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Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area. France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to …

Turkey and Egypt could negotiate and sign a maritime demarcation deal in the eastern Mediterranean if their ties, which have been strained, allow for such a move, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. Ties between them have been frosty since Egypt’s army ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Mursi, …

The US Department of Commerce is preparing to tax aluminum sheet exporters from 18 countries after determining Tuesday they had benefited from subsidies and dumping. The US International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent body, must approve the final decision by April 15 to impose anti-dumping or countervailing duties, a department …

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Tuesday that new sanctions imposed by the United States were evidence of a “hostile anti-Russian lunge” and said it would retaliate to what it described as another blow to U.S.-Russia ties. In President Joe Biden’s most direct challenge yet to the Kremlin, …

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two military leaders of the Houthi movement in Yemen, accusing them of procuring weapons from Iran and organizing attacks, in the Biden administration’s first punitive action against the group. The sanctions contrast with the State Department’s decision last month to revoke terrorist …

Several rockets landed on Wednesday at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base that hosts United States, coalition and Iraqi forces, two security sources said. No casualties have been reported so far, the sources said. It was the second rocket attack in Iraq this month and came two days before Pope Francis …

Gunfire broke out in south Beirut on Tuesday night when Hezbollah fought off an apparent attempt by Lebanese security forces to arrest the man convicted of assassinating former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The Levant News newsdesk Information circulating on social media said officers tried to raid a house thought to …

Israel estimates that hundreds of its citizens might be subject to war crimes probes by the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction it rejects, and is working on how to protect them, the Defence Minister said on Tuesday. Including himself among Israelis who could be threatened with arrest, Benny Gantz told …

Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has accused Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and several top officials of committing crimes against humanity in a criminal complaint filed in Germany. The 500-page complaint, filed on Monday with the German Public Prosecutor General in the Karlsruhe federal court, includes …

China has pledged to deliver 400,000 doses of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine to Afghanistan, Afghan officials said on Monday, in a boost for an immunisation campaign begun last week. “China’s ambassador to Kabul said in a meeting with health officials that his country would provide Afghanistan with 400,000 doses of COVID-19 …

Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area. France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a “disappointing” $1.7 billion had been pledged by countries on Monday for humanitarian aid in Yemen – less than half the $3.85 billion the world body was seeking for 2021 to avert a large-scale famine. “For most people, life in Yemen is now unbearable. Childhood …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran. The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a …

Britain, France and Germany are pressing ahead with a U.S.-backed plan for a resolution by the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board criticising Iran for curbing cooperation with the agency, despite Russian and Iranian warnings of serious consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors is holding a quarterly meeting …

The United States is focused on “future conduct” of Saudi Arabia and will expect Riyadh to improve its human rights record, a U.S. spokesman said on Monday, after Washington imposed sanctions on some Saudis for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but fell short of sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince …

How to be Truly Christian or Muslim The Usury problem solved. * All the Federal Reserve notes being returned to those from whom they were borrowed, the debt paid in full. Finally the endless interest accumulation on all of the hidden US paper dollars will end. That will be a …

A U.N. human rights investigator said on Monday that it was “extremely dangerous” for the United States to have named Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler as having approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi but not to have taken action against him. Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on …

The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a US government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of …

Uzbekistan’s economic freedom score is 57.2, making its economy the 114th freest in the 2020 Index. Its overall score has increased by 3.9 points due to higher scores for investment freedom, financial freedom, and property rights. Uzbekistan is ranked 26th among 42 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall …

Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and other major powers to discuss ways to salvage the unravelling 2015 nuclear deal, insisting Washington must first lift all its unilateral sanctions. “Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, …

China, under growing global pressure over its treatment of a Muslim minority in its far west, is mounting an unprecedented and aggressive campaign to push back, including explicit attacks on women who have made claims of abuse. As allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang mount, with a growing number …

Jordanian officials have denounced the Israeli government’s decision to allow 230 radical Jews to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday. The radicals were celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim and had called the day earlier to hold  “carnival”  festivities on this holiday, which is often celebrated with Jews wearing costumes …

The diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Tehran has escalated following the latest statement from Iran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi, who reiterated an opposition to Turkish military intervention in Iraq, a new move that highlights a broader rivalry between the two countries in the region. “Turkish forces should not pose …

