By Ammo.com – With American military personnel now entering service who were not even alive on 9/11, this seems an appropriate time to reexamine the events of September 11, 2001 – the opaque motives for the attacks, the equally opaque motives for the counter-offensive by the United States and its …

Detained media magnate Nabil Karoui and academic Kaïs Saïed made it through to the second round of Tunisia’s presidential election, the countries independent Electoral Commission announced earlier this week. THE LEVANT NEWS EXCLUSIVE – By Arthur Blok* | Just 45 percent of the roughly seven million strong electorate turned up …

Tunisia will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president. More than seven million eligible voters both in Tunisia and abroad can choose from 26 presidential candidates in a fiercely contested election. By Arthur Blok* | Tunisia’s first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi died on July 25 …

By Abdallah Ahmad* — The problem is that we deal with is a nonlinear and dynamic international relations environment, it is clear that in the short and medium term (from one to four to five years) the course of the world order will be determined, It is also clear that …

By Dr. Akil Mahfoud* — The results of the municipal elections in Turkey (March 31, 2019) show that politics sometimes takes in what the politician thinks it gives, and may hit him from his safe haven, and lose in terms of his expected victory. The Turkish President Rajab Tayeb Erdogan …

A New Zealand nurse visited the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, where she met a Bedouin seller of souvenirs and loved him and lived with him in his cave. By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem — ‘”Where you staying?” the Bedouin asked. “Why you not stay with me tonight – in …

By Ibrahim Alalou — A cluster of unripe pistachios on one of my trees The pistachio tree(Pistacia vera) is native to Syria. In Arabic we call it Aleppo pistachio(الفستق الحلبي). It has a rich history. Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History that Pistacia was unique to Syria and …

By Sarah Safa* — General context The American administration, a leading force of a chaotic scene on the international arena:   For almost a decade, the world is falling into a horrific situation introduced by the wake of the so called “Arab Spring”. With violence, wars and bloody conflicts, waged …

By Areej Zaher -In a country which adopted socialism as a way of life, economic difficulties will be its penalty. The Syrian war brought not only blood and terror but also EU sanctions to Syrian stock holdings and ventures, and the Syrian people were most affected. Government expenditure especially defense …

A distinguished mix of business, general and commercial aviation and aerospace exhibitors gathered this week at Riyadh’s Thumama Airport for the first ever Saudi International Airshow. THE LEVANT NEWS EXCLUSIVE – Riyadh – by Arthur Blok* — For the first time in Saudi history it was possible to make a …

By Jasmin Rasheed –UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Jamie McGoldrick met in Gaza on 6 March with senior Hamas officials Tawfiq Abu Naim, minister of the interior in the Hamas government, and Mohammad Dababesh, the head of Hamas’s General Intelligence Service. The …

With ISIS’ leader nowhere to be found, deep fissures have emerged within the crumbling terrorist organisation as desperate militants make a last stand. by Chris Massaro for FOX NEWS — As the once-powerful Islamic State (IS) crumbles, and its desperate fighters make a last stand in its final enclave surrounded …

By Areej Zaher* — Since the autumn of 2015, former US president Barack Obama gave orders to send US militants as part of a coalition against the Islamic state, ISIS. Seemingly, the president now in office, Donald Trump, has a different prospective regarding the American administration and its foreign policies …

The Levant Exclusive – By Areej Zaher* – Lattakia – Besides the killing, arbitrary arrests, abducting and migration, Syrians are constantly going under incredible pressures pushing them to the edge of poverty. War is to blame, nonetheless, sanctions could be the last straw! Electricity ration and the big demand on …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem* –I will try in this paper to present the more likely expected scenarios in short and will focus on two issues. First, before discussing the future of terrorism, we must first agree on the reasons that led to the rise of the extremism and the motives …

Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of TurkeyHassan Rouhani of Iran, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey by Seyed Hossein Mousavian* — As the military phase of the Syrian conflict reaches its final stages, the leaders of Russia, Iran, and …

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE — By Meekaeel Siphambili — Gaborone, Botswana: Botswana’s road networks has come of age since the early 1970s when the country had only approximately 160kilometers of paved or tarred roads which hampered the socio-economic development of the country which was then among the 10 poorest countries in the world. …

“The Sole Spokesman: Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Founding of Pakistan” – by Ayesha Jalal  (Author) —   Reviewed By Dr. Geoffrey Cook* —  In the West, it is easy to paint Mohammad Ali Jinnah as the “evil” nemesis of Gandhi in the struggle for self-rule on the Indian subcontinent. The one …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem – BEIRUT —Despite the crisis of forming the government in Lebanon, there are efforts by the Ministry of Finance and parliamentary blocs to find a solution to the housing loan crisis in Lebanon. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil announced on Monday Aug. 27 that the Ministry …

by Meekaeel Siphambili — Gaborone, Botswana: Botswana’s successful development story is only on the surface; deep down prevalence of corruption in many forms, leading to major costly risks and challenges is the order of the day. Kabelo Ebineng, permanent secretary in the Botswana ministry of transport and communications says money is …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem —  On Aug. 19, Hezbollah gathered local and international media correspondents, The Levant News’ included, at the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance near Mleeta village in southern Lebanon, and presented three models of the Khaibar-1 rockets the party used during the July 2006 war. Hezbollah was …

