Syrian suspicions swirl over Iranian hand in Assad's repression
Thursday, 29 March 2012
The Syrian rebel fighter pulled a small copper-plated bullet from his trouser pocket, offering it as supporting evidence as he leveled charges of Iranian involvement in President Bashar al-Assad’s army crackdown. “These are what they are firing on us,” rebel fighter Ayham told Reuters outside the Reyhanli refugee camp in ... Read More
Taliban offers online questions and answers
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Worried about whether Islamic verses on Facebook are allowed? Or that suicide bombers kill innocent civilians? Afghanistan’s Taliban have set up a new question-and-answer section on their website to address such issues. The facility on Voice of Jihad, the official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ... Read More
Fear and anguish for Syrians fleeing to Turkey
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
At the crack of dawn, Fatima rouses her son Nafissa from a deep from the violence that has haunted them for weeks. As preparations for the journey are made, another son, Ali, plays nearby. His parents pack what little they brought with them into plastics bags and get ready to leave the safe house where they ... Read More
Founder of Egypt’s Christian Brotherhood denies sectarian agenda
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
The founder of a new group called Christian Brotherhood denied allegations about the group’s exclusive focus on Christians and stressed its dedication to national issues and the principles of citizenship. Prominent Egyptian political analyst and founder of the Christian Brotherhood Michel Fahmy said there is no direct ... Read More
Brotherhood at heart of deepening Egypt feuds
Monday, 26 March 2012
The Muslim Brotherhood’s efforts to shape Egypt’s political future plunged it into confrontation on Monday with both the ruling military and liberals angry at perceived Islamist attempts to dominate the country. Liberals quit a 100-person body tasked with writing a new constitution in protest at what they said were Islamist ... Read More
Chechen first lady unveils Islamic fashion in Dubai
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Chechnya’s first lady, Medni Kadyrova, has displayed her Islamic fashion collection to a captivated audience in Dubai, faithful to the politics of her husband who has sought to impose Islamic dress codes in the Caucasus republic. More than 20 veiled Chechen models paced the catwalk in a Dubai palace on Saturday ... Read More
Art Dubai 2012: Where the Middle East came to scream
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Utopic imagery had been destroyed by Israeli drones. Or so the canvas depicts. A Gaza-born artist recalled her idyllic childhood in Palestine, using warm pastels and soft accents to sketch greenery and a plethora of birds, showcasing her memories at this year’s Art Dubai. Laila Shawa’s “Birds of Paradise” mixed media ... Read More
Hosting Arab leaders, Iraq tries to return to fold
Sunday, 25 March 2012
A summit of Arab leaders, held here for the first time in a generation, is a prime opportunity for Iraq to reassert itself as a political player in the Arab world after years of war, isolation and American occupation. It also puts Iraq’s Shiite leadership under pressure to pick a side in the bitter sectarian ... Read More
End to Turkey’s Kurdish conflict fades from sight; Erdogan vows no let-up in military campaign
Friday, 23 March 2012
Turkey and Kurdish militants are about as far away as ever from ending their 27-year-old war in the mountains of southeast Turkey and northern Iraq with each side rejecting the other's conditions for restarting peace talks. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict which has frequently spilled over ... Read More
‘If I was dictator I would have ordered killing of Amr Moussa’: Mubarak’s memoirs
Friday, 23 March 2012
Egypt’s ousted president Hosni Mubarak defended himself in a new part of his memoirs, published by Egypt’s newspaper Roz al-Youssef on Thursday. Mubarak said that he had received reports from the state security that recommended getting rid of three political figures: Amr Mousa, the former Arab League chief and who is now ... Read More
Fear enters Damascus as conflict nears
Friday, 23 March 2012
Hafiza, like most people in and around the Syrian capital, lives in fear that security forces will raid her home and arrest her sons. The deadly uprising that has gripped Syria for over a year has largely spared Damascus but in past weeks the bloodshed has also made its entry into Read More
West Bank farmers frightened away from water springs by Israeli settlers
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Constant attacks by Israeli settlers have made a large portion of West Bank farmers unable to irrigate their land from springs around their villages amid concerns over the increased control exercised by the occupation on the water resources in the Palestinian territories. “I was attacked by dozens of settlers while getting ... Read More
Survivor of 7/7 London attack to compete for Paralympic spot
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Martine Wright was running late for work. Staying out to celebrate London getting the 2012 Olympics had caused her to oversleep. In the subway, she didn’t reach her usual car, which dropped her off nearest to her exit. Instead, she jumped onto a closer one just as the door closed. Moments ... Read More
Holding a gun may make you think others are, too
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
No one knows what led a U.S. neighborhood watch captain to shoot an unarmed teenager carrying no weapon. But a new study raises an intriguing question: Could the man have been fooled into thinking the youth was armed in part because he himself was holding a gun? In the study, volunteers who ... Read More
Gaza inventor defies power outage with home-made electric system
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Power outage is one of the main problems facing residents of Gaza since Israel bombed the power generators that provide the strip with electricity five years ago. Throughout this time, Gazans have been involved in constant attempts to find alternatives to the dysfunctional Electricity Company. Very few succeeded in ... Read More
Israel threatens to deport hundreds of South Sudanese families
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Four years ago, the wives of the leaders of Israel and Egypt used their clout to help an African family reunite with a child who vanished in a hail of gunfire as they stole across the Egyptian border into Israel. The child’s dramatic arrival in Israel drew attention to the plight of the tens of thousands of ... Read More
Wax museum spurs sticky situation in Iraq
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
An exhibit of wax statues depicting some of Shiite Muslims’ most beloved clerics, aimed at paying tribute to this Iraqi holy city’s contributions to culture, has been dipped in controversy as some Sunnis decry the figures as heretical. The wax sculptures are due to be displayed at a museum in Najaf, but even ... Read More
Iran greets New Year with cannon fire, economy vows
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Iran ushered in its Persian New Year on Tuesday with a symbolic cannon blast from its flagship destroyer, and speeches from leaders vowing to fix an economy suffering under Western sanctions. The shell shot from the warship Jamaran and the speeches, broadcast on state television, underlined the defiance of Iran ... Read More
The forgotten victims of Libya’s war
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Libyan schoolgirls stroll the streets of the close-knit neighborhood of Arada without a second glance at the pile of rubble that was once a house for four families before NATO explosives blew it apart. The mound of debris in the capital Tripoli has become part of the landscape, and only birds nest there now. ... Read More
Secret field hospitals are life savers for Syrians
Monday, 19 March 2012
The car screeches to a halt in front of the mosque, the driver jumps out and cries out de4sperately for help. In the back seat, a young man is bleeding to death. Two men rush, pull him out of the car and carry him into the mosque where a clandestine makeshift field hospital has been set up to treat wounded ... Read More