The Palestinian Authority's Minister of Communication, Safa Nassereddin, said on Tuesday that the first stamp to carry the name “State of Palestine” will be issued for the benefit of PA diplomatic offices abroad. According to a report in the PA-based Wafa news agency, Nassereddin said that because issuing new stamps requires Israeli approval, it
A leading Jewish group welcomed on Monday the resignation of a close adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi who last week called for Jews of Egyptian descent to return to Egypt and "leave Israel." The official, Essam al-Erian, who is the deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, reportedly referred to
An Iranian minister breaks ranks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and admits US-backed sanctions have sliced oil exports by 45 percent – but says the nuclear weapon program continues. The sanctions are designed to convince the Iranian regime to allowed United Nations officials to inspect the nuclear development program, to make sure it is not
U.S. President Barack Obama on Mondy named former senator Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, urging the U.S. Senate to confirm them quickly. Hagel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, would replace Leon Panetta at the Pentagon. Critics have already launched attacks over Hagel's record on
The release of an Egyptian blind sheikh, jailed in the United States for the 1993 World Trade Center attack, will be urged by Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi during his upcoming visit to the U.S., the leader said on Monday. The announcement follows his pledge, during his presidential campaign earlier this year, to free Omar
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is taking another step in his bid to officially name the areas he controls "the State of Palestine". After he ordered all of the PA's institutions to stop using the term "Palestinian National Authority" on official documents, Abbas published new guidelines on Sunday, which order the PA government
Egypt over the past two years has sought to secure a loan from the International Money Fund worth $4.8 billion. The loan is seen as vital for boosting investor confidence, staving off a financial crisis, and supporting the Egyptian pound, which fell to its lowest level since 2004. Four successive finance ministers have led
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas spoke glowingly last Friday of the “legacy” of the infamous Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who was a collaborator with the Nazis, and was prepared to conduct the mass murder of the Jews of the Land of Israel in the event of a Nazi invasion. The Mufti, Abbas said, was a great
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel would erect a new security fence along its armistice line with Syria in order to protect the Jewish state from "infiltration and terrorism.” Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu noted that the fence built along the Egyptian border has “completely stopped the entry of infiltrators
Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Mursi fired his finance and interior ministers, cabinet sources said on Saturday, in a government reshuffle he had promised to assuage public anger at an economic crisis. General Mohamed Ibrahim will replace Ahmed Gamal
