Jordanian companies on the hunt for opportunities in Detroit
August 15th, 20170 DETROIT — On Thursday, Aug. 3, the Honorary Consulate of Jordan in Michigan hosted a reception and forum welcoming a Jordanian trade delegation to Detroit. The key objective of the mission was to promote the growth of trade and business diversification of the Jordanian exports to the U.S. in several manufacturing sectors that are...
More than half a million children in Libya need help: UNICEF
August 10th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS - On Wednesday, the United Nations children agency UNICEF warned that more than half a million children in Libya need help and called on warring parties to end the violence and negotiate a political solution to the crisis. Libya has spiraled into turmoil after a civil war ousted longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011....
UN study: Foreign fighters in Syria ‘lack basic understanding of Islam’
August 10th, 20170 Young men who leave their homes to fight for terrorist groups in Syria mainly come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have low levels of education and “lack any basic understanding of the true meaning of jihad or even the Islamic faith”, according to a study for the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The report, which was...
Old cinemas find new life in Lebanon as cultural hubs
August 4th, 20170 TRIPOLI, Lebanon — With paint peeling from the ceiling and crumbling plasterwork, renovating an abandoned picture house in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli is more than a dream for Qassem Istanbouli. The 31-year-old has reopened three such cinemas— two in his home city of Tyre in southern Lebanon and another in Nabatiyeh—...
Clooneys to help 3,000 Syrian refugees go to school in Lebanon
August 2nd, 20170 BEIRUT- George and Amal Clooney said on Monday they would help 3,000 Syrian refugee children go to school this year in Lebanon, where the United Nations says 200,000 children are not receiving an education after fleeing the war in neighboring Syria. The Clooney Foundation for Justice said it has teamed up with Google and HP Inc to help...
Lebanon-Syria refugee transfer delayed
August 1st, 20170 BEIRUT ― The transfer of thousands of Syrian militants and refugees from a Lebanese border region into rebel territory in Syria stalled for a second day on Tuesday. Lebanese television station al-Mayadeen said Nusra Front militants were demanding the release of a fifth prisoner being held by Beirut and accused of killing Lebanese...
Saudi Arabia seeks to end U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks
August 1st, 20170 NEW YORK — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss 25 lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and should pay damages to victims. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Saudi Arabia said the plaintiffs cannot show that the kingdom or any affiliated charities were behind the attacks. It...
Hezbollah: Nearing victory in battle at Lebanon-Syria border
July 28th, 20170 BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that the group was close to defeating Nusra Front militants in the battle along the Syrian-Lebanese border. "We are in the face of a very big military victory," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. The militants have "effectively lost" most of the land they...
Hariri stays silent as Trump mistakenly says he is fighting Hezbollah
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Questions have once again been raised over President Donald Trump’s grasp on foreign policy after he appeared to misunderstand the political and militery role played by the pwerful Lebanese party of Hezbollah in the Middle East’s complex geopolitics. During a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad...
Netanyahu climbdown in Al-Aqsa standoff, thousands of worshipers surge into holy site
July 27th, 20170 JERUSALEM - Thousands of Muslim worshippers surged into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday and at least 113 were hurt in scuffles with police after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the sacred site in the face of days of violent protests. Chaotic scenes unfolded as Israeli forces used stun grenades to try to control...
U.S. pledges extra $140 million to Lebanon for Syrian refugees, fighting ISIS
July 27th, 20170 BEIRUT ― The United States will give Lebanon an extra $140 million to help Syrian refugees and the communities hosting them, the State Department said during a U.S. visit by Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Lebanon is hosting at least 1.5 million Syrian refugees who have fled the more than six-year conflict there and who now make...
