FSA kills relative of Syrian security chief in Deraa
Saturday, 05 January 2013
Syrian opposition fighters Friday killed a relative of political security chief Rustom Ghazali, a key regime figure, on Friday in the southern province of Deraa, a watchdog said, as government warplanes and artillery pounded restive suburbs of Damascus. State television also reported the attack, without ... Read More
Iraqi town caught in middle of territory row
Saturday, 05 January 2013
Butcher Sherzad Saleh stands outside his shop in Tuz Khurmatu holding a dead chicken. He has more pressing concerns than a high-level dispute over territory. “The army comes here, this is my job; the peshmerga come here, this is my job,” says Saleh. He means forces from the federal government ... Read More
Richard Gasquet reaches Qatar Open final
Friday, 04 January 2013
Second-seeded Richard Gasquet overcame German qualifier Daniel Brands 7-5, 7-5 Friday to reach the Qatar Open final. The 10th-ranked Frenchman struggled early against the big-hitting German. Brands controlled the rallies with his forehand, often pushing Gasquet beyond the baseline. But as the first set went on, Gasquet ... Read More
Arab Spring-inspired reform movement commemorates second anniversary
Friday, 04 January 2013
Protesters in support of the Arab Spring-inspired reform movement gathered near the Jordanian capital’s Husseini mosque on Friday to commemorate the second anniversary of the organization. “We are here today to commemorate the second anniversary of this Jordanian movement for reform, the movement that called for change and ... Read More
Lebanon asks for $180 million to aid Syrian refugees
Friday, 04 January 2013
Lebanon, now a haven for 170,000 Syrians fleeing civil war, has asked foreign donors for $180 million to help care for them and said it will register and recognize refugees after a year-long hiatus. The Beirut government has officially sought to “dissociate” itself from the 21-month-old struggle in Syria, nervous about the ... Read More
Sadr visits Baghdad church, site of 2010 attack
Friday, 04 January 2013
Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr visited a Baghdad church that was the scene of a deadly 2010 attack as well as one of the Iraqi capital’s main Sunni mosques on Friday, an apparent overture to other religious groups as opposition mounts against his rival, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The cleric’s stops at the holy ... Read More
Yemen cyclists complain of lack of support in the country
Friday, 04 January 2013
Dressed in their cycling gear members of Yemen’s National Cycle Foundation hit the road as part of a training session. But navigating through the traffic in the country’s capital, Sana’a, isn’t their only worry; the cyclists say they often face a barrage of abuse from passersby who object to what they’re wearing. The ... Read More
Warehouse stock of anti-tank missiles found in Egypt’s northern Sinai
Friday, 04 January 2013
Egyptian security forces found anti-tank missiles in a warehouse in Egypt’s northern Sinai on Friday, in a region south of Arish city. According to a security source, the missiles were supposed to be shipped to Gaza through underground tunnels. He described the missiles as being 75 centimeters long, with a two kilometer ... Read More
Iran calls Washington the world’s only nuclear ‘criminal’
Friday, 04 January 2013
Iran, whose relationship with the United States has worsened over its disputed nuclear program, blames Washington for violating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty and its failure to wipe out terrorism in Afghanistan. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Saeed Jalili, who is on a visit to New Delhi spoke to ... Read More
Awlaqi may have bought hijackers pre-9/11 air tickets
Friday, 04 January 2013
The FBI suspected that U.S.-born Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen, could have bought flight tickets for three of the 9/11 hijackers before the attacks, a transparency watchdog said. Judicial Watch, which is based in Washington, cited government documents obtained under a Freedom of ... Read More
Successor replaces slain Pakistan warlord: officials
Friday, 04 January 2013
A senior Pakistani militant commander has been appointed to succeed warlord Mullah Nazir, who orchestrated attacks in Afghanistan until his death in a U.S. drone strike, officials said Friday. Nazir, killed late Wednesday and buried Thursday, was the main militant commander in the tribal district of South Waziristan, where ... Read More
Lebanon to stay open for Syrian refugees but wants help
Friday, 04 January 2013
Lebanon is to keep its border with Syria open to refugees but will seek more aid from other Arab states and the international community, its government decided in a meeting late Thursday. The cabinet rejected calls from ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement to close the border with the number in Lebanon already totaling ... Read More
Thousands rally in Gaza to support Fatah anniversary
Friday, 04 January 2013
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians joined a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah group in Gaza on Friday, as tensions ease with rival Hamas Islamists ruling the enclave since 2007. A long hiatus in peace talks between Abbas’s administration and Israel has narrowed ideological differences between the two ... Read More
Malala discharged from British Hospital
Friday, 04 January 2013
The Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban as punishment for campaigning for girls’ education has been discharged from the British hospital treating her, but will return soon for more surgery, the hospital said Friday. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai ... Read More
Man charged with spying for Israel in Yemen
Friday, 04 January 2013
A man in Yemen has been charged with spying for Israel and will soon face trial in the southern port city of Aden, official sources said on Friday. The man was arrested three weeks ago in the city of Taez after a period of surveillance, and was named as 24-year-old computer engineer Ibrahim al-Dharahi, the defense ministry’s ... Read More
Trying to live ‘normally’ in Syria’s second city
Friday, 04 January 2013
The benches in Hawas park in the battered city of Aleppo are now mere metal skeletons, the wood stripped off by residents to burn so they can keep warm in the northern Syrian winter. After months of battles devastated much of the city, the country’s former commercial hub, the people of Aleppo are trying to lead ... Read More
Muslim Brotherhood took ‘billions’ from Obama, Egypt lawyers allege
Friday, 04 January 2013
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has been accused of taking 10 billion Egyptian pounds (U.S. $1.5 billion) from the American government, according to claims by Egyptian lawyers. An immediate investigation into the accusation was ordered by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah on Thursday. The lawyers, Mohamed Ali Abd al-Wahab ... Read More
Deadly car bomb strikes crowded Damascus petrol station
Friday, 04 January 2013
A car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 40, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queueing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing ... Read More
Sudan, S. Sudan presidents meet in summit to defuse tension
Friday, 04 January 2013
Sudan, S. Sudan presidents to meet in summit to defuse tension Leaders of Sudan and South Sudan are due to meet Friday in the Ethiopian capital to push for progress on stalled economic, oil and security deals that were drafted to ease tension between the former civil war foes. The meeting between Sudanese President Omar ... Read More
Sarkozy received ‘€50 million’ from Qaddafi: report
Thursday, 03 January 2013
France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy took more than €50 million from the late Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, a French judge has been told, a report on Thursday revealed. Lebanese-born businessman, Ziad Takieddine told an investigative judge that he has “written proof” that transfers from Qaddafi and one of his sons to ... Read More