ISTANBUL: A private university in Istanbul with more than 7,000 students, including many from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, has become the latest arena for a bitter quarrel between Turkey’s ruling party and a breakaway political faction. Istanbul Sehir University recently had its assets frozen by a court after state-run Halkbank claimed it was unable…
BEIRUT: Dozens of Lebanese students in Beirut headed to the Ministry of Education to demand the modernization of school curricula and the development of public schools. They set fire to their history and geography books — as one of them said, “We learn information that does not resemble us. Why don’t they teach us about…
DAKHLA, Western Sahara: In the Oued Eddahab desert in Western Sahara, Habiboullah Dlimi raises dairy and racing camels just like his ancestors used to — but with a little help from modern technology.His animals roam free in the desert and are milked as camels always have been, by hand, at dawn and dusk.When camels “feed…
ANKARA: Turkey will have repatriated most of its Daesh detainees to their home countries by the end of the year, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Tuesday, a week after Turkish authorities began the repatriation program. Ankara says it has captured 287 militants in northeast Syria, where Turkish troops launched an offensive against the Kurdish…
BAGHDAD: A fractured spine, paralyzed leg, hole in the back: Hamza took to the streets of Iraq’s capital to demand a better life but now he has even less than ever. “This is my sacrifice for Iraq,” said the 16-year-old, his strained voice barely audible over the phone in Baghdad. “If I could walk, I…
The Israeli army confirmed it carried out strikes on Syrian and Iranian “terror targets” near Damascus on Wednesday, in response to fire from Syria the day before. The Israel Defense Forces, who blamed Tuesday’s rockets on “an Iranian force,” said it holds Damascus responsible for attacks launched from Syria into its territory. Syria’s state media…
CAIRO: A proposed Egyptian law concerning public decency has been fiercely criticized by some members of Parliament, including the speaker of the house. According to Article 4 of the draft law, it would not be permitted to wear body-revealing clothing or clothes with pictures or symbols that violate public decency, including ripped jeans. Parliament Speaker Aly Abdel-Aal…
ANKARA: The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) is considering withdrawing its MPs from Turkey’s Parliament in protest at the government’s dismissal of four district mayors over the weekend. The removal of the Kurdish local leaders on terrorism charges brings the total number dismissed since the March 31 local elections to 24, with some also imprisoned.…
BAGHDAD: A senior adviser to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has told Arab News that he does not support the continuation of the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and that the existing political forces did not press for early parliamentary elections with a new election law and an electoral commission. Baghdad and nine southern…
BAGHDAD: A senior adviser to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has told Arab News that he does not support the continuation of the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and that the existing political forces did not press for early parliamentary elections with a new election law and an electoral commission. Baghdad and nine southern…
BAGHDAD: A senior adviser to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has told Arab News that he does not support the continuation of the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and that the existing political forces did not press for early parliamentary elections with a new election law and an electoral commission. Baghdad and nine southern…
BEIRUT: Syrian opposition activists say airstrikes on a rebel-held village in the country’s northwest killed five people. The Syrian Civil Defense and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three women were among the victims. Sunday’s airstrike hit the village of Mallaja in Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. Last week,…
TEHRAN: Authorities have restricted Internet access in Iran, the semi-official ISNA news agency said on Sunday, after nearly two days of nationwide protests triggered by a petrol price hike. “Access to the Internet has been limited as of last night and for the next 24 hours,” an informed source at the information and telecommunications ministry…
BEIRUT: Syrian opposition activists say airstrikes on a rebel-held village in the country’s northwest killed five people. The Syrian Civil Defense and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three women were among the victims. Sunday’s airstrike hit the village of Mallaja in Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. Last week,…
BEIRUT: A majestic phoenix spreads its wings as Hayat Nazer adds a splash of color to a Beirut wall. As Lebanon’s uprising enters its second month, graffiti has enveloped the capital’s posh downtown.Since October 17, the chanting of tens of thousands of Lebanese denouncing the political elite have shaken the normally staid district around two…
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israel targeted Hamas in strikes on Gaza early Saturday after rockets were fired toward it from the Palestinian enclave, the army said, two days after a fragile cease-fire began. Hamas, the Islamist movement that has de facto control over the Gaza Strip, has so far kept its distance from the deadly exchanges…
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israel targeted Hamas in strikes on Gaza early Saturday after rockets were fired toward it from the Palestinian enclave, the army said, two days after a fragile cease-fire began. Hamas, the Islamist movement that has de facto control over the Gaza Strip, has so far kept its distance from the deadly exchanges…
BEIRUT: Three major Lebanese parties have agreed on nominating Mohammad Safadi, a former finance minister, to become prime minister of a new government, the Lebanese broadcasters LBCI and MTV reported on Thursday.The agreement was reached in a meeting on Thursday between outgoing Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, Lebanon’s leading Sunni politician, and senior representatives of the…
DUBAI: Tens of Harvard students walked out of a talk by Israeli ambassador, Dani Dayan, on the Legal Strategy of Israeli Settlements earlier this week. They were holding signs which read “Settlements are a war crime” as they silently left the room. Dayan called the protesters “a bunch of losers” in a tweet after the…
JERUSALEM: Israel says it has completed a series of airstrikes on targets linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza after rocket fire that rattled a day-old truce.The military statement early on Friday indicates that Israel is willing to abide by the cease-fire if there are no additional rocket attacks.The statement says Israel struck…
