News

After weeks of negotiations Tunisia’s parliament voted in September for a second new government in just six months. The new government of Hichem Mechichi is unique in Tunisia’s history: not one party in parliament is represented in it. The vote was won after a diplomatic offensive behind the scenes by …

Iran has instructed its oil ministry to prepare installations for production and sale of crude oil at full capacity within three months, state media said on Sunday, ahead of a possible easing of U.S. sanctions after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. They quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying that Iran …

Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz will appear in a Geneva court next month to defend himself against corruption and forgery charges in connection with mining contracts in Guinea, his lawyer told Reuters in an exclusive news report. Steinmetz was indicted in August 2019 by a Geneva prosecutor who accused him and …

Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states must play a key role in any talks between the US and Iran to revive the deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, the Kingdom’s foreign minister said on Saturday. Joe Biden has indicated that when he takes office as US president next month …

Hundreds of Palestinians attended the funeral on Saturday of a teenager killed in clashes with the Israeli army, defying a curfew imposed on the occupied West Bank to stem the coronavirus. Ali Ayman Nasr Abu Aliya, 13, died on Friday after he was “shot with live rounds in the stomach” …

With the Republican majority at stake in Georgia’s Senate runoffs, President Trump returned to the campaign trail Saturday for the first time since last month’s presidential election. He held an evening rally in Valdosta, Ga., for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. By the Levant News newsdesk Trump described to …

In a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s administration, a judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to reopen to first-time applicants a program that protects from deportation and grants work permits to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who live in the United States unlawfully after arriving as children. The action …

Four years after the United States quit UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural agency, over accusations of anti-Israel bias, diplomats say the Paris-based body has managed to put its house in order, potentially easing the way for Washington’s return. The agency, founded in the ashes of World War Two to protect …

Lebanon’s security services revealed on Thursday that they had received information regarding a plot to destabilize the country through the assassination of public figures over the coming holiday period. During a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, the director-general of Lebanese General Security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, and his counterpart …

President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Somalia in the waning days of his presidency triggered dismay on Saturday from some Somalis, who appealed to the incoming U.S. president to reverse the decision. “The U.S. decision to pull troops out of Somalia at this critical stage in …

Bahrain will not allow the import of Israeli goods produced in settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, state news agency BNA reported, disavowing comments made by the Gulf state’s trade minister earlier this week. Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani had voiced openness to settlement imports, adding …

Kuwaitis headed to the polling stations to cast their vote as the polls for the National Assembly (parliament) elections opened at 8am. This is the first time that Kuwait has held parliamentary elections since 2016, excluding the 2019 by-elections that took place in only two districts to replace the seat …

Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified. The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, …

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah said on Friday that there had been “fruitful talks” toward resolving the Gulf crisis, achieving reconciliation and supporting regional stability and solidarity. The talks come within the framework of reconciliation efforts, previously led by the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, …

In May 2019, life was looking good for Palestinian singer-songwriter Rasha Nahas. She had begun to establish herself in Berlin — having moved there from her hometown of Haifa in 2017; her debut album — wrapped in 2018 — was just weeks away from being released; and she had a prospective …

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped France would soon get rid of President Emmanuel Macron, describing him as a burden on France which was going through dangerous times. Ties between Turkey and France, both NATO members, have been particularly tense in recent months over policy differences on …

Israel should stop engaging in activities that undermine peace with Palestine, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi said, reiterating the importance of the two-state solution in maintaining harmony in the region. Safadi, who was meeting his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi at the King Hussein Bridge Border crossing …

Iran is unlikely to retaliate over the assassination of a prominent nuclear scientist before the inauguration of Joe Biden in case it jeopardizes any future sanctions relief, the top U.S. envoy on Iran told Reuters on Thursday. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who had little public profile in Iran but had been named …

The top U.S. envoy on Venezuela called on the incoming Biden administration on Thursday to use the leverage he believes has been gained from years of tough sanctions aimed at ousting socialist President Nicolas Maduro and urged against offering him any “giveaways.” In an interview with Reuters, Elliott Abrams, President …

In a shocking new revelation from Infowars and The Gateway Pundit, the company that owns Dominion Voting Systems used in 30 states — Staple Street Capital — reportedly received $400 million in October 2020 from the Chinese. By Dick Morris The Gateway Pundit writes: “On Oct 8, 2020, Staple Street …

In yet another remarkable development in the US presidential election circus calls have been made this week for President Donald Trump to declare martial law and a new presidential election under the supervision of the US army. By Arthur Blok Retired General Michael Flynn, given a presidential pardon for his …

President Trump is once again charging that last month’s presidential election was rigged and rampant with fraud. In an address posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages that the president described as possibly “the most important speech, I’ve ever made.” By the Levant News newsdesk Trump charged that “lots of …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     I remember a time when a cabbage could sell itself by being a cabbage. Nowadays it’s no good being a cabbage – unless you have an agent and pay him a commission. Nothing is free anymore to sell itself or give itself away. …

