Lebanese priest says yoga is a Satanic ritual
Father Marwan Khoury. Photo: AljoumhouriaA Lebanese priest is waging jihad against yoga. Father Marwan Khoury wrote an article for Arabic daily Aljoumhouriya, arguing that yoga is a form of devil worship. Lebanon is struggling with economic, environmental and security problems. There has been no regular trash collection in Beirut...Saudi Arabia’s top cleric bans chess
Sheikh Abdulaziz Al- SheikhSaudi Arabia’s grand mufti has ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam, saying it encourages gambling and is a waste of time.Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh was answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers’ queries on everyday religious matters.He said chess was...Lebanon speaker says Christian tie-up not enough to secure presidency
BEIRUT — The influential speaker of Lebanon's parliament has cast doubt on whether the reconciliation of the country's rival Christian leaders will help the country install a new president after nearly two years with the post empty. In a surprise move, Christian politician Samir Geagea declared his support for 80-year-old rival...Israel will seize West Bank land; demolishes EU structures
JERUSELAM — Israel confirmed on Thursday it was planning to appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing international condemnation. In an email sent to Reuters, COGAT, a unit of Israel's Defense Ministry, said the...ISIS slashes salaries of fighters by half, citing economic challenges
The Islamic State jihadist group has announced plans to halve the monthly salaries of its members in Syria and Iraq as the economic reality of waging war on several fronts takes its toll. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, medics, and fighters across Syria for information on Isis,...
Geagea backs Aoun for Lebanese presidency
January 18th, 20160 Geagea and Aoun during a press conference. Photo: The Daily StarBEIRUT — Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea backed his rival Michel Aoun for the presidency on Monday, in an apparent break with his Saudi-backed allies that aligns him with a civil war era enemy supported by Hezbollah.The announcement edges 80-year-old Aoun...Britain’s foreign secretary: UK helping Saudi-led Yemen campaign
People flee after air strikes in Sanaa, May 10, 2015LOMDON —Britain's foreign minister said U.K. troops are helping identify targets for a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, and have not found any "deliberate" breaches of humanitarian law.Britain's support for Saudi airstrikes has been criticized by human rights groups, who accuse...Iraq military says ISIS spokesman Adnani wounded
Abu Muhammad al-AdnaniBAGHDAD — ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has reportedly been wounded in an air strike in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a military statement said on Thursday."There are confirmed reports that the so-called terrorist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani the spokesman of the Daesh (ISIS) terrorists was wounded in an...Iran accuses Saudi warplanes of attacking its embassy in Yemen
A demonstration outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa, Jan. 7SANAA — Iran said Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in Yemen's capital on Thursday, a development that would exacerbate tensions between the major Shi'a and Sunni powers in the region, and Riyadh said it would investigate the accusation."Saudi Arabia is responsible for...
Sayings of executed Saudi cleric Nimr al-Nimr
January 6th, 20160 Nimr al-NimrExecuted cleric Nimr al-Nimr was the most vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's ruling Al Saud family in the kingdom's Shi'a Muslim minority, but he also poured scorn on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and distanced himself from Iran.Here are excerpts from video and audio recordings of his speeches and sermons published online."We...Hezbollah targets Israeli forces with bomb, Israel shells south Lebanon
An Israeli artillery gun fires a shell into Lebanon, Jan. 4. Photo: ReutersBEIRUT — Hezbollah set off a bomb targeting Israeli forces at the Lebanese border on Monday in an apparent response to the killing in Syria last month of a prominent commander, triggering Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon.Israel has struck its Iran-backed...Saudi Arabia sentences writer to four years in jail
RIYADH — A Saudi tribunal has sentenced a writer who called for political reform to four years in prison and barred him from appearing in the media for 15 years, his family and Saudi media reported. The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), a tribunal established in 2008 to try terrorism cases, convicted Zuhair Kutbi on charges of...Former Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar killed in strike
Kuntar with Hezbollah leader Hassan NasrallahBEIRUT — An Israeli air strike killed Samir Kuntar, a Hezbollah militant leader, in Damascus on Saturday evening, the Lebanese group and Syrian state media said on Sunday.Israel welcomed Kuntar's death, saying he had been preparing attacks on it from Syrian soil, but stopped short of...“Members” of Saudi-led ‘anti-terrorism’ coalition surprised by announcement
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has formed a coalition of 34 mainly Muslim countries - including powers such as Egypt and Turkey - to coordinate a fight against "terrorist organizations."But some supposed members of the coalition said they were surprised by their inclusion. Officials in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia all said they had not...Yemen peace talks struggle amid intensifying clashes
SANAA — U.N.-sponsored Yemen peace talks are struggling amid disputes over releasing prisoners, sources close to the talks said on Thursday, as local officials reported intensifying clashes and fresh air strikes despite a ceasefire.Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's representatives are demanding that their foes, the......
Syrian rebels arrive in Idlib after Homs ceasefire deal
Red Crescent units wait in Homs during a truce between the government and rebels, Dec. 9DAMASCUS — Buses carrying Syrian rebel fighters and their families safely reached the northwestern city of Idlib on Thursday after withdrawing from Homs under a local ceasefire agreement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The United...Imprisoned Saudi blogger goes on hunger strike
Badawi is sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashesOTTAWA — Imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been on a hunger strike since Tuesday, Dec. 8, after being transferred to a "new isolated" prison, his wife, Ensaf Haidar, said on Thursday.Haidar, who lives in Canada where she and their three children were granted political...Al-Qaeda militants take over two south Yemen towns, residents say
Houthi rebels in a truck past a Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, in Rada, Nov. 22, 2014.ADEN — Al-Qaeda fighters retook on Wednesday two southern Yemeni towns they briefly occupied four years ago, residents and local fighters said, exploiting the collapse of central authority in Yemen in its eight-month war. In an...Kerry: Air strikes alone won’t defeat ISIS
John Kerry (C) participates in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Belgrade.BELGRADE — Syrian and other Arab ground forces must be found to take on ISIS, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, saying the militant group would not be defeated by air strikes alone. Kerry was speaking hours after Britain began bombing ISIS......
Putin to Turkey: Expect more sanctions for jet shoot-down
Putin.MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said Turkey's shooting down a Russian military jet was a war crime and that the Kremlin would punish Ankara with additional sanctions, signaling fallout from the incident would be long-lasting and serious. Minutes after Putin had finished speaking, his energy minister, Alexander Novak, said...Saudi Arabia, Iran back deal to make Franjieh Lebanon’s president
Suleiman Franjieh.BEIRUT — Saudi Arabia lent its backing on Thursday to a power-sharing plan that would make a family friend of Syria's Bashar al-Assad president of Lebanon, saying it hoped it would happen within weeks. The proposal tabled by Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri would see him return to Lebanon as prime minister and make......
Bored Mauritanian president orders penalties in 63rd minute of soccer game
President Mohamed Ould Abdel AzizNOUAKCHOTT — The Mauritanian federation has been forced to deny that the country’s president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, ordered a penalty shootout in the 63rd minute of the Super Cup final out of boredom.Abdel Aziz was in attendance to watch the final between FC Tevragh-Zeina and ACS Ksar last...
Prisoner swap frees 16 Lebanese soldiers held by Nusra
December 1st, 20150 Lebanese soldiers who were captured by the Nusra Front in Arsal, celebrate upon their arrival in Beirut, Dec. 1BEIRUT — Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing freed 16 Lebanese soldiers and policemen on Tuesday in exchange for the release of jailed Islamists including the ex-wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.The Nusra Front seized the Lebanese......
