#PLO Decides to Halt Security Coordination with #Israel
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/plo-decides-halt-security-coordination-israel

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An Israeli soldier walks down stairs in front of a graffiti scrawled by Zionist settlers on the wall of a Palestinian home on March 5, 2015 in al-Mughayir, east of Ramallah in the northern #west_bank. The graffiti in Hebrew is a sentence from the Book of Esther in which Jews ruled over their enemies. AFP/Abbas Momani

Palestinian leaders in the West Bank said on Thursday they would halt the security coordination with Israel, which was credited by some as helping keep order in the territory and preventing anti-Israel attacks, while others said it served Israeli interests by aiding and abetting oppression of Palestinians. read (...)

#Palestine #Palestinian_Authority #Palestinian_Central_Council

Top Nusra Front Commander Killed in #syria Blast
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/top-nusra-front-commander-killed-syria-blast

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Syrian fire fighters put out a blaze at the scene of a reported barrel bomb strike by the Syrian army on March 5, 2015 on the Qadi Askar rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of #Aleppo. AFP/Zein al-Rifai Syrian fire fighters put out a blaze at the scene of a reported barrel bomb strike by the Syrian army on March 5, 2015 on the Qadi Askar rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP/Zein al-Rifai

Al-Qaeda’s official Syrian wing, the al-Nusra Front, announced on Thursday the death of its top military commander, who insurgent sources said fell victim to a blast targeting a high-level militant meeting. The news came as Aleppo was ravaged by heavy fighting while the Syrian opposition was seeking (...)

#Abu_al-Dhuhur #Abu_Humam_al-Shami #Abu_Mohamed_al-Jolani #al-Nusra_Font #Bashar_al-Assad #Freeze_Plan #Hazm #Hobait #ISIS #Khaled_Khoja #National_Coalition_of_Syrian_Revolution_and_Opposition_Forces #NCCDC #Russia #Salqin #Staffan_de_Mistura

Israeli Forces Arrest Driver Who Hit Pedestrians in #jerusalem
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-forces-arrest-driver-who-hit-pedestrians-jerusalem

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An Israeli policeman stands guard near a car that plowed into pedestrians in Jerusalem injuring several people, before its driver got out and tried to stab them on March 6, 2015. AFP/Thomas Coex

Updated at 1:40 pm (GMT+2): A driver plowed his car into Israeli pedestrians in Jerusalem on Friday before trying to stab them, injuring several in an attack mirroring similar incidents last year, Israeli police said. “A young man rammed his car (into pedestrians), and then got out and tried to stab people” before being shot and seriously wounded by an armed security guard, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement. “Four people were injured,” she added, describing the incident as a “terrorist attack.” read (...)

#Israel #Palestine

#MERS Kills 10 in Saudi as Government Broadens #health_campaign
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/mers-kills-10-saudi-government-broadens-health-campaign

The MERS virus has killed 10 more people in #Saudi_Arabia over the past week, pushing the death toll above 400, as health officials broaden their campaign to halt its spread. Saudi Arabia is the country worst-hit by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The latest deaths occurred between February 27 and March 5, adding to a surge of cases that killed 30 people in February alone. Health ministry data show that six of those deaths were in Riyadh. read more

#camels #We_can_stop_it #WHO

Libyan Factions Begin New Round of #UN-Brokered Peace Talks in #Morocco
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/libyan-factions-begin-new-round-un-brokered-peace-talks-morocco

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Fighters from the #Fajr_Libya (Libya Dawn), an alliance of Islamist-backed militias, take position in Bir al-Ghanam, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital, on March 5, 2015. AFP/Mahmoud Turkia.

Representatives of #Libya's two rival parliaments on Thursday held UN-brokered talks in Morocco aimed at reaching an agreement on a national unity government and finding someone to head it, officials said. The meeting took place in a “positive and constructive” spirit, UN special envoy Bernardino Leon, who has been trying to bring the two sides together for weeks and who chaired the talks, told a press conference. In the previous rounds of UN-brokered peace talks, Leon was not successful in holding direct face to face negotiation between the main warring (...)

#Hezbollah: The International Community’s Sole Concern
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/24067

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With an array of crises sweeping the #Middle_East, the “global community” is no longer taking much interest in #Lebanon. Only Hezbollah continues to draw international attention, due to its expanding role in the region.

