News

The Levant News — Russian jets hit 12 Islamic State targets in the course of nearly 20 combat flights carried out in Syria on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said. Command centers and training camps were destroyed in the attacks which threw the extremists into panic. “Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 have launched …

The Levant News — At least 63 people have been killed in a series of car bomb attacks in Iraq, police and medical sources say. One of the largest bombs was in the Shia-majority town of Khalis in the eastern province of Diyala, where at least 40 people were killed. Another …

The Levant News — Want to learn some juggling tricks? No problem! Watch the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) masterly juggle oranges, apples and even first aid kits. Their must-see circus show has just been posted online.   Fighting fatigue in space can be a real challenge. Astronauts are …

The Levant News — Twin suicide bombings were reported in Kabul on Monday evening near the Afghan parliament and the Russian Embassy. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosions took place on Darul-Aman Road and are believed to have targeted the home of Naeem Baloch, former Helmand governor …

The Levant News — If Russia and the United States were able to agree on ways of solving the Syrian crisis, this might help towards the two powers finding common ground on Ukraine, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday. The United States and its NATO allies denounced Russia for violating …

The Levant News — An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency. “At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State …

The Levant News — Three Palestinian teenagers, including a 13-year-old Palestinian boy, have been killed in West Bank clashes with Israeli soldiers in the past 24 hours. More than 450 Palestinians have also been injured in the violence. Abdel-Rahman Abeidallah, 13, died of a gunshot wound to the heart on Monday, …

The Levant News — Russia is ready for contact with the Free Syrian Army, but it is now a ‘phantom,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at a news conference following talks with his Laos counterpart in Moscow. “They tell us about the Free Syrian Army, but where is it? …

The Levant — The Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine has been split two ways for groundbreaking work on parasitic diseases. William C Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura found a new way of tackling infections caused by roundworm parasites. Youyou Tu shares the prize for her discovery of a therapy against malaria. …

The Levant News — UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has warned that Europe, in dealing with the migration crisis, is engaged in a “battle of compassion versus fear, and of tolerance versus xenophobia”. Speaking in Geneva, he said the world was facing the highest levels of forced displacement in …

The Levant News — Russian volunteers who have honed their combat skills in Ukraine are likely to travel to Syria to fight alongside the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, the head of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, said on Monday. “It is likely that groups of Russian volunteers …

Written by Diana Kasem The Levant News Exclusive -Damascus- Many activists have again Renewed the call for candidating Nobel Peace Prize in memory of the Syrian Archeologist Khaled al-Asaad. al-Asaad was a Syrian archaeologist and the head of antiquities for the ancient city of Palmyra; a UNESCO world heritage site. He held …

The Levant News Exculsive -Damascus- Islamic State militants have destroyed the Arch of Triumph in the ancient city of Palmyra, a monument that dates back to the Roman empire . Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s chief of antiquities,  said sources in the city, which was conquered by Isis after a week-long siege …

The Levant News — Addressing concerns that a landmark nuclear deal reached this year could boost Iran’s military power, the Obama administration reassured critics that it would maintain and enforce its remaining tough sanctions against the country. Yet the U.S. government has pursued far fewer violations of a long-standing arms …

The Levant News — Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on targets in Gaza overnight in retaliation to rocket fire directed at Israeli territory earlier in the day. Although an ISIS-affiliated group claimed responsibility for the attack, Israel holds Hamas responsible. Witnesses reported at least four airstrikes in the Gaza strip early Monday, …

The Levant News — By Patrick J. Buchanan — What Vladimir Putin is up to in Syria makes far more sense than what Barack Obama and John Kerry appear to be up to in Syria. The Russians are flying transports bringing tanks and troops to an air base near the …

The Levant News — A Palestinian photographer said he was shot in the leg Friday as he covered a demonstration in the occupied West Bank suppressed by Israeli troops. Independent cameraman Ahmed Talaat, speaking to AFP by telephone as he was being evacuated by ambulance, said he had been shot in …

The Levant News —  Turkish security forces killed more than 10 suspected Kurdish militants amid intensifying clashes in the country’s southeast, while 44 people were arrested in Istanbul on suspicion of links with the rebels, officials and media reports said. The exact death toll from clashes in Silvan, a town in …

The Levant News — The ceremony saw 104 bodies returned home from Saudi Arabia. Iran says at least 464 of its nationals were killed. The Saudi authorities put the total death toll at 769 but foreign media reports and officials put the figure at well over 1,000. Tehran has blamed the …

The Levant News — Half a year of violence in Yemen has led to the deaths of 505 children, and a further 702 being injured, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said, adding that 1.7 million youths are at risk of malnutrition amid the humanitarian crisis which the country is Since March, …

The Levant News — The Iranian foreign ministry rejected Manama’s allegations against Tehran’s meddling in the country’s affairs as baseless, and ordered Bahrain’s second highest-ranking diplomat in Tehran to leave the country in 72 hours. In a retaliatory move against Manama officials’ decision that on Thursday ordered Iran’s charge d’affaires in …

