Lebanese singer Yara was taken to a police station by her driver in Algeria after she refused to stop smoking in accordance with the country’s Ramadan laws, the UAE’s Gulf News on Thursday. Yara, a Christian, took out a cigarette and began smoking whilst being driven from Setif, east of the capital Algiers, to
Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said on Friday that the financial system is preparing for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and for a possible downturn in the economy which may result. Speaking to Channel 2 News, Fischer said, “The primary responsibility of each country is to maintain its security. It is
Israeli sources told Reuters on Friday there is evidence that Egypt's north Sinai region is becoming not only a rallying point for terrorists but a firing range for Gaza's rocket builders. It was soon after the 2011 revolt in Egypt toppled President Hosni Mubarak that Israeli rocket radars began to spot unusual launches from
The Israeli Cabinet voted on Thursday evening to approve an Egyptian request to send in helicopters to the Sinai Peninsula. The approval was given for a period of several days and allows five aircraft to enter the region. The move is designed to assist Egypt in its military operation against terrorist elements in the Sinai.
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned on Thursday that despite the IDF and the Shin Bet’s ability to foil this week’s terror attack near the border with Egypt, there are no guarantees that Israel would have similar intelligence that will allow it to thwart similar attacks in the future. Speaking during a ceremony
Residents of El Arish in northern Sinai reported Thursday that the Egyptian military has sent reinforcements of "unprecedented" size into the peninsula, according to the Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper. The forces reportedly include 60 tanks on 30 tank-transporters, 12 armored personnel carriers, 15 additional armored vehicles, more than 20 armored jeeps and 10 Military Police
Tzipi Livni resigned from Knesset, but that is not stopping her from getting involved in Israeli diplomacy. The former Foreign Minister met Wednesday with United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon to discuss a variety of Middle East issues. Livni told Ban that the Sinai Peninsula has been “abandoned” and has become “a terrorist enclave.” The
Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has fired the Head of General Intelligence, General Morad Mu'afi, following the Sinai terror attack in which 16 policemen were killed. "General Mohammed Morad Mu'afi has been fired and the resignation [sic] goes into force from today," proclaimed Morsi's spokesman, Yasser Ali, on Wednesday, on Egyptian state television. He explained
Egyptian police and gunmen traded fire in the Sinai town of al-Arish on Thursday as security forces pressed an unprecedented campaign to quell Islamist militants, state television reported. “Clashes resumed between armed men and police forces in front of police station number two in al-Arish,” Nile News television reported, citing its correspondent there.
Police and the Shin Bet have nabbed an Israeli-Arab terrorist cell affiliated with Hizbullah. The cell was holding many weapons, including powerful bombs and M-16 rifles. The bombs were smuggled into Israel from Lebanon, and were intended for use in terrorist attacks within Israel. A total of 12 people were arrested in connection