#Articles #Iran #Saudi_Arabia #syria #Opinion

#ISIS Bulldozes Ancient Assyrian City: Iraqi Gov’t
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/isis-bulldozes-ancient-assyrian-city-iraqi-gov%E2%80%99t

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A file picture taken on July 17, 2001 shows Iraqi workers cleaning a statue of winged bull at an archeological site in #Nimrud, 35 Kilometers (22 miles) southeast of the northern city of #Mosul. AFP/Karim Sahib A file picture taken on July 17, 2001 shows Iraqi workers cleaning a statue of winged bull at an archeological site in Nimrud, 35 Kilometers (22 miles) southeast of the northern city of Mosul. AFP/Karim Sahib

The Islamic State of #Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group has begun bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq, the government said, in the jihadists’ latest attack on the country’s historical #heritage. ISIS “assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles,” the tourism and (...)

#ancient_city #artifacts #Assyrians #Diyala #Hatra #museum #Samarra #Tikrit #UNESCO

#Saudi_Arabia Beheads Murderer, Marking 39th Execution of 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-murderer-marking-39th-execution-2015

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens for murder Thursday, adding to what #Amnesty_International has called an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom. Manie bin Ali bin Muhsin al-Gahtani was convicted of allegedly gunning down another man, the Interior Ministry said in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Authorities carried out the sentence in the southwestern city of Abha. read more

#beheading

Saudi Foreign Minister Urges Coalition to Fight #ISIS on the Ground
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-foreign-minister-urges-coalition-fight-isis-ground

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US Secretary of State #John_Kerry (R) walks alongside Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L), Foreign Minister of #Saudi_Arabia, before a meeting with Saudi king Salman on March 5, 2015 in Riyadh. AFP/Evan Vucci US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) walks alongside Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L), Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, before a meeting with Saudi king Salman on March 5, 2015 in Riyadh. AFP/Evan Vucci

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince #Saud_al-Faisal called Thursday on the US-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State of #Iraq and #syria (ISIS) group in Syria and Iraq to fight the jihadists on the ground. The kingdom, part of the coalition, "stresses the need to provide the military means (...)

#Iran

#ISIS Torches #Oil Field East of #Tikrit as Iraqi Army Pushes #Mosul Offensive Forward
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/isis-torches-oil-field-east-tikrit-iraqi-army-pushes-mosul-offens

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Iraqi government forces and allied militias gesture as they hold the national flag in the northern part of Diyala province, bordering #Salahuddin province, as they take part in an assault to retake the city of Tikrit from jihadists of the Islamic State of #Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, on March 4, 2015. AFP/Younis al-Bayati Iraqi government forces and allied militias gesture as they hold the national flag in the northern part of Diyala province, bordering Salahuddin province, as they take part in an assault to retake the city of Tikrit from jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, on March 4, 2015. AFP/Younis al-Bayati

Updated at 3:40 am/pm (GMT+ 2): Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants (...)

#Ajil #al-Alam #al-Dour #Ben_Hodges #Daesh #oil_field #US-led_coalition

The Sea is Still Beautiful
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sea-still-beautiful

I jumped into a taxi — late for an appointment, my phone struggling with 2% battery — and there spied a godsend USB charger gleaming on the driver’s dashboard. I smiled, feigning a more pleasant mood, and asked if I could use his charger: “my phone is off because I have no electricity at home these days.” “Neither do I,” he said, laughing. “Neither does the rest of the Lebanese population.” read more

#Hezbollah: The International Community’s Sole Concern
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hezbollah-international-community%E2%80%99s-sole-concern

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A Lebanese woman waves Hezbollah’s flag in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburb, on February 16, 2015. Al-Akhbar\Haitham Moussawi.

With an array of crises sweeping the #Middle_East, the “global community” is no longer taking much interest in #Lebanon. Only Hezbollah continues to draw international attention, due to its expanding role in the region.

Hiyam al-Qusayfi

read more

#Opinion #Articles #Iran #Saudi_Arabia #syria

#turkey Pushing for Own ‘Popular Mobilization’ Militia in #Iraq
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/24045

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Turkey is investing in the upcoming battle for the liberation of #Mosul to expand its influence in Iraq. An increasing number of credible reports indicate this course of action, in the aftermath of the operation launched by the Iraqi government to retake Tikrit (the last major stronghold for Daesh before Mosul), with support from the Iranian #Qods_Force led by General #Qassem_Soleimani.

#Articles #ISIS #syria #Mideast_&_North_Africa

Selon le Akhbar, Joumblatt fait le pari qu’Al Nusra contrôlera tout le sud de la Syrie à la fin de 2015. Et aurait décidé de ne pas s’opposer à son arrivée au Liban.