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could designate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization this week, Al-Arabiya TV reported, citing the Washington Post. US National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien said earlier that the US had options to deal with the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. O’Brien added that Washington …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit staunch ally Azerbaijan on December 9 and 10, his office said Thursday, following a truce that ended fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The planned visit is the first by a foreign head of state to Baku since the ceasefire, which ended six …

Israel edged closer on Wednesday towards a fourth national election in two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main governing partner, Benny Gantz, backed an opposition move to dissolve parliament. Parliament gave preliminary approval to a dissolution bill, but the legislation needs to pass three as yet unscheduled votes to …

Iran’s Guardian Council watchdog body approved a law on Wednesday that obliges the government to halt U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites and step up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal if sanctions are not eased in two months. In retaliation for the killing last …

Israel received its most advanced warship on Wednesday, describing the German-made vessel dubbed “Shield” as a bulwark for vulnerable Mediterranean gas rigs as tensions with Tehran soar over the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist. The Saar-6 corvette that docked in Haifa port, and three of the same model …

The Pentagon has approved drawdown plans in Afghanistan that will still keep two larger bases in the country as officials carry out President Donald Trump’s orders to slash troop levels to 2,500 by Jan. 15, the top U.S. general said on Wednesday. Trump’s post-election decision last month to cut nearly …

According to new data, the U.S. currently ranks first in total COVID-19 cases, new cases per day and deaths. Genevieve Briand, assistant program director of the Applied Economics master’s degree program at Hopkins, critically analyzed the effect of COVID-19 on U.S. deaths using data from the Centers for Disease Control …

Russia and Belarus are expected to redefine their relations in the foreseeable future, primarily in terms of energy. After mass protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko erupted in August, following the controversial presidential election, the Eastern European country abandoned its multi-vector foreign policy and pushed for closer ties with Moscow. …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, “My country, right or wrong.” In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, …

Just hours after the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, Tehran demanded the United Nations Security Council condemn the killing and take action against those responsible, but diplomats say the call is likely to go unheeded. At a minimum, the 15-member body could discuss Friday’s killing of nuclear scientist …

Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs on Tuesday criticised Iran’s foreign minister for implicating Riyadh in the killing of prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. “Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif is desperate to blame the Kingdom for anything negative that happens in Iran. Will he blame us for the …

President Emmanuel Macron will seek to revive a French initiative on Lebanon when he hosts an international aid conference on Wednesday, but with the country’s fractious political class bickering, hopes of a breakthrough appear slim. Four months after a massive explosion that killed more than 200 people and destroyed swathes …

Top scientists have warned there is a ‘troubling lack of evidence’ that face masks prevent Covid-19 infection, after a major study in Denmark found they don’t protect people who wear them. By the Levant News newsdesk Governments around the world — including the UK — have made it mandatory to …

An unusual hum is heard and then just upon the horizon a door opens and a soldier steps into view holding a sign which reads, Angel, V, and The Beast. “I guess that means us.” Angel says. They board. “Where are we headed?” Angel asks. President Trump welcomes them aboard, …

Germany, France and Britain urged the Trump administration in late October to reconsider broad, new sanctions against Iran’s banks, arguing that the move would deter legitimate humanitarian trade and hurt the allies’ common interests, diplomatic correspondence shows. Germany’s Bundesbank also kept a multi-billion-euro deposit facility open for Iranian banks, including …

An air strike killed a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards at the Iraq-Syria border sometime between Saturday and Sunday, Iraqi security and local militia officials said on Monday. They could not confirm the identity of the commander, who they said was killed alongside three other men travelling in a vehicle …

Turkey ordered the detention of 82 military personnel in an operation targeting supporters of the Muslim preacher who Ankara says was behind a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday. Operations targeting the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen have continued under a four-year-long crackdown since …

A draft bill requiring Iran’s government to pursue uranium enrichment of 20%, and to disregard other restraints put on its nuclear programme by an accord reached with foreign powers in 2015 cleared its first hurdle in parliament on Tuesday. The legislation was proposed in the wake of the assassination of …

Twenty-nine arms control and human rights organizations have signed a letter opposing the sale of $23 billion worth of missiles, fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates and asking the U.S. Congress to block the deal. “The hope is to stop these sales altogether,” said Seth Binder, advocacy …

Maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, and U.S. mediators will now contact the two old foes separately, Israeli and Lebanese officials said on Monday. The negotiations were launched in October with delegations convening at a U.N. base to try to resolve a dispute …

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his team are headed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week for talks in a region simmering with tension after the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist. A senior administration official said on Sunday that Kushner is to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed …