Thousands protest Yemen president’s discharging of southern leaders
May 5th, 20170 ADEN — Tens of thousands of Yemenis protested in Aden on Thursday against President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's discharging of the provincial governor and a cabinet minister widely praised for helping drive Houthis from the city in 2015. The two men discharged, Aden provincial governor Aydaroos al-Zubaidi and cabinet member Hani bin...Poll: Arab youth disapprove of Trump, see him as anti-Muslim
DUBAI — A majority of young Arabs see President Trump's election as the factor most influencing their region in the next five years, a survey published on Wednesday showed, and they expressed concern that the U.S. president was anti-Muslim. Trump signed an executive order in March banning citizens from six Muslim-majority nations...Turkey’s EU dream is over, for now
VALLETTA — Turkey under President Tayyip Erdogan has turned its back on joining the European Union, at least for now, the bloc's top official dealing with Ankara said, offering economic cooperation instead if both sides can restore friendly ties. After years of deadlock on Turkey's bid to join the world's biggest trading bloc, EU...
Lebanese army chief visits Washington, meets officials
May 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newly-appointed army commander General Joseph Aoun arrived in Washington, D.C. April 29 on an official visit, the first since assuming his post in March. The visit, which runs through May 6, is part of the ongoing Lebanese-U.S. military cooperation. Aoun received the invitation "through the established...
Deadly U.S. strike killed no militants in Mosul
May 5th, 20170 CAIRO — After an American airstrike killed more than 100 Iraqi civilians in a house in the western part of Mosul in March, U.S. officials suggested ISIS was to blame for the horrific toll, saying militants may have crammed the building with people, booby-trapped it with explosives, then lured in an airstrike by firing from the...
ISIS is developing own social media platform
May 5th, 20170 LONDON — ISIS militants are developing their own social media platform to avoid security crackdowns on their communications and propaganda, the head of the European Union's police agency said on Wednesday. Europol Director Rob Wainwright said the new online platform had been uncovered during a 48-hour operation against Internet...
Trump to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia in first foreign trip
May 4th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― President Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this month as part of his first foreign trip, wading directly into the tangled diplomacy of Middle Eastern politics, a senior administration official said on Thursday. The swing through the Middle East, added to a trip that includes a NATO meeting in Brussels on May...
Pope visits Egypt to mend ties between Muslims and embattled Christians
April 30th, 20170 VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis hopes to mend ties with Muslims on his trip to Egypt on Friday, but faces criticism from church conservatives for meeting Islamic religious leaders after a spate of deadly attacks against Christians. In a video message to the people of Egypt on Tuesday, Francis said the world had been "torn by blind...
Israel strikes alleged arms depot near Damascus airport
April 30th, 20170 BEIRUT — Israeli warplanes struck a weapons supply hub operated by Hezbollah near Damascus airport on Thursday, targeting arms sent from Iran in commercial and military cargo aircraft, Syrian rebel and regional intelligence sources told Reuters. The Israeli military said later that one of its anti-aircraft missiles intercepted a...
China bans ‘Muhammad’ and ‘Jihad’ as baby names in Muslim populated region
April 30th, 20172 BEIJING — The Chinese government has prohibited parents from choosing certain Islamic names for their children, like "Muhammad", "Arafat" and "Jihad." Officials described the ban as part of an effort to "curb religious fervor" in the western region of Xinjiang, home to more than 10 million Uighurs, a mostly Muslim minority...
Trump: Saudis not paying fair share for U.S. defense
April 29th, 20170 WASHINGTON — President Trump complained on Thursday that U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was not treating the United States fairly and Washington was losing a “tremendous amount of money” defending the kingdom. In an interview with Reuters, Trump confirmed his administration was in talks about possible visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel in...
‘I had no choice:’ Odeh accepts plea deal, resists admission of guilt
April 27th, 20170 DETROIT— Hours before Rasmea Odeh entered her plea in court on Tuesday, dozens of supporters, ranging from organizers and Chicago-based defense team members, rallied outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in opposition to the parameters set around her conviction. Groups in attendance included the U.S....
BREAKING: Federal government drop charges against AMP staffers
April 24th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Federal authorities have dropped charges against AMP (American Muslims for Palestine) staffers Taher Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny. The two men, both employees for the group, faced charges for disrupting David Freidman's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, vocalizing opposition to the U.S. Ambassador to...
U.S. sanctions hundreds of Syrian research center employees
April 24th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The Treasury Department sanctioned 271 employees of Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), an agency that Washington says develops chemical weapons for the government of Bashar al-Assad, the Treasury said in a statement. Some of the people blacklisted had worked on Syria's chemical weapons program for...
Israeli troops kill Palestinian who rammed West Bank bus stop
April 20th, 20170 BETHLEHEM ― Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian driver who rammed his car into a bus stop in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday injuring a pedestrian, the army and a hospital spokesman said. An army statement said the car rammed a bus stop at Gush Etzion Junction, a busy intersection near a cluster of Israeli West Bank......
Trump signs executive order scrutinizing skilled immigrant visas
April 19th, 20170 President Donald Trump will be ordering a thorough review of the country's high-skilled immigration visa program Thursday after having signed an executive order Tuesday targeting the H-1B program. The move signals a further attempt at Trump to target foreign companies that typically hire foreign workers over Americans. In the...
Emirates reduces flights on five U.S. routes as Trump’s restrictions hit demand
April 19th, 20170 DUBAI ― Emirates, the largest international airline by passenger traffic, said on Wednesday it was cutting flights on five U.S. routes after restrictions imposed by President Trump's administration weakened demand from the Middle East. Since taking office, Trump has signed two executive orders banning refugees and citizens from...
More than a thousand Palestinians in Israeli jails begin hunger strike
April 17th, 20170 WEST BANK ― Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on Monday in response to a call by prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a possible future Palestinian president. Palestinians termed the open-ended strike a protest against poor conditions and an Israeli policy of detention without trial that...
U.S. drops largest non-nuclear bomb on ISIS in Afghanistan
April 13th, 20171 The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat, in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday against a series of caves used by ISIS militants, the military said. It was the first time the United States has used this size of bomb in a conflict. It was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the......
British PM to raise ‘hard issues’ with Saudi Arabia
April 8th, 20170 RIYADH —British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would raise "hard issues" with Saudi Arabia's leaders on a visit to the country, as critics urged her to pressure Riyadh over its air war in Yemen and human rights record. May also said she was appalled by reports of a chemical weapons attack in northern Syria that...
Trump’s son-in-law visits Iraq with top U.S. general
April 8th, 20170 BAGHDAD — President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, flew into Iraq last week with the top U.S. general to get a first-hand assessment of the battle against ISIS from U.S. commanders on the ground and Iraqi leaders. For Kushner, who has not been to Iraq before, the trip comes at a critical time as Trump examines ways to accelerate......
Israel Aerospace Industries signs near $2 billion missile deal with India
April 8th, 20170 JERUSALEM — State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has struck a deal worth almost $2 billion to supply India's army and navy with missile defense systems, the company said on Thursday, describing it as Israel's largest ever defense deal. IAI said in a statement it would supply an advanced air defense system, including...
With healthcare faltering in Gaza, care in Israel is sought after
April 8th, 20171 GAZA — For many patients suffering from life-threatening diseases in the Gaza Strip, treatment in neighboring Israel or the occupied West Bank is a much sought-after option. But Israel tightly restricts Palestinian passage from the Gaza Strip, one of its bitterest enemies. Although it exempts from the ban Gazans seeking "life-saving......