Former President Donald Trump delivered his first major speech after leaving office, charting a path forward for the Republican Party and conservatives but suggesting that he might run in 2024. By the Levant News newsdesk “Democrats should suffer withering losses in the midterms and to lose the White House decisively …

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the stage at the world’s largest energy conference in 2019 to declare an age of U.S. dominance after a decade of rapid shale development made the United States the world’s top oil and gas producer. Two years later, the oil industry is …

Saudi Aramco has asked banks to extend by a year a $10 billion loan it raised last May, two sources familiar with the matter said, suggesting that rebounding crude prices are not pushing the oil giant to reduce debt for the time being. The sources confirmed a report by Loan …

A haven for humans craving furry feline company, a cat cafe in Dubai also doubles as an adoption centre for some of the United Arab Emirates’ many strays. The Ailuromania Cat Cafe, which was the Middle East’s first cat cafe when it opened in 2015, hopes the relaxing properties of …

Saudi Arabia is offering to transport “green” hydrogen by pipeline to Europe in the next stage of the Kingdom’s strategy to combat climate change. “If Europe would like to buy more hydrogen, Saudi green hydrogen, we would be more than happy, and even, if the economics allow for it, even …

Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the U.S.-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any …

Darth Vader, Bruce Lee and Elie Ferzli – only a couple of the many of crossover meme’s Lebanese social media users created following the Lebanese MP and deputy speaker’s meltdowns on television earlier this week. Ferzli found himself going viral and becoming the meme of the moment after losing his …

Hundreds of Yemeni families trapped inside their camps in Marib province by Iran-backed Houthis are being used as a human shield against government forces, a Yemen government unit has claimed. In a report seen by Arab News on Saturday, the internationally recognized government’s Executive Unit for IDP Camps said that …

In Mosul, adjacent to the Biblical city of Nineveh, four churches representing different denominations occupy a small square surrounded by low-rise houses, testament to the role Iraq’s once flourishing Christian community played. Today, all four churches are either damaged or destroyed after Islamic State militants occupied the city from 2014-2017, …

President Joe Biden on Saturday said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday, following a U.S. intelligence report that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Biden administration has faced some criticism, notably an editorial in the Washington …

Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday his “initial assessment” was that Iran was responsible for an explosion on an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. The ship, a vehicle-carrier named MV Helios Ray, suffered an explosion between Thursday and Friday morning. A U.S. defence official in Washington …

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi said Saturday that his calls for a UN-sponsored international conference for Lebanon are meant to face a “coup situation” in the country. “Our calls for a UN-sponsored international conference are to face a coup situation. Leaving the situation as it is while the state collapses and …

As avid readers of The Levant News you no doubt know the poetry columns we publish by Russell Morris (Angel’s section). Morris is an American author who started out life in medical technology only to move to marketing and then to declare an all out war against the evils of …

The world reacted to the release on Friday of a U.S. intelligence assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi: OFFICE OF U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved …

Academics at the University of Bristol have urged it to abide by academic freedom and resist firing one of its lecturers, David Miller, who has been accused of anti-Semitism. A professor of political sociology, Miller said Israel wants to “impose its will all over the world,” and it is “fundamental …

The International Monetary Fund urged Tunisia on Friday to cut its wage bill and limit energy subsidies to reduce a fiscal deficit, putting more pressure on the fragile government amid a severe financial and political crisis. With the coronavirus pandemic, political infighting and protests since last month over social inequality, …

The Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans on Friday targeting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. U.S. President Joe Biden’s actions in the first weeks of his administration appear aimed at …

At least five protesters were killed and more than 175 people injured on Friday in clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, a Reuters witness and other sources said. Among the fatalities, most died from bullet wounds, a hospital source said, adding that about …

Syria said U.S. air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the east of the country on Friday were a cowardly act and urged President Joe Biden not to follow “the law of the jungle”. An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four. U.S. …

An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the …

Indonesian authorities said on Friday that firearms and ammunition have been found on an Iranian supertanker, one of the two vessels seized in the country’s waters over a suspected illegal oil transfer last month. The Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya were impounded by the Maritime Security Agency …