RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 13 – Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby refused to shake hands with Israel’s Or Sasson after their judo match at the Rio Olympics on Friday, drawing boos from the crowd and stirring a debate about intolerance at the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened a disciplinary commission after El Shehaby, who… Continue reading Olympics: Egyptian Refuses to Shake Hands with Israeli Opponent
UN Says to Help Iraq Tackle Rampant Corruption
BAGHDAD, Aug 11 – A United Nations agency said on Thursday it would help Iraq to tackle endemic graft that is eroding its economy and institutions as Baghdad struggles to defeat Daesh militants. The U.N. Development Program will recruit international investigators to mentor and train Iraqi government auditors tasked with corruption investigations, it said in… Continue reading UN Says to Help Iraq Tackle Rampant Corruption
Turkish Military Attaches Missing After Being Summoned in Post-Coup Probe: Official
ANKARA, Aug 11 – Two Turkish military attaches in Greece are missing after being called back to Ankara as part of investigations into last month’s failed military coup, a senior Turkish official told Reuters on Thursday. Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest armed forces, has discharged thousands of soldiers including some 40 percent of generals since… Continue reading Turkish Military Attaches Missing After Being Summoned in Post-Coup Probe: Official
Yemen: In and Out of Africa
A corpse lies by the side of the road. The man, likely an Ethiopian in his late 20s, is facedown under a bush with his arms stretched out in front of him. He is wearing only shorts and a bright yellow tank top marred by dust and blood. No shoes, no money, no ID. Passers-by… Continue reading Yemen: In and Out of Africa
Gay Qatari’s article provokes backlash over World Cup “values”
DOHA, Aug 9 – An opinion article about life as a gay Qatari has stirred debate about the limits of tolerance in the conservative Gulf Arab country which is due to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. The unprecedented public insight into homosexuality in a country where gay sex is punishable by jail, was published… Continue reading Gay Qatari’s article provokes backlash over World Cup “values”
New Saudi Visa Fees Spark An Outcry
DUBAI – If you wish to enter Saudi Arabia, prepare yourself to pay up to $2,100 in visa fees. The fees will vary depending on the length of your stay and number of entry times. The new visa fees was endorsed by the Saudi cabinet on Monday, August 8, and will come into effect on October 2.… Continue reading New Saudi Visa Fees Spark An Outcry
Lebanese Healthcare Ambitions
Since its establishment in 1902, the American University of Beirut Medical Center’s (AUBMC) commitment has centered on providing the highest quality of patient care while training its medical body to be the best in serving patients, and in maintaining integrity and empathy to the benefit of all its patients, staff, and community members. Stemming out… Continue reading Lebanese Healthcare Ambitions
Bangladesh: A Forgotten Chapter
In the decades of simmering tension between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh one story has received undue prominence in recent years: a masterful account of heroes and villains of Partition. Only recently Nisid Hajari’s Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition, came out this year. But a lesser known event in the subcontinent’s past has… Continue reading Bangladesh: A Forgotten Chapter
Turkey’s Erdogan Stages Mass Rally in Show of Strength After Coup
ISTANBUL, Aug 7 – Hundreds of thousands of Turks are expected at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday summoned by President Tayyip Erdogan to denounce a failed coup, a show of strength staged in the face of Western criticism of widespread purges and detentions. The “Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally” at the Yenikapi parade ground, built… Continue reading Turkey’s Erdogan Stages Mass Rally in Show of Strength After Coup
South Sudan President Fires Ministers Allied to Rival Machar
JUBA, Aug 3 – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir fired six ministers allied to his long-time rival Riek Machar late on Tuesday, widening a political rift in the world’s newest nation and drawing threats of more fighting. Kiir filled the vacant posts, including petroleum minister, with people linked to a breakaway faction of Machar’s SPLM-IO… Continue reading South Sudan President Fires Ministers Allied to Rival Machar
Beyond The Pale
In 1996, Stephen Holmes wrote a piece in The New York Times on the rising influence of Arab Americans in that year’s U.S. presidential elections. Reporting from Dearborn, Michigan, home to America’s largest Arab American community, Holmes revealed how Republican and Democratic leaders competed against each other to woo Arab American voters. He even suggests… Continue reading Beyond The Pale
Daesh Attacks Two Energy Plants in North Iraq, Kills Five
KIRKUK, Iraq, July 31 (Reuters) – Daesh militants stormed two energy facilities in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing at least five workers and shutting down a major oil pumping station, security and oil sources said. The first attack, on the AB2 gas compressor station, about 15 km (10 miles) northwest of Kirkuk, started around 0300… Continue reading Daesh Attacks Two Energy Plants in North Iraq, Kills Five
Syria: The Plight of Female Refugees
Um Thaer, a widow and mother of five, left East Ghotah in Syria three years ago to find refuge in Jordan. Aside from selling home-made meals whenever she gets the chance, her older sons also work to help provide for the family. The middle-aged woman is one of nearly 6 million Syrians who were forced… Continue reading Syria: The Plight of Female Refugees
Bitcoin or Broke
Despite speed, cost-efficiency and a simplified process, bitcoin, as a cryptocurrency, some argue, has failed to dominate the global financial system. Others, however, continue to root for it as a future currency. Bitcoin was developed in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, someone who uses a pseudonym. To date, no one knows their identity. There are other… Continue reading Bitcoin or Broke
At Least 120 Cases of Sexual Violence in South Sudan Capital: U.N.
