Radical Islamists urge bigger role for Islam in Tunisia
Monday, 21 May 2012
Waving black flags embossed with Islamic verses, thousands of radical Islamists rallied in the central Tunisian town of Kairouan on Sunday to demand a wider role for religion in a country long considered one of the Arab world’s most secular. Draping their banner from the town’s ancient mosque, supporters of Ansar al-Sharia, ... Read More
Algeria begins work on mega mosque
Monday, 21 May 2012
Workers in Algiers started laying foundations Sunday for what should become the world’s third-largest mosque, a one-billion-euro project that will include a dizzyingly tall minaret. The huge building in the capital Algiers will be built by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and is expected to ... Read More
Talk on possible EU boycott of Israeli settlements stirs controversy
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore’s recent statements that he may push for an EU wide boycott of products from Israeli settlements if Israel does not quickly change its settlements policy in Palestinian territories has stirred controversy. Gilmore, whose country will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union ... Read More
A nation-by-nation look at Arab Spring’s progress
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Starting Wednesday, Egypt is holding its first free presidential election since it came under dictatorship 60 years ago. The winner will succeed Hosni Mubarak, one of four rulers toppled in the uprisings that began 18 months ago across the Middle East and became known as the Arab Spring. But replacing dictatorships with ... Read More
Jerusalem must be partitioned: former Israeli PM Olmert
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday urged Israeli leaders to relinquish the idea of a unified Jerusalem if they truly want peace, contending in a pair of interviews that years of government neglect have kept the Jewish and Arab sectors irreparably divided. The comments, made as Israel marked the 45th ... Read More
Ahmadinejad should ‘open nightclubs’: Iran MP Jibes
Sunday, 20 May 2012
A hardline Iranian MP on Saturday took a jibe at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for failing to support an Islamic dress code for women, suggesting the president should now move to open “nightclubs” in the Islamic republic. Fars news agency quoted MP Ali Motahari as saying that the president’s alleged lax views ... Read More
Saudi Arabia to employ 28,000 locals as taxi drivers
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Taxi companies across Saudi Arabia are expected to hire more than 28,000 Saudi drivers to replace foreigners who dominate the sector, according to the Labor Ministry which announced a plan to localize the transportation sector on Sunday. The new plan, which is expected to be put into effect in three months’ time, will fetch ... Read More
More than 60 killed in Syria despite presence of U.N. monitors
Sunday, 20 May 2012
More than 60 people were killed nationwide in Syria on Sunday, including at least 34 people in central Hama province, which came under heavy army shelling for hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. “Thirty-four people were killed under shelling and gunfire in Souran village while it was being raided,” the ... Read More
Libyan man convicted in Lockerbie bombing dies at 60
Sunday, 20 May 2012
The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing that killed 270 people has died at the age of 60, his brother told Al Arabiya on Sunday. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi’s health had deteriorated quickly, his brother Abdulhakim said, adding that he died at home after a long battle with ... Read More
Arab Spring a loss for Israel: Qatari ruler
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Qatar’s ruler says Israel has become more isolated by the Arab Spring and will face increasing pressures over issues such as its presumed nuclear arsenal. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani urged Israel’s leaders to view the Middle East uprisings as an opportunity for serious peace talks with Palestinians. ... Read More
Army kills Sunni cleric in Lebanon: security official
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Army troops shot dead a Sunni cleric on Sunday when his convoy failed to stop at a checkpoint in north Lebanon, the scene of deadly clashes linked to the uprising in Syria, a security official said. The official told AFP that a fellow passenger in the car of cleric Ahmad Abdel Wahed, a figure known for his ... Read More
Palestinian activist convicted on stoning and protest charges
Sunday, 20 May 2012
A court on Sunday convicted Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi of sending people to throw stones and protesting without a permit, but cleared him on two other charges. “I decided to convict you of two charges against you: the charge of sending people to throw stones, and holding a demonstration without a ... Read More
High-ranking Syrian officials deny reports of their own assassinations
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Two high-ranking Syrian officials denied in interviews with state television on Sunday reports by pan-Arab channels that they, along with four other regime stalwarts, had been assassinated. The interviews came after satellite channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera broadcast an amateur video showing an unidentified ... Read More
Israel ranks third in poll on worst countries in world
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Israel has come in third in a poll conducted by BBC World Service on Friday on countries that are viewed negatively. Iran ranked first, with 55 percent of those polled saying they viewed it as a “negative state” while Pakistan came in second with 51 percent followed by Israel with 50 percent of respondents voting it as ... Read More
Turkey slams flag-burning demonstration in Iraq
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Ankara on Sunday reprimanded an Iraqi rally against its consulate in Basra, where protesters burnt Turkish flags after Turkey refused to hand over their fugitive vice president, Anatolia reported. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu condemned “the ugly behavior against the Turkish flag in a demo apparently ... Read More
Bashir says Sudan, South need peace: Mbeki
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Sudan and South Sudan need peace and Khartoum is committed to all security agreements it has signed, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki on Saturday quoted the Sudanese leader as saying after talks. “President Bashir confirmed that he believes the two nations... are in need of peace,” Mbeki said in a statement ... Read More
NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan ahead of summit to tackle mission’s future
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Two NATO soldiers were killed in an attack in Afghanistan, military sources said on Sunday, ahead of a NATO summit in Chicago which is expected to draw up a unified exit strategy in Afghanistan after a decade of war. “Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following an insurgent attack in southern ... Read More
South Africa wants ‘made in Palestinian territories’ labels
Sunday, 20 May 2012
South Africa is planning to require “Made in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” labels on products from Jewish settlements in place of “Made in Israel” labels, the trade ministry said on Saturday. The move prompted a furious response from Israel’s foreign ministry which described it as “racist”. ... Read More
Overnight clashes between Yemeni army, al-Qaeda kill 18
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Clashes between the army and Al-Qaeda militants on the outskirts of the Islamist stronghold of Jaar in southern Yemen left 18 people dead overnight, military and tribal sources said on Sunday, after 26 people were killed near the same town on Saturday, “Violent clashes on Jaar’s western outskirts between the ... Read More
Hamdeen Sabbahi: Egypt’s underdog presidential candidate?
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Egyptian presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabbahi rolls into the village of Dakarnas with a retinue of enthusiastic young supporters who are convinced their underdog candidate can surprise the nation. “The president is here, the president is here!” they chant as the silver-haired Sabbahi grins and waves, at times ... Read More