اتفاق بين جنبلاط و « النصرة »
▻http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/227276

ولا يتوقّف تملّق جنبلاط لـ«النصرة» عند مسألة الخوف على مصير الجنود اللبنانيين المخطوفين. فعدا عن أن «الدفاع عن النصرة هو توجيه سعودي لجنبلاط وبعض وجوه تيار المستقبل، لتحويلها إلى جهة في الداخل اللبناني»، كما يقول أحد أصدقاء الزعيم الاشتراكي في فريق 8 آذار، يعتقد جنبلاط وفريقه أن «النصرة ستسيطر على كامل الجنوب السوري مع نهاية عام 2015». إذ أشار أبو فاعور على طاولة غداء جمعت قادة الأجهزة الأمنية في منطقة راشيا منتصف كانون الأول العام الماضي، إلى أن «معلوماتنا تؤكّد أن النصرة ستسيطر على الجنوب السوري وجبل الشيخ مع نهاية 2015، وبذلك ستكون على الحدود مع البقاع الأوسط والغربي وراشيا وحاصبيا». وبدل التحضير لقتال «النصرة» دفاعاً عن الحدود اللبنانية إذا صحّت معلومات أبو فاعور، أعطى الأخير أمراً لاشتراكيي راشيا بإلغاء مظاهر التسلّح و«اللجان الشعبية» التي بدأت تتشكّل في قرى ككفرقوق عيحا وعين عطا المتاخمة لمنطقة يعفور وقطنا في ريف دمشق الجنوبي الغربي، لأنه «لا شيء يدعو للقلق»، كما تقول مصادر الاشتراكيين وقوى 8 آذار في راشيا على حدٍّ سواء.

أكثر من ذلك، تقول مصادر أمنية لبنانية، إن «محمد أحمد النعماني، وهو أحد القياديين في حركة أحرار الشام، الذي اختطفه بعثيون في كانون الأول الماضي من خربة روحا في البقاع، وسلم لأجهزة الأمن السورية، تمّ تسهيل دخوله إلى لبنان عبر اشتراكيين من منطقة راشيا»، نافية أن يكون الأمر بقرار من الحزب الاشتراكي. وبحسب ما أكدت مصادر أمنية سورية لـ«الأخبار»، فإن «النعماني اعترف أثناء التحقيق بأنه كان يعمل على بناء خلايا لأحرار الشام في البقاع الأوسط والغربي، لتتحرك بالتزامن مع تحرّك مسلحي النصرة وأحرار الشام في كفير يابوس ويابوس والزبداني لإحداث ثُغَر من الجهة اللبنانية، ومهاجمة مواقع الجيش السوري واللبناني على طرفي الحدود، وربط الجبهات من خطّ الشام إلى جبل الشيخ».

#French Researcher Denied Entry to #Lebanon over Alleged Jihadist Ties
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/french-researcher-denied-entry-lebanon-over-alleged-jihadist-ties

Lebanese authorities have denied entry to the country to a French expert on jihadists, accusing him of links to extremist groups, diplomatic and security sources said Tuesday. Romain Caillet, a researcher with the French Institute for the Near East (IFPO) who has been based in Lebanon for five years, is a specialist on jihadist movements including the Islamic State of Iraq and #syria (ISIS) group, which captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria. A French embassy source said Caillet was "turned away on Sunday... at Beirut airport” when he tried to return from a trip to Morocco. read more

#France #ISIS #Nusra

Agreement Between #Walid_Jumblatt and Al-Nusra Front
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/24027

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Mediated by a member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the talks between al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front (ANF) and Lebanese MP Walid Jumblatt were successful, culminating in an agreement regarding the #Druze community in the Syrian city of Idlib. The agreement reportedly requires the local Druze to convert to Sunni Islam and demolish their shrines, in return for ANF suspending Sharia-sanctioned punishments against them.

#Articles #Lebanon #Nusra_front #syria

#Israel Detains Three Syrians in Occupied #Golan_Heights
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israel-detains-three-syrians-occupied-golan-heights

The Syrian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to enforce its resolutions concerning Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Golan Heights after the Zionist state detained three Syrians in the past week, state-run news agency SANA reported on Monday. read more

#detention #occupation #syria #UNSC

Fearing Assassination, Erdogan To Install Food Analysis Lab in Presidential Palace
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/fearing-assassination-erdogan-install-food-analysis-lab-president

A special food analysis laboratory will be built at Turkish President #Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan's controversial presidential palace to make sure all his food is safe to eat, Cevdet Erdol told the Hurriyet newspaper on Tuesday. Every meal that goes before Erdogan is rigorously tested both at home and abroad for fear of possible assassination, his personal doctor said. “It’s usually not through bullets that prominent figures are being assassinated these days,” Erdol said. read more

#turkey

The Mosul artifacts: A priceless loss
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/mosul-artifacts-priceless-loss

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An image grab taken off a video reportedly released by Media Office of the Nineveh branch of the Islamic State (IS) Group on February 25, 2015, allegedly shows an IS militant destroying the statue of Lamassu, an Assyrian diety, with a jackhammer in the northern Iraqi Governorate of Nineveh. AFP.