UNITED NATIONS, July 28 – The United Nations said on Wednesday there has been at least 120 cases of sexual violence and rape against civilians in South Sudan’s capital Juba since fighting erupted three weeks ago between troops loyal to the country’s rival leaders. Heavy fighting involving tanks and helicopters raged in Juba for several… Continue reading At Least 120 Cases of Sexual Violence in South Sudan Capital: U.N.
Suicide Bombers Kill Seven at Peacekeeping Base in Somalia
MOGADISHU, July 26 – Suicide bombers killed at least seven people as they tried to blast their way into the African Union’s main peacekeeping base in Somalia’s capital on Tuesday, police said. The force of the explosions shattered windows at Mogadishu’s nearby airport, showering arriving passengers with glass, said witnesses. Al Shabaab, the Islamist militant… Continue reading Suicide Bombers Kill Seven at Peacekeeping Base in Somalia
Two Attackers Killed, One Hostage Dead in French church Attack
PARIS, July 26 – Two attackers killed a priest with a blade and seriously wounded another hostage in a church in northern France on Tuesday before being shot dead by French police. There were no immediate details on the identity or motives of the two assailants but the investigation was handed to the anti-terrorist unit… Continue reading Two Attackers Killed, One Hostage Dead in French church Attack
Erdogan Announces Army Overhaul in Latest Post-Coup Shakeup
ANKARA, July 22 – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to overhaul the army in response to last week’s failed coup, a sign that a newly imposed state of emergency would be used to press on with a purge that has alarmed the West. In a sign of Turkey‘s dismissal of outside criticism over how it… Continue reading Erdogan Announces Army Overhaul in Latest Post-Coup Shakeup
Turkish President Gains Upper Hand in Power Struggle
ISTANBUL, July 24 – At the crossroads between a divided Europe and a convulsed Middle East, Turkey is caught in a power struggle between former Islamist allies which is shaking democratic institutions and raises questions about its future path. Since a failed coup on July 15, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) founded by… Continue reading Turkish President Gains Upper Hand in Power Struggle
Cameron Says UK Must Stay Close to the EU After Brexit
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 11 – Prime Minister David Cameron said it was in Britain’s fundamental interest to remain very close to the European Union when it renegotiates a new relationship with the bloc it voted to leave in a referendum last month. Speaking to global aerospace executives at the Farnborough airshow, Cameron said Britain must… Continue reading Cameron Says UK Must Stay Close to the EU After Brexit
Ministers Prepare to Retake Daesh Stronghold of Mosul
WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, July 19 – Dozens of defense and foreign ministers will meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to take stock of the fight against Daesh, their focus increasingly on a major prize: the militant group’s bastion in Mosul, Iraq. The battle for Mosul is expected to be difficult, but the aftermath could be tougher,… Continue reading Ministers Prepare to Retake Daesh Stronghold of Mosul
Turkey: The Night the Soldiers Came
I was in a café on the Anatolian side of Istanbul with two Turkish friends when they both started frantically checking their phones as reports on Twitter started pouring in. Something was happening. Something grave. If we hadn’t had cell phones, we wouldn’t have known what was happening. A rogue faction of the military seized… Continue reading Turkey: The Night the Soldiers Came
Putsched Out
On a Friday night, just a day after a horrific attack in Nice, France, that had taken the lives of more than 80, rumors of a military coup in Turkey began to spread. It was a reminder that even the most unlikely things can happen in a Middle East that tends to follow the maxim “if… Continue reading Putsched Out
Syrian Rebel Group Say They Are Investigating Child Beheading Video
A boy sits outside a bakery in the rebel held al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail A boy sits outside a bakery in the rebel held al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail BEIRUT, July 20 – A Syrian rebel group which has received U.S. military backing said… Continue reading Syrian Rebel Group Say They Are Investigating Child Beheading Video