Lebanese minister accuses Syria of “ethnic cleansing” of Sunnis
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have begun ethnically cleansing Sunni Muslims and deliberately pushing refugees across the border into Lebanon, the Lebanese caretaker minister for social affairs said on Tuesday. Assad is battling a Sunni-led revolt in Syria, which he...
Iraq hit by worst violence since 2008
Iraq was hit in May by its worst violence in five years, further stoking fears of all-out sectarian strife, as its top two political rivals publicly embraced on Saturday in a symbolic move aimed at easing tensions. Authorities have failed...
Egypt activist convicted for insulting president
Egypt’s state-run news agency says an Egyptian activist has been convicted of insulting the president and received a six-month suspended sentence. Ahmed Douma is the first prominent critic of President Mohammed Morsi to be convicted on the charge. Activists yesterday...
Hezbollah, Syrian rebels in worst clash in Lebanon
Syrian rebels and Hezbollah guerrillas battled Sunday in their worst clashes yet inside Lebanon, a new sign that the civil war in Syria is increasingly destabilizing its fragile neighbor. Syria’s foreign minister, meanwhile, rebuffed an appeal by the U.N. and the Red Cross to let humanitarian aid...
Humanitarian Situation Worsens in Syria
The fighting between Syrian government forces and the rebels in and around the town of Al-Qusayr, near the border with Lebanon, has intensified. One of the most visible results of the intensification of the conflict is the deepening humanitarian...
Protester Dies in Istanbul Clashes
A young demonstrator was killed in Istanbul by a car that rammed into a crowd during a wave of protests against Turkey’s government as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected on Monday talk of a “Turkish Spring.” A medics’union said...
Protest-related violence kills 49 in Iraq
A wave of clashes and attacks involving Iraqi security forces, protesters and their supporters on Tuesday killed 49 people and prompted two Sunni ministers to quit, sending tensions soaring. The unrest, which also included the kidnapping of a soldier by...
Kidnapped Syrian bishops are released – church official
Two bishops who were abducted by gunmen in a rebel-held area of northern Syria have been released, a church official has said. The pair have returned to the city of Aleppo, Greek Orthodox Bishop Tony Yazigi told Reuters. The senior...
“Iran and Hezbollah bear responsibility for every Syrian killed, every tree felled, and every house destroyed”
“Iran and Hezbollah bear responsibility for every Syrian killed, every tree felled, and every house destroyed.” This is not a quote from a Shi’ite leader calling for a review of Shi’a doctrine: it comes from Sheikh Subhi Al-Tufayli, a pillar...
Al Qaradawi Boycotts Qatar Interfaith Meet Attended by Jews
Influential Muslim cleric Yousuf Al Qaradawi boycotted an inter-faith dialogue conference that opened in Doha on Tuesday, refusing to sit in the meeting also attended by Jewish representatives, a local daily reported. “I decided not to participate so I wouldn’t...