It is hard to overstate the historical and archaeological significance of the area extending from Mesopotamia to Egypt. This stretch contains the early stages of human civilization, especially from the Neolithic era (from 8,000 to 4,000 BC). It was during the late Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods that human beings acquired an advanced level of knowledge. We transitioned from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled agrarian existence with major (...)

#Politics #Articles

#Saudi_Arabia Consolidates its Alliance Against #Iran
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-consolidates-its-alliance-against-iran

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A handout picture released by the Yemeni Presidency on February 28, 2015, shows President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, right, meeting Saudi ambassador to #Yemen Mohammed Said Al-Jaber in Aden. AFP.

New Saudi #King_Salman bin Abdul Aziz is widely considered a hardliner, more hawkish than his predecessors on both domestic and foreign affairs, and his first few weeks in office have confirmed this reputation. He started off by getting his house in order, reassuring his American ally about the recent rejiggering of the royal hierarchy, ostensibly meant to pave the way for a new generation of leaders. He promoted the leaders of the kingdom’s counter-terrorism establishment, finding among them a new crown prince, a new deputy crown prince, and executives for various other (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Houthi

#Yemen’s Hadi Calls for #UN-Sponsored Talks in #Saudi_Arabia
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/yemen%E2%80%99s-hadi-calls-un-sponsored-talks-saudi-arabia

Yemeni President #Abed_Rabbo_Mansour_Hadi called on Tuesday for the UN-brokered reconciliation talks to be moved to neighboring Saudi Arabia if an agreement cannot be reached on a venue inside Yemen. The talks, which had been held in the capital Sanaa, have broken down since Hadi escaped to second city Aden last month after weeks under effective house arrest. read more

#Houthi

#Saudi_Arabia Beheads Rapist, Murderer, Marking 38th #execution of 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-rapist-murderer-37th-execution-2015

Updated at 3:03 pm (GMT+ 2): Saudi Arabia beheaded a convicted rapist and a murderer on Tuesday, bringing to 38 the number of death sentences carried out in the kingdom this year. Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed al-Bishi, a Saudi national, raped his victim at gunpoint, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. read more

#Amnesty_International #beheading #death_sentence #HRW #Human_Rights_Abuse #Human_Rights_Watch #Specialized_Criminal_Court

IOF Injures Palestinian man, arrest 3 Palestinian children in #west_bank
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iof-injures-palestinian-man-arrest-3-palestinian-children-west-ba

Israeli troops shot and injured a young Palestinian man during clashes in the northern West Bank town of Qabatia west of Jenin on Tuesday morning, security sources said. Meanwhile the #israeli_army detained three school students in the southern West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Education Ministry said Tuesday. read more

#childrens_rights #East_Jerusalem #Palestine #Zionist_settlers

#Tunisia Jails Blogger for Six Months for “Defaming” Army
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/tunisia-jails-blogger-six-months-defaming%E2%80%9D-army

A Tunisian military appeals court jailed blogger #Yassine_Ayari for six months on Tuesday on charges of defaming the army, halving the previous sentence but failing to satisfy its critics. Chants of “Down with the military judge” rang out from the public gallery as the sentence was read out. Ayari was prosecuted over blog posts he had written alleging financial abuses by army officers and defense ministry officials in a case that #Human_Rights_Watch described as "not worthy of the new Tunisia.” read more

#amnesty #freedom #RSF

PLO to File #ICC Case Against #Israel in April
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/plo-file-icc-case-against-israel-april

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A Palestinian boy lies on a mattress admist the rubble of buildings that were destroyed during the 50-day Israeli assault, in #Gaza City’s al-Shejaiya neighborhood on February 26, 2015. AFP/Mohammed Abed A Palestinian boy lies on a mattress admist the rubble of buildings that were destroyed during the 50-day Israeli assault, in Gaza City’s al-Shejaiya neighborhood on February 26, 2015. AFP/Mohammed Abed

The #palestinians are to lodge their first complaint against Israel for war crimes at the International Criminal Court on April 1, a senior official told AFP on Monday. “One of the first important steps will be filing a complaint against Israel at the ICC on April 1 over the (2014) Gaza war and settlement activity,” said (...)

#jerusalem #Palestine #rights #west_bank