Chang Mei Yen, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) CAIRO — Egypt’s transitional government has announced on 25 December 2013 its decision to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, banning the political group and criminalising any affiliations with it. Hossam Eissa, Egypt’s minister of higher education, announced the cabinet’s decision, which was a response to a deadly suicide attack at a police headquarters in the Nile Delta area the day before. This declaration builds on […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor ( Middle East) At least 5 people are believed to have been killed and 66 injured in a deadly car bomb attack in Southern Beirut. Due to the area being highly populated, the exact numbers have yet to be verified. This is not the first time this area, which is a strong hold for the Hezbollah, has been targeted. The bomb exploded at the peak of rush hours and casualties are expected to […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor ( Middle East) Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, 85, had died. He had spent 8 years in a comma following a stroke in 2006. Officials had been making preparations for a state funeral for the former leader for the last week, following the deterioration of his health in the new year. Mr. Sharon was Prime Minister of Israel for five year between 2001 – 2006 under the Lukid party. Under […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor ( Middle East) The Twitter account for Microsoft owned Skype has become the latest victim of the The Syrian Electronic Army, a hacking group supportive of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. They have previously attacked Twitter and the New York Times. The BBC has also been targeted. The posts, which have now been removed, said that the attack was a response to the NSA spying revelations. They detail the US government’s PRISM surveillance […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor ( Middle East) 26 Palestinian men have been freed from Israeli prisons as part of a US-brokered deal to encourage peace talks to resume in July. The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is set to return to the region tomorrow to facilitate further negotiations. Those released spent between 19 and 28 years in prison for either murder of attempted murder. Their release follows two previous tranches in August and October, each […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia: Middle East & Central) Iraq could be on the brink of a political crisis following the resignation of 44 of 325 MPs. The resignations were a result of the violence that erupted in western part of the country as police cleared a year-old Sunni muslim protest camp, leaving at least 13 dead. Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki’s, claims the camp had links to Al-Qaeda. His spokesman, Ali Mussawi, said the camp was cleared “ without […]
Dona B. Paranayil, Correspondent (Middle East) RIYADH — The Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) is getting ready by working on its plan to introduce a single visa for the GCC countries by mid- 2014. Reports say: “The GCC visa is expected to reinvigorate tourism, business, shopping, travel and economic activities in the member countries.” Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, President of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry sees the move as a positive development. He was quoted […]
Mithu Yoganathan, Correspondent (Middle East) DAMASCUS – ‘Why has the world abandoned us?’ This is the question asked by many Syrian refugees as they battle against one of the worst winter’s of the century. Up to two million Syrians have fled to camps in neighbouring nations: Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq since conflict erupted in 2011. Forced to live in makeshift shelters, snow and rain seek to make living conditions even more unbearable. The […]
Stefano Duc, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) CAIRO – Five days after a car-bomb killed 14 people near a police station in Mansoura, the Egyptian military authorities are once again under attack. This morning in the town of Sharqiya, in the Nile Delta, another car-bomb exploded near an intelligence building, injuring at least five people and partly damaging the building, as a spokesman of the Egyptian army, Colonel Ahmed Ali, said. No one […]
Trisha Chowdhury, Editor-in-Chief A police spokesperson confirmed that, at approximately 7 AM local time, 2 rockets from Lebanon landed in the northern Galilee town of Kiryat Shemona in Israel. The rockets fell in a forest along the Israel-Lebanon border. Heavy shelling from Israel followed in retaliation, hitting Southern Lebanon. Neither side has reported any injuries or damage. The Katyusha rockets have been known to be favored by Hezbollah. However, the Israeli military refrained from commenting and are […]