By Meekaeel Siphambili* — Gaborone, Botswana: Botswana has been the envy of many countries for its peace and tranquility and that will soon end as Ian Khama Seretse Khama, former president is taking the government to court. Ian Khama Seretse Khama has openly discredit Mokgweetsi Masisi, president of Botswana who …

By Areej Zaher* — Jobs had evolved throughout time and ratified in various fields, which include the Internet and especially the social media. despite how this may sounds appealing to many people, but it may have some disadvantages. When it comes to looking for a job, people prefer old fashioned …

AMMAN (Reuters) – The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control of the Yarmouk Basin in southwestern Syria after routing Islamic State (IS) militants, the Hezbollah group’s al-Manar TV said on Tuesday. The basin borders Israel and Jordan and had been the last embattled pocket of the southwest …

By Adam Entous – First appeared on The New Yorker A State Department map shows Palestinian population centers in the West Bank. Obama was surprised to see how “systematic” the Israelis had been at cutting them off from one another. One afternoon in the spring of 2015, a senior State …

BEIRUT (Reuters) – A military media unit run by the Syrian government’s ally Hezbollah reported on Sunday that rebels in Bosra al-Sham in southwest Syria had agreed to settle with the government. The rebels had started handing over heavy weapons in preparation for the army to enter, it reported.

U.S. National-security adviser John Bolton said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power wasn’t a strategic issue for the U.S. and that President Donald Trump hoped to secure Russia’s help in evicting Iranian forces from the country. Source: Wall Street Journal

by: Leila Hoballah — “God knows I fear the destruction of the world by the atomic bomb, but there is at least one thing I fear as much, and that is the invasion of humanity by the state” (Berenson. Qtd in Foucault 75). As Bernard Berenson, an American art historian …

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia has withdrawn 1,140 military personnel and 13 warplanes from Syria in last few days. “As you know, we started withdrawing our forces during my visit to Hmeimim base. This withdrawal continues now,” Putin said at a ceremony for military …

The Netherlands has approved a ban on wearing “face-covering clothing” including the burqa and niqab in some public settings. The limited prohibition will not block wearing of the hijab, which only covers a woman’s hair. It applies on public transport and in education institutions, health institutions such as hospitals and …

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, has launched a scathing attack on the UN monitor on extreme poverty, dismissing his recent report on America that accuses Donald Trump of cruelly forcing millions of citizens into deprivation as “misleading and politically motivated”. Haley, the former Republican governor of …

“If you stayed you died and if you tried to escape you died. I escaped by walking over the blood of those who were blown up as they tried to flee ahead of us”, said Munira Hashish an air strike and mines survivor (source: Amnesty International Report). Special to the …

GENEVA, June 18. /TASS/. High representatives of the countries acting as guarantors of ceasefire in Syria – Russia, Iran and Turkey – meet in Geneva on Monday to discuss the setting up of the Syrian Constitutional Committee with the special envoy of the UN Secretary General for Syria, Staffan de …

Arthur Blok has been appointed as the new Executive editor-in-chief of the Levant News website. Blok replaces Dr. Haytham Mouzahem who will focus now on his research work at the Beirut Center for Middle East Studies, from which he also the director and founder. The Dutch-Lebanese born journalist had a …

  By Edith M. Lederer | AP —  UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly criticized Hezbollah for operating as the most heavily armed militia and a political party in Lebanon and urged the militant group to halt military activities inside and outside the country, including in Syria. In a report …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem — First appeared on al-Mesbar Studies and Research Centre — The “Arab Spring” revolutions lent an unprecedented opportunity for the Muslim Brotherhood movement to emerge from secrecy and take political power, whether by ballot or by bullet, in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and elsewhere. Indeed, the Brotherhood …

A U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane prepares to land as South Korea and the United States conduct the Max Thunder joint military exercise at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. North Korea on Wednesday canceled a high-level meeting with South Korea and …

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and a senior Lebanese economic delegation, led by Mohammad Shuqair, chairman of the Lebanese Economic Authorities, discussed the ongoing economic and commercial ties between the UAE and Lebanon across a range of sectors. as well as their potential future development. They also …

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the OCP Group of Morocco (OCP) are planning to explore the phased creation of a new global fertiliser joint venture to boost their presence globally and extend their partnership further. The two companies already have a partnership established through the existing long-term …

Dubai tops the world commodity index unveiled in London on Tuesday as part of Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre’s (DMCC) Future of Trade report. The index is based on a country’s location and trade partnerships, its resource endowment, and its institutional factors, DMCC CEO Gautam Sashittal said in an interview before the …

Volcanoes are full of tricks. They can build to a major eruption in a crescendo of shudders and spatters or explode with almost no warning. They can lie in wait under a magnificent snowcap, the centerpiece of a landscape of beauty that they could obliterate tomorrow, or in 10,000 years, …

Ahead of another day of protests, the death toll for those killed by Israeli forces at the Gaza boundary fence climbed to 61 on Tuesday after an infant died overnight from tear gas inhalation along with two others, according to local health officials. Monday’s protests saw a level of bloodshed not seen …

Uber says it is taking steps to help reduce the culture of silence around sexual violence on its platform in the wake of a CNN investigation into sexual assaults and abuse by Uber drivers. The rideshare company said Tuesday it will no longer force passengers who allege that they have …

Dozens killed in Gaza as US Embassy opens in Jerusalem. It was the deadliest day there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war: Here are the events as they happened. (With inputs from agencies) UAE aid for those injured in Gaza The UAE has allocated $5 million worth of emergency medicines …