Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil kicked off a tour on Sunday in South Lebanon, where he called on the Lebanese military to assume its responsibility in the northeastern border town of Arsal. “The mistakes that were done in Arsal shouldn’t reoccur and the cabinet and the army should assume their responsibilities and not become spectators,” […]

  BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army pounded militant positions on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal Sunday, killing and wounding a number of them, security sources said. A security source said the Army shelled the militants’ positions in Al-Masyada and Dahr al-Jabar on Arsal’s outskirts with artillery and rockets, killing and wounding of a […]

By Alexander LaCasse, Staff Writer

Hours after ousted former Egyptian president Mohamad Morsi was given a preliminary death sentence, three judges were killed and another seriously wounded in North Sinai when they were attacked by an armed militia while traveling to a North Sinai court. 

No group has yet to claim responsibility for the attack, however the State of Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, is considered to be the most active armed group operating in the area, and could be a possible culprit, according to Daily News Egypt. The group often targets those associated with state security and members of the military – and has been been fighting the government in the Sinai since Mr. Morsi’s government was removed from power in July 2013.

  The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Lloyd J. Austin III visited Beirut on Saturday to renew Washington’s commitment to provide military aid to Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy announced. The General met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, the U.S. mission said in a press release. “Austin reiterated […]

  BEIRUT: Hezbollah detonated a car bomb rigged with half a ton of explosives Saturday in an area of Syria’s Qalamoun region it captured one day earlier, the party’s TV channel reported. “The resistance’s mujahideen have detonated a car that had been rigged with more than 500kg of highly explosive material on the Fatleh crossing […]

  The army arrested on Saturday morning a prominent member of the Islamic State group, reported the National News Agency. It said that he was arrested in Ain al-Shaab between the towns of al-Labweh and Arsal as he was fleeing the region to the North. NNA later revealed his name as Abdul Rahman al-Bazerbashi, 21, […]

  BEIRUT: Senior U.S. military officials are reportedly due in Beirut soon to follow up on arming and training the Lebanese Army, according to a report published Friday. Local daily Al-Joumhouria said a delegation from the U.S. Central Command, or CENTOM, will arrive in Beirut in the coming hours for talks with Defense Minister Samir […]

  A delegation from the U.S. Central Command is expected to visit Beirut soon for talks with top officials on military assistance to Lebanon, high-ranking diplomats said. The diplomats, who were not identified, told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday that the delegation is scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, Army chief Gen. Jean […]

  TRIPOLI, Lebanon: An underground pipe exploded Friday shooting water one meter high and flooding several kilometers of Kfar Aqa road in the northern province of Koura. Large chunks of concrete were thrown into the air and asphalt was strewn across the area after the pipe exploded without warning. The road closure caused huge traffic […]

Pamela Engel

President Barack Obama’s summit with Arab leaders doesn’t seem to be going as planned.

First, King Salman of Saudi Arabia embarrassed the Obama administration when he backed out of the summit after the White House announced he was going to attend.

The last-minute move was widely perceived as a deliberate snub, and the Saudis offered only a vague excuse for King Salman’s absence.

Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz attended the talks in Salman’s place.

Obama then incorrectly introduced the deputy crown prince and misnamed the founder of the kingdom.