Damascus Holds Its Breath as Syrian Civil War Reaches Its Door
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — The chaos engulfing Syria threatens to spill over into Iraq on one side, and Israel and Lebanon on the other. The United Nations now estimates that 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting — but no…
Israeli Sniper Posts Photo of Child in Crosshairs
Instagram/The Electronic Inifada(JERUSALEM) — A photo posted online by an Israeli soldier showing a child in the crosshairs of a rifle scope has created a firestorm on the internet, drawing widespread criticism.The photo was reportedly posted on Jan. …
Explosion Kills Dozens in Pakistan
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(QUETTA, Pakistan) — An explosion outside a fruit market in Quetta, Pakistan has killed more than 40 people and wounded scores of others, including women and children, according to the Deputy Police Chief of Quetta. However, a re…
Iran Claims Installation of New Centrifuges
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TEHRAN, Iran) — Iran says it has begun installing a new generation of centrifuges at one of its main nuclear facilities.According to Iranian media, Iran’s atomic energy organization chief, Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, said Wednesday…
Israeli Prime Minister Issues New Warning About Iran
GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is talking tough on Iran in anticipation of President Obama’s trip to his homeland this spring.At a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Monday, Netan…
Netanyahu Discusses Obama’s Spring Trip to Israel
Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — In his first public statement since it was announced last week that President Obama will visit Israel in the spring, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the trip will reaffirm strong ties betwee…
Syria’s Cabinet Reshuffled
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria’s beleaguered President Bashar Assad has shaken up his cabinet and appointed new ministers to handle the economy, according to Syria’s state media.The cabinet reshuffle comes as Syrians suffe…
Iran Warns Israel It Will Regret Air Strikes Against Syria
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria received a vote of support Monday when the head of Iran’s National Security Council warned Israel it would regret last week’s air strike near the border with Lebanon that targeted a truck convoy ca…
Israel Makes Indirect Admission to Air Strike in Syria
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MUNICH) — Israel finally delivered a public yet coy statement on Sunday about last week’s assault on a truck convoy inside Syria.At a security conference in Munich, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak insisted he could not “add …
Sarai Sierra: Body of Missing American Mom Reportedly Found in Turkey
Courtesy Sarai Sierra’s family(NEW YORK) — The body of an American woman who went missing while on a solo trip to Turkey has been found in Istanbul, and nine people have been held for questioning, according to local media. Sarai Sierra, 33, was last h…
Security Guard Killed from Bombing Outside of the US Embassy in Turkey Identified
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ANKARA, Turkey) — U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone said on Saturday that Mustafa Akarsu died a hero for protecting the U.S. embassy and saved his American and Turkish colleagues from a suicide bomber. Akarsu was the…
Syria and Allies Condemn Israeli Air Strike
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — There was still no word from the Israeli government Thursday confirming an air strike earlier in the week that targeted a truck convoy in Syria that U.S. officials say was carrying missiles to the Hezbollah in Lebano…
Israel and Syria Differ on Target of Israeli Air Strike
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — In spite of evidence to the contrary, the Syrian government on Wednesday accused Israel of conducting an air strike against one of its military facilities in Damascus the day before.According to a report by Sy…
Egyptian Protestors Kill 30 Due to Death Penalty Sentences Given to Violent Soccer Fans
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(CAIRO) — At least 30 people are reported dead and more than 300 are injured after violent protestors went to the streets after death sentences were given to soccer fans in connection with last February’s soccer stadium violent ram…
Netanyahu Faces New Challenges After Disappointing Election Results
GALI TIBBON/AFP/GettyImages(JERUSALEM) — Voters in Israel have surprised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but not in a way he would have preferred.While Netanyahu will stay his country’s leader — as was expected — his right-wing Likud-Beiteinu bloc…
Israelis Voting Tuesday in General Election
Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — As President Obama begins his second term, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t know until later Tuesday if he’ll continue as his country’s leader.Israelis are going to the polls in a general election …
Algerian Hostage Crisis: Reported Tape of Terrorists Emerges
Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Algerian TV has broadcast what it says is audiotape of terrorists at the In Amenas gas plant threatening to blow up the facility and “slaughter” U.S. hostages unless 100 imprisoned “comrades” are released, and also claimi…
Algeria Hostage Crisis: Seven Americans Escaped, One Dead, Fate of Two Uncertain
ABC News(NEW YORK) — The four-day hostage crisis at an Algerian natural gas plant has left at least one American dead, and the fate of two more is of growing concern, but seven Americans were among the dozens of Westerners who escaped unharmed. The si…
Report: US Embassy in Kabul ‘Dangerously Vulnerable’ to Attack
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul is “dangerously vulnerable to a new attack,” according to a new report issued Friday by an independent watchdog group that monitors government spending and mis…
King Abdullah Appoints Women to Advisory Council in Saudi Arabia
FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/GettyImages(RIYADH, Saudia Arabia) — For the first time in Saudia Arabia, women have been named to the king’s advisory body known as the Shura Council. It has no legislative power, but the move is politically significant in the con…