAGHDAD — A coordinated car and suicide bomb attack on a Shi'a mosque in the Iraqi capital killed at least 33 people on Wednesday, Sept. 11, police and medical sources said.Worshipers were leaving the mosque after evening prayers when the car bomb exploded, and as witnesses rushed to help the wounded, a suicide bomber blew himself up...Jordan asks for $1.1 billion in aid to cope with Syrian refugee crisis
AMMAN — Jordan needs hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to cope with the mounting number of Syrian refugees, Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan said in Paris on Thursday, Sept. 12.There were already more than one million Syrian refugees in Jordan and health and education services were absolutely stretched, Abu Hassan told......
Bomb hits Libyan foreign ministry building in Benghazi
BENGHAZI — A car bomb damaged a Libyan foreign ministry building in Benghazi on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the first anniversary of the attack on the U.S. consulate in the country's second largest city.Two years after the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is riven along regional and tribal lines and dogged by armed violence,...Hamas urges preachers in Gaza not to criticize Egypt’s military
GAZA — Hamas tried to ease tensions with Cairo on Wednesday, Sept. 11, by ordering Muslim preachers to mute their criticism of the new Egyptian government over what some of the clerics have called its war on Islam."Preachers should avoid speaking of the internal affairs of Egypt and focus on our Palestinian national issues and our...Yemeni president reinstates hundreds of war sacked southern officers
SANAA — Yemen's president has ordered the reinstatement of hundreds of senior army and intelligence officers sacked after a 1994 civil war, to hasten reconciliation talks aimed at ending years of political turmoil in the U.S.-allied country.The officers are from the restive south of the Arabian peninsula country, which lost a 1994...Ambiguous religion policy backfires on Tunisia’s ruling Islamists
The young man at the entrance to Zitouna, the oldest mosque in the Tunis medina, was adamant. Non-Muslims could no longer enter the building, not even just its outside gallery overlooking the busy souk."You can only come in if you declare, 'There is no god but God and Mohammad is God's messenger,'" he said.Hardline views like these have......
Egypt interior minister warns of surge in terrorism after assassination attempt
CAIRO — Egypt's interior minister survived an assassination attempt, unscathed, on Thursday, Sept. 5, when a car bomb blew up his convoy and gunmen strafed his vehicle. He said later, a wave of terrorism by opponents of the military-installed government was just beginning.The minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, has been involved in...Palestinian official: Peace talks going nowhere
RAMALLAH — Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are proving pointless and will not bear fruit without much greater pressure from Washington, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday, Sept. 4.In the most damning Palestinian assessment to date, Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the negotiations, which......
Gunmen kill 16 members of one family in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Gunmen, Wednesday Sept. 4, shot dead at least 16 members of a Shi'a family before blowing up their two neighboring homes south of the Iraqi capital overnight, police and medics said.The attack took place in the town of Latifiya, around 40 km (25 miles) from Baghdad, in a volatile area known as the "triangle of...Opposition, HRW criticize decision to set up rights court in Manama
MANAMA- Bahrain's main opposition group has criticised an Arab League decision to set up a pan-Arab human rights court in Manama, saying the Gulf Arab state was the "black hole of human rights".U.S.-allied Bahrain's human rights record has come under scrutiny over its handling of unrest since anti-government protests broke out in early......