The Levant News — The United States is considering extending support to thousands of Syrian rebel fighters, possibly with arms and air strikes, to help them push Islamic State from a strategic pocket of Syrian territory along the Turkish border, U.S. officials say. U.S. backing for the plan would come as …

The Levant News — Russian jets have performed 14 combats flights, conducting six pinpoint airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. “During the day, the Russian aviation group continued conducting pinpoint airstrikes against the infrastructure of the IS group in Syria,” Defense Ministry spokesman, …

The Levant News Exclusive -Damascus- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem Gave a speech at the 70th UN General Assembly in New York. In his speech, Moallem called for stemming the flow of terrorists coming to Syria and taking a firm line against the countries supporting them. He said the UN …

The Levant News — Iraq’s most powerful Shiite cleric called for a global war against ISIS Friday, a day after the prime minister said he would welcome Russian air strikes against the group on Iraqi soil. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has a huge following and can often influence government thinking, …

The Levant News Exclusive -Damascus- Russian aviation continues its campaign today.  Syrian and Russian airstrikes target ISIS militants and their positions, said military sources now. They destructed militants mechanisms, their centers in Palmyra, Aleppo country side, and bombing an ammunition dump in Hama countryside, with no civilian casualties. Editing by Diana Kasem

The Levant News — The Turkish Army and police have entered the city of Silvan in southeastern Turkey, which has a mainly Kurdish population, reports say, adding that intensive gunfire and heavy artillery are rocking the city. The Istanbul police department together with teams from the anti-terrorism branch launched the operation …

The Levant News — The Russian Ministry of Defense has revealed that the aviation force in Syria is exclusively composed of Sukhoi warplanes, including the cutting-edge Su-34, tried-and-tested Su-25 and the Su-24M striking Islamic State targets in the country. The Su-24 is a tactical bomber meant to fly below the radar and …

The Levant News — Addressing UNGA, the Greek PM has condemned the building of “higher” walls in the EU as well as the mistreatment of refugees and migrants amid the crisis. He also spoke of “devastating social cost” his country is paying. “We do not believe that the future of Europe …

The Levant News — IS militants attacked forces guarding one of Libya’s main oil ports on Thursday with a gun assault and an attempted car bomb in an escalation of their campaign in the North African state, a local security official said. IS has gained ground in Libya where two rival …

The Levant News — Russia estimates its air strike campaign in Syria could last three to four months, the head of the lower house of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Friday. “There is always a risk of being bogged down but in Moscow, we are talking about an …

The Levant News — Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground attack. Russian warplanes, in a second day of strikes, bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the group’s commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in …

The Levant News Exclusive -ٍDamascus- The Russian Air Forces launched air strikes on a number of cities and towns, on the second day of Russian operations in Syria, Thursday October 1. Fighter Jets targeted militant cities of Lataminah and Kafr Zita in Hama and the northern town of Manara. The …

The Levant News – – Russia has struck eight ISIS targets in Syria, the country’s Defense Ministry said, adding that “civilian infrastructure” was avoided during the operations. “Today, Russian aerospace force jets delivered pinpoint strikes on eight ISIS terror group targets in Syria. In total, 20 flights were made,” spokesperson for …

The Levant News — Iran and Saudi Arabia sought to tone down a war of words over last week’s haj disaster, with Riyadh offering condolences to its regional rival over what Tehran said on Thursday were 464 Iranians killed in the crush near Mecca. Saudi and Iranian media said the message …

The Levant News — The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian air strikes in Syria were targeting a list of well-known terrorist organizations and that it was too early to say whether President Vladimir Putin was satisfied with the campaign so far. Speaking a day after Moscow launched a series of …

The Levant News — A showdown appears set between Akkar residents and authorities as Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb announced Wednesday that trucks would soon begin to haul Mount Lebanon trash to a waste disposal ground there. Source: The Daily Star

The Levant News — Government instability, poor infrastructure and corruption were among the reasons Lebanon was considered one of the worst performers in Global Competitiveness Index. Source: The Daily Star  

The Levant News — Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, plunging the four-year-old civil war into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to stake out influence in the unstable region. Moscow’s assertion that it had hit …

  THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE -Beirut – by Emily Holman —   Two days after my arrival in Lebanon in mid-July, and almost one month after the publication of Pope Francis’s most recent papal encyclical, Laudato Si’, collection of the nation’s rubbish reached a standstill. Activists and residents of environs surrounding …

The Levant News — One of the most common problems of people is obesity. It cannot just make you feel bad and uncomfortable, but it can greatly affect your health as you will be exposed to a higher risk of diseases. How can you be healthier and at the same time …

The Levant News — Police said Wednesday they had detained 44 people of different nationalities as they were trying to emigrate to Germany from the northern port of Tripoli. Source: Daily Star

The Levant News — A former NATO base has been attacked by Taliban extremists in the city of Baghlan, Afghanistan, according to reports on Twitter. A NATO spokesman also said alliance troops had engaged in combat with the Taliban near Kunduz airport. The news about the attack on the ex-base was …

The Levant News — The Russian Air Force has begun carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, the country’s Defense Ministry said. “In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, warplanes of the Russian Air Space Forces today [Wednesday] have started …