Algeria pays final respects to Arab singing legend Warda

Mourning Algerians paid tribute Saturday to Arab singing legend Warda, whose body was returned to her homeland after she died of a heart attack in Egypt two days earlier. Known throughout the Arab world as Warda al-Jazairia (Warda the Algerian), or simply … Read More

Three anti-NATO activists accused of planning terrorism attacks on Obama’s election HQ

Three protesters arrested on terrorism-related charges ahead of the NATO-summit considered targeting U.S. President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters and the home of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, according to court documents released on Saturday. The Chicago … Read More

Demonstrators in southern Iraq threaten to boycott Turkish business

Around 200 protesters rallied on Saturday in front of the Turkish consulate in Basra, southern Iraq, threatening to boycott Turkish companies if Ankara does not hand over Iraq’s fugitive vice president. The demonstrators set fire to a Turkish flag, … Read More

Cradle of Libya revolution votes for local council

Residents in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolt that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, headed to the polls Saturday to elect a local council. “This is a first step in the transition from revolution to state … Read More

Austria to give 18 million euros for Afghan police training

Austria will give 18 million euros ($23.6 million) for police training in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, a top official said. The money will be delivered in three equal payments per year from 2014 to 2016 through the … Read More

Blind Chinese activist Chen set to leave China for U.S.

Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Saturday he had left a hospital in Beijing and was at the airport where he expected to be departing for the United States, a move that would signal the end of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. … Read More

One dead, several injured as bomb explodes at south Italy school

A bomb went off outside a school in the southern Italian city of Brindisi on Saturday, killing one student and injuring six as they were going into class, a local emergency official said. A 16-year-old girl “did not survive”, Fabiano Amati told the … Read More

Iran tells west to lift sanctions ahead of nuclear talks

Iran on Saturday said sanctions over its disputed nuclear program should be lifted in talks with world powers next week in Baghdad, but maintained the punitive measures would not compel it to abandon its atomic “rights.” Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin … Read More

Damascus accuses Lebanon of ‘incubating’ terrorists along the border

Damascus has sent a letter to the United Nations accusing some Lebanese areas of helping al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood to take root along the Syrian border, adding to its criticism of Turkey and Libya for allegedly providing arms to Syrian rebels. “Some Lebanese … Read More

Obama puts weight behind Europe growth push at G8 summit

A growing chorus of world leaders on Friday pushed for a shift toward more pro-growth policies to help ease a European crisis that threatens to oust Greece from the euro zone and reverberate throughout the global economy. Setting the tone for a weekend G8 summit, … Read More

Six Ahwazi Arabs face unfair trial, risk death on charges of ‘enmity against God’: Amnesty

Six members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority are due to go on trial in Iran on May 20, amid fears that they will not receive a fair trial and may be at risk of torture or death sentence, an international rights groups warned on Friday. The men were detained without charge … Read More

Radical mosques invite young Tunisians to jihad in Syria

Some of Tunisia’s radical mosques are calling on young people to fight in a jihad in Syria against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a religious affairs official said Friday. According to official estimates, about 400 of Tunisia’s approximately 5,000 … Read More

EBRD Bank approves one billion euro investment for Arab regions

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced Saturday that it had approved an investment of 1.0 billion euros ($1.28 billion) for expansion into North Africa and the Middle East. After years of investing in mainly private-sector … Read More

Italy jewelry export set for new fall after 2011 drop

Jewelry export from Italy, Europe’s top producer and exporter, is set fall by about 12 percent this year as it did in 2011, as a debt crisis in Europe and concerns about the global economy sap demand, a senior industry official said. Jewelry demand is one of the main … Read More

Aramco launches Jizan, bidders revise Rabigh offer

Saudi Aramco has invited bids for the construction of a new refinery in Jizan, an underdeveloped province bordering Yemen, industry sources said. Aramco has also asked for revised offers for one of nine construction packages to expand the Rabigh petrochemical complex … Read More

Saudi non-oil exports rise 31 percent: paper

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rose 31 percent in 2011 to 176.6 billion riyals ($47.1 billion) compared to 2010, Arab News reported on Saturday citing the Central Department of Statistics. Petrochemicals and plastics combined accounted for 114.9 billion riyals, Arab News … Read More

Greek election race tightens into dead heat

A flurry of polls on Saturday showed the race to lead Greece has tightened into a dead heat ahead of an election next month that could determine whether it remains in the euro. Greece was forced to call the new vote for June 17 after an election on May 6 left parliament … Read More

Decades after ‘reunification’ a divided Jerusalem remains

Israelis this week mark Jerusalem Day, celebrating the “reunification” of the Holy City, but 45 years on, the contrast between quality of life in the Jewish west and the Arab east remain stark. The status of Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive issues in … Read More

A green light for more violence? Iraq gives its citizens right to own guns

The Iraqi government has decided to allow civilians the right to own guns and rifles, sparking uproar in the country, with some people saying that the decision will unleash more violence, while others welcome it. On May 6, the Iraqi government’s spokesman Ali Al-Dabagh … Read More

Chinese entities world’s biggest economic spies: Pentagon

The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused “Chinese actors” of being the world’s biggest perpetrators of economic espionage. China rejected the … Read More

Muslim gay Canadian launches book in Malaysia despite ‘ban’

A Canadian Muslim gay activist launched her controversial new book on liberal Islam in Muslim-majority Malaysia Saturday despite a government minister’s attempts to shut down the event. Irshad Manji launched “Allah, Liberty and Love” at a hastily arranged … Read More

Crowded house drummer dies in Australia

A former drummer with Australian rock group Crowded House has died, the band announced Saturday, with reports saying he had succumbed to brain cancer. Crowded House, led by New Zealander frontman Neil Finn, said they were “in mourning today for the death of … Read More

Chelsea beats Bayern on penalties to win Champions League

Chelsea stunned Bayern Munich to win the Champions League for the first time after a penalty shootout in the Allianz Arena after a tension-soaked final had ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday. Didier Drogba, who had equalised for Chelsea two minutes from time, struck … Read More

Formerly banned fencing makes a comeback in Libya

Fencing is making a comeback in Libya, after it was banned along with other sports deemed as violent, such as boxing and wrestling, during ousted leader Muammer Qaddafi’s reign. The Libyan Fencing Federation has been working on reviving the ancient sword sport since its … Read More

Eman El-Shenawi: Bailing out Greece has tipped it over the eurozone’s edge

Greece was bailed out under rules it wasn’t ready for. The attempt to save the country from defaulting has actually tipped it over the edge and foreshadows a eurozone exit. Why? Because the bailout never ensured the country’s fiscal stability. If anything, the rescue … Read More

Dina al-Shibeeb: On U.S. foreign policy failure in Iraq and conspiracy theories in Gulf

American foreign policy in the Middle East failed to achieve what it had hoped to do after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime: it did not create a strong U.S.-Iraq alliance and it did not weaken Iran’s resolve in pursuing its “suspicious” nuclear program. … Read More