Palestinian Authority officials confirmed to AFP Sunday that Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani will visit Ramallah for his first ever trip to Judea and Samaria later this month. "The visit of the emir of Qatar has been confirmed but the date of the visit hasn't been determined yet," Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for
While Islamists claim that President Mohammed Mursi has won initial backing from Egyptians for a new constitution, rights groups and opposition parties reported abuses such as polling stations opening late, officials telling people how to vote, and bribery. A first day of voting in a referendum on the draft basic law resulted in 56.5
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that democracy would be considered “failed” in Egypt if in a decade’s time we do not see the post-revolutionary country surfacing with liberal feats, such as the “empowering of minorities.” Friedman wrote that if such a liberal route is taken, this would mirror current party politics in
Bombings against two Shiite places of worship in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed 6 people Sunday, while an attack on a Kurdish political office left two dead, police and doctors said. Three roadside bombs exploded near a Shi'ite mosque in the city, and a car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated near
Tensions were rising late Saturday over a divisive new constitution being put to Egyptian voters in the first round of a referendum pushed through by President Mohammed Morsi, despite weeks of opposition protests. AFP reported that the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, accused Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood of "vote rigging" but stopped short of
A video released on Friday shows a group of Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists announcing the formation of a new military brigade, which would start a new intifada (uprising) against Israel beginning in Hevron. According to a report in the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, the video, posted on YouTube, shows eight people covering their faces
Jews have been barred from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem until Sunday, the last day of Hannukah. The Temple Mount is the holiest site on earth according to Jewish tradition. The ban is aimed at preventing a Muslim riot at the site. Riots are thought to be particularly likely following Friday prayers. It
Egypt’s main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, called on Sunday for a repeat of the first round of the constitutional referendum and wants a probe into 4,000 complaints it said took place during the vote. Islamists claimed victory in the initial phase of the referendum, but the opposition alleged the balloting had been
A faction of Syrian opposition forces captured a regime infantry base in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, as forces battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad advanced on the country’s largest city. The base was the second major army installation taken by Syrian fighters in the city in a week. Its fall is
After threatening that Ankara could set off “World War III” if it allows the U.S. to deploy Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, a report Sunday said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would not be visiting Turkey, as had been scheduled. Turkey's Hurriyet daily newspaper said that the cancellation of Ahmadinejad's visit had raised Turkish-Iranian