Israel replaces Al-Aqsa mosques metal detectors with surveillance cameras, Palestinians reject new measures
July 25th, 20170 JERUSALEM - Palestinians have vowed to continue protests and confrontations with Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, in rejection of new surveillance cameras installed at the gates to al-Aqsa Mosque compound. After a security cabinet meeting late on Monday, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
U.N.: Solution is needed by this Friday to curb escalating violence in Jerusalem
July 24th, 20170 NEW YORK - United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov warned on Monday that a solution was needed by Friday to the Jerusalem mosque crisis, which he said threatens to have "potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City." Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa mosque compound in...
Hezbollah says battle with Nusra Front almost won at Syria-Lebanon border
July 24th, 20170 BEIRUT – Hezbollah said on Monday its battle with Nusra Front jihadists at the Syria-Lebanon border was almost over and urged remaining insurgents in the area to give up, pressing its campaign to take their last foothold at the frontier. With the Nusra Front almost beaten in the mountainous area on the outskirts of the Lebanese town...
Hezbollah, Syrian army launch offensive at Syrian-Lebanese border
July 21st, 20170 BEIRUT — The Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched an offensive on Friday to clear militants from an area of the Syrian-Lebanese frontier, a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad said. The operation is targeting insurgents from the Nusra Front group in the Juroud Arsal......
Al-Aqsa standoff: Palestinian anger mounts over holy site restrictions
July 21st, 20170 JERUSALEM — For the first time in decades, Israel closed the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to worshipers on Friday, July 14. The closure followed an attack near an entrance to the compound that houses the al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites for Muslims, following a deadly shootout that killed two Israelis and...
Iraqi Consul General: Iraqi Americans celebrate victory over ISIS, healthier U.S.-Iraqi ties
July 21st, 20170 SOUTHFIELD — The liberation of Mosul from ISIS was a formidable victory for Iraq. But for Iraqi Americans, it was an exhilarating and unifying experience during a time of great scrutiny. The extremist group had left a trail of devastation wherever they set camp and strained relations between Western and Arab World...
Lebanon names former Bloomfield Hills resident Gabriel Issa as its ambassador to Washington
July 20th, 20170 BEIRUT — On Thursday, the Lebanese Cabinet passed long-awaited diplomatic appointments as President Michel Aoun called for “improving the state's revenues” in the wake of parliament's approval of a new wage scale for civil servants and the armed forces. As per protocol, the names of the appointed ambassadors will be announced...
Saudi prince arrested over bloody “assault” video
July 20th, 20170 DUBAI - A Saudi prince was arrested after a video that appeared to show him assaulting a bloodied man stoked outrage online, Saudi police said, in a rare airing of public anger at a member of the royal family. The clip, apparently filmed by the attacker, shows a Yemeni driver berated for parking in front of the man's house and being......
State Department: Number of terrorist attacks globally dropped in 2016
July 19th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The number of terrorist attacks worldwide and deaths from such attacks dropped in 2016 for the second straight year, driven by decreases in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan and Yemen, the State Department said on Wednesday. The total number of terrorist attacks in 2016 dropped 9 percent compared to 2015, while...
Saudi-led air strikes kill at least 20 Yemeni civilians
July 19th, 20170 DUBAI - At least 20 Yemeni civilians were killed and many others were wounded when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a village in the south, officials from the armed Houthi movement and the government said on Wednesday. The U.N. said the victims of Tuesday's bombing, which hit al-Atera village in Taiz province where fighting between......
Palestinian driver shot dead after ramming car into Israeli soldiers
July 18th, 20170 JERUSALEM - A Palestinian driver rammed his vehicle into a group of Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday and was shot dead by the troops, the Israeli military said. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials. According to Israel's Magen David Adom, two of their soldiers were slightly wounded. "In...
Israeli ‘counter-terrorism boot camp’ a tourist attraction in occupied West Bank
July 17th, 20170 GUSH ETZION SETTLEMENT, WEST BANK – Taking in the scene of a simulated fruit market in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, a group of tourists ponders whether a poster-size figure of an Arab man holding a cellphone is a threat and should be shot. The aim of the mock scenario is to teach rapt foreign visitors how to deal......
