Ramallah – Israel is working on a new plan to expand the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing with the Gaza Strip, which includes establishing a railroad track between Israel and the enclave. The track would be the first of its kind should it be approved. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman sai
Cairo – Vatican’s Pope Francis headed on Saturday a seminary, before concluding his visit to Cairo. Pope Francis arrived at the Air Defense Stadium in New Cairo to great applause from the waiting crowd. He started his Mass with the “As-Salaam Alaikum,” the traditional Muslim greeting in Arabic
Moscow – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed on Saturday the importance of exerting efforts to combat terrorism in Syria. He said during talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman al-Safadi in Moscow that Russia is prepared to cooperate with the United States to “confront terrorism” in S
Aden – Three members of the al-Qaeda terror group were killed on Saturday in a US drone strike south of the Yemeni capital Sana’a. A Yemeni security official said that the three terrorists were riding in a vehicle in the Shabwa province when they were targeted by a drone strike. He told Agence Franc
Seoul – In what seemed like a response to the United States’ earlier call to deal with the threat of North Korea’s nuclear program with more sanctions, Pyongyang launched on Saturday a failed ballistic missile test-firing. South Korea’s Defense Ministry noted that North Korea deployed a ballis
Beirut – Syrian military factions are expected to announce their participation in the Astana talks which will be held on May 3 and 4. At the same time, opposition is warring that battles between factions in eastern al-Ghouta, that have been ongoing since Friday, could affect the negotiations in Kaza
Jeddah – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, President of the Republic of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. During the meeting, King Salman reiterated the Kingdom’s keenness on supporting the brotherly people of Yemen, as well as Yemen&
Cairo – A new opportunity for dialogue between Libyan Army generals has emerged a few days ago, the first of its kind since the armed uprising that toppled the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. Away from the spotlight, a group of Libyan politicians and activists are now hoping to see concrete ra
European Union leaders endorsed stiff divorce terms for Britain on Saturday and warned Britons to have “no illusions” about swiftly securing a new relationship to keep their access to EU markets. At a Brussels summit marked by unusual harmony among the 27 leaders, there was a flash of th
Saudi Arabia’s Hajj and Umrah ministry announced that it is fully ready and open to receive applications for organizing agencies and embassies to acquire permits on organizing voyages or offering services to future Umrah performers, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The ministry also reported
A United States citizen who was convicted of espionage this week after being held without trial for two years was deported by China, removing a source of friction between Washington and Beijing. Sandy Phan-Gillis was arrested in March 2015 while about to leave mainland China for the Chinese-ruled, f
London – It was a demolition derby – in more ways than one. There were penalties, a red card and red-raw tempers. Mauricio Pochettino will never forget it. The Tottenham Hotspur manager was an Espanyol player at the time and the visitors to the club’s Estadi de Sarrià were Barcelona. The date
London – The only question for Tottenham Hotspur to answer in south London was a psychological one. Did the damage that Chelsea inflicted at Wembley on Saturday, in another chastening semi‑final experience for Spurs, extend to the Premier League title race? Ideally Mauricio Pochettino would ha
Yekaterinburg – A Russian state prosecutor asked a court to jail a blogger who played Pokemon Go inside a church for three-and-a-half years on Friday, saying he was guilty of inciting religious hatred, a court employee told Reuters by phone. Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22, a popular blogger, last Augus
Flynn’s luck has run out in recent months. He was fired as national security adviser for misleading colleagues about his questionable discussions last December with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Now he’s under investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general for failing to get approval for pay
Guantanamo – Throughout 15 years following the inauguration of Guantanamo Bay in January 2002, the US military base in Cuba has developed, the number of military personnel has increased and construction of major services within the base has expanded to include housing, dining halls, cafes, pla
Beirut- Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said that his country’s involvement in Syria was aimed at confronting terrorist organizations in the country and “not clashing with any other party whether the Americans or Israelis.” In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Zasypkin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara and Washington can join forces to turn ISIS’ de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria into a “graveyard” for the jihadists. “The huge America, the coalition and Turkey can join hands and turn Raaqa into a graveyard for I
Washington- US police arrested Jordanian citizen Laith Alebbini and referred him to trial on Thursday at Dayton’s court in Ohio as part of a series of arrests of Muslims on charges of joining ISIS or attempting to travel and fight alongside jihadists. According to the official complaint filed in US
Riyadh – Saudi Arabia has expressed absolute confidence in its ability to advance towards more privatization projects in coincidence with a statement made by a high-ranking official on Thursday that the kingdom expects raising around USD200 billion during the coming years through selling asset
