A group loyal to al-Qaida’s official Syrian arm the Al-Nusra Front will head soon to the governorate of al-Raqqa in northern Syria to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, al-Akhbar newspaper reported. The daily said in a report published on Wednesday that Al-Nusra Front fighters are angered by the “achievements accomplished by the Islamic […]

  SIDON, Lebanon: Israeli soldiers deployed in the Kfar Shouba Hills area near Lebanon’s southern border took shelter behind concrete barriers Wednesday, fearing reprisal attacks linked to Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip. There were no visible presence of Israeli troops along the eastern sector of the border with Lebanon, which stretches from the […]

  From Libya to Iraq to Yemen, too many people and too many animals have stretched water resources beyond their limits WASHINGTON – The Middle East’s seemingly endless conflicts are diverting attention and resources from a graver long-term threat that looms over the whole region: the growing scarcity of water. And the situation will get […]

  BEIRUT: Beirut Municipality Saturday celebrated naming a street in one of its neighborhoods after Lebanese poet and writer Said Akl, to mark his 103rd birthday. At the Sioufi Garden in Ashrafieh, the ceremony unveiled the newly named street and the memorial plaque that read: "Said Akl Street, a century of giving, creativity, honest nationalism.” […]

  A THOUSAND years ago, the great cities of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo took turns to race ahead of the Western world. Islam and innovation were twins. The various Arab caliphates were dynamic superpowers—beacons of learning, tolerance and trade. Yet today the Arabs are in a wretched state. Even as Asia, Latin America and Africa […]

  Across the Muslim world, this is an age of revolution beyond the experience of any official now living. Hundreds of thousands have died; millions more flee their homes. Now, the crisis in Iraq and Syria threatens to perpetuate chaos between Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities throughout the Middle East. Many in the region, craving […]

EIRUT: The Lebanese Consulate in Sao Paulo outright rejected a television report about the status of Arab women, particularly in Lebanon, saying the show demonstrated ignorance of the situation in Lebanon. “The Consulate General of Lebanon in Sao Paulo vehemently condemns the report Globo presented on Sunday 29.6.2014 addressing the situation of women in the […]

A grenade thrown into a cafe hurt four people on Wednesday in the northern city of Tripoli, security officials said. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, but there were suspicions the cafe was targeted for opening its doors during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. "Four people, including two Syrian nationals, were […]

  ASPEN, Colo.—To Westerners who don’t follow Middle East news closely, it can all get a bit confusing—a jumble of corrupt leaders who seized power from other corrupt leaders. But in trying to understand why there’s so much instability in the region, it can be helpful to think of the dynamics within certain Arab countries […]