Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) tried to establish a low-profile Islamist state in northern Mali without drawing the attention of Western and regional powers, according to a document uncovered in Timbuktu and believed to bear the signature of the group’s leader Abdul Malek Drukdal. The handwritten document, published by Algerie 1 news website,
A powerful explosion shook the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, residents reported, and state television said it struck the eastern district of Qaboun. The blast followed by heavy gunfire caused panic in the capital, where a massive car bombing on Thursday near the ruling Baath party headquarters killed at least 53 people. It
Egypt will reopen talks with the IMF next month on a $4.8 billion loan, a minister said on Monday, and the government laid out plans to reverse a slide in currency reserves and tackle the dire state of public finances. A revised government economic reform programme, essential for securing a lifeline from the International
Despite the ongoing Arab riots in Judea and Samaria, the IDF is not expecting a third intifada (violent Arab uprising), Channel 10 News reported on Sunday. The report came as Israel's security forces faced another day of rioting throughout Judea and Samaria. The rioting has been going on for quite some time, but Arabs
Egypt’s tourism minister is heading to Tehran, the government said on Sunday, as Cairo tries to halt sliding visitor numbers and thaws relations with Iran after a 30-year freeze. Minister Hisham Zaazou will visit the Iranian capital from Monday under a drive “to restore tourism activity into Egypt and discover new and diverse markets,”
Dozens of Lebanese women dance in front of the home of the country’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, to send a clear message of urgency to pass a law that looks to protect women from domestic violence. Berri’s home was the chosen destination because in a 2009 parliament session he was the one who called
The Palestinian Authority has no right to demand that Israel release terrorists it is holding, MK Ayelet Shaked of Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) wrote on Sunday. “We must not become confused by terminology,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “The 'prisoners' in question are not regular criminals, but terrorists.” Shaked was commenting on the
Protesters on Sunday blocked the doors to Cairo's main administrative building as part of a growing campaign of civil disobedience around the country against President Mohamed Mursi. A group of protesters closed the doors of the Mugamma, a massive labyrinth of bureaucratic offices on the edge of Tahrir Square, leaving only a side exit
A number of activists in Egypt’s Delta province of al-Mansoura placed the Egyptian flag on the statue of the country’s late famed classical singer Umm Kolthoum on Friday, in a response to an earlier incident, when anonymous individuals covered the singer’s statue with a burqa. The statue’s face was seen covered last week with
Iraq already marred by high deficit is losing almost $27 million per day because of a budget delay, a member of the Shiite-dominated National alliance coalition said in a press conference on Saturday. “The National alliance coalition is insisting to issue Iraq’s budget as soon as possible,” the Iraqi news website Al-Sumaria reported the
