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Israel struck targets in southern Syria on Wednesday in the third such attack in nearly 10 days, state TV reported as military defectors said the missiles targeted Iranian revolutionary guard bases. A military spokesman said missiles flying over the Golan Heights targeted several locations and air defences downed several missiles. …

As the Senate reconvened to count electoral votes, multiple Republican senators reversed course and said they won’t object to congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Their change of heart came after a violent mob stormed the US Capitol earlier Wednesday and interrupted their proceedings. One person was fatally shot. …

Congress on Wednesday met to certify the Electoral College vote, but was forced to go into lockdown as the Capitol Building was hit by violence from protesters and reports of suspicious packages. The Levant News newsdesk Protesters from a pro-Trump rally descended on the Capitol, clashing with police and leading …

President Trump early Wednesday put the pressure on Vice President Pence, saying that if he “comes through for us” and decertifies the Electoral College, he will “win the presidency.” “If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency,” Trump tweeted. “Many States want to decertify the …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     “We are what we are because we have been what we have been, and what is needed for solving the problems of human life and motives is not moral estimates but more knowledge.” — Freud   “A woman is a mystery to guide …

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Israel to provide coronavirus vaccine doses to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, saying the Jewish state was obligated to do so under international law. The Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, which is home to some 2.8 million Palestinians, has …

A series of phishing messages about the newly released coronavirus vaccine has cybersecurity experts cautioning Saudi citizens to take increased care when it comes to their private data. The messages, which appear to come from official government email addresses, use the Health Ministry COVID-19 vaccine center registration as a hook …

Syria’s former permanent representative to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, drew on his nation’s literary heritage during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday. He addressed the council as its members discussed the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people, and its failure to comply with …

The United States on Tuesday blacklisted a Chinese company that makes elements for steel production, 12 Iranian steel and metals makers and three foreign-based sales agents of an Iranian metals and mining holding company, seeking to deprive Iran of revenues as U.S. President Donald Trump’s term winds down. The U.S. …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     Lieutenant Commander Data: “I wonder. What would Dr. Freud say about the symbolism of devouring oneself?” Counselor Deanna Troi:  “Data – sometimes a cake is just a cake.” — Star Trek: TNG, “Phantasms”, S07E06   “I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t …

Oil prices rose on Wednesday to their highest since February 2020 after Saudi Arabia agreed to reduce output more than expected in a meeting with allied producers, while industry figures showed U.S. crude stockpiles were down last week. Brent crude rose as much as nearly 1% to $54.09 a barrel, …

Egypt has urged the need for an agreement “at the earliest possible time” with Sudan and Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) ahead of the second phase of its operation. The three countries have agreed to bilateral meetings with experts to negotiate the filling of the dam’s reservoir. …

The European Commission said on Tuesday it regretted that Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact, but believed that the accord was worth saving. “We are highly concerned by the measures taken by Iran. This action is in breach of Iran’s …

Iran launched exercises featuring a wide array of domestically produced drones on Tuesday, Iranian media reported, days after the anniversary of the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general by a drone strike in Iraq. Iran and the regional forces it backs have increasingly relied in recent years on drones …

As Tunisia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of January, the timing could not be more apt. It comes as the North African nation celebrates the 10th anniversary of “the revolution of freedom and dignity,” in the words of Tarek Ladeb, the country’s permanent representative …

Venezuela’s ruling socialist party on Tuesday will install a congress controlled by allies of President Nicolas Maduro, a change in control that many Western nations have assailed as the product of a fraudulent election. The country’s opposition, led by Juan Guaido, who has served as speaker of parliament since 2019, …

Saudi Arabia reopened its airspace and land and sea borders with Qatar on Monday, in a breakthrough agreement aimed at ending the three-year diplomatic dispute with Doha. The full deal is expected to be signed on Tuesday at the annual summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in the northwestern …

South Korea’s foreign ministry is reviewing whether a senior diplomat would be visiting Tehran on Sunday as planned, an official said, after Iranian forces seized a South Korean-flagged chemical tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew. The incident comes amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen …

Julian Assange is “free to return home” to Australia once legal challenges against him are dealt with, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, after a UK court denied a request to extradite the Wikileaks founder to the United States. A British judge on Monday blocked the extradition request by …

Russia and Turkey – both partners and opponents – are reportedly negotiating the fate of the strategically important town of Ain Issa in northern Syria. An area currently controlled by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). By Nikola Mikovic Moscow demands from the Kurds to hand over the town to …

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew, Iranian media said on Monday, amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions. Seoul confirmed the seizure of a South Korean chemical tanker by …

Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, the government said on Monday, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact with major powers and possibly complicating efforts by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the deal. Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Iran’s arch foe Israel, said the move was …

Israel’s defence minister said on Monday that he wants the country to buy a third squadron of stealth F-35 warplanes from the United States, and that he hoped a deal could be clinched before President Donald Trump steps down on Jan. 20. Israel has been in talks with Washington on …

Lebanese reacted angrily on Sunday to an Iranian commander’s remarks about their missile capabilities and sovereignty, with people in a pro-Hezbollah town attempting to burn a picture of the slain Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani. Amir Ali Hajizadeh boasted on Saturday that Lebanon owed its missile capabilities to Iran and …

Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on Sunday that killed 11 miners from Pakistan’s minority Shi’ite Hazaras in Baluchistan province. The attack took place early on Sunday morning in the Mach area of Bolan district around 100 kms southeast of Baluchistan’s capital Quetta, killing the miners who were in …

Israeli prosecutors on Sunday released an amended indictment spelling out detailed charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a corruption case in which he is accused of trading favors with a powerful media mogul. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three corruption cases. …

President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording of the …

At least nine Syrian army soldiers were killed on Sunday in an ambush on their bus on a main highway in the central Syrian desert in the second such incident in less than a week by suspected Islamic State militants, residents and defectors said. Syrian state media earlier said six …

Global Youth Ambassador Rakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh is eager to make the world post-Corona in 2021 a better place to live in. The young Author, Entrepreneur, and Youth Leader from Asia is determined in his quest to do so. By the Levant News newsdesk Rakib is not your ordinary …

A six-person team that included Rudy Giuliani and Peter Navarro on Saturday briefed hundreds of state lawmakers on evidence of election irregularities. The Zoom meeting included hundreds of legislators across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Navarro, the White House director of trade and manufacturing policy, said during an …

Singapore’s AnyMind Group has launched a new influencer marketing service in the Middle East. Founded in April 2016, AnyTag is a platform that allows marketers to hire more than 180,000 influencers for their marketing campaigns — from “micro users” with a small group of followers to top celebrities with over …

Members of the Libyan Dialogue Forum called on the United Nations Security Council to prevent all forms of foreign armed presence and expel mercenaries and foreign bases from Libya. In a statement published by Africa News, 36 out of 74 members called on all Libyan political elites to work together …

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out Monday whether he can be extradited from the UK to the US to face espionage charges over the publication of secret American military documents. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser is due to deliver her decision at London’s Old Bailey courthouse at 10 a.m. Monday. …

An Israeli official on Sunday dismissed as “nonsense” an allegation by the Iranian foreign minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into waging war on Iran. It was Israel that needed to be on alert for possible Iranian strikes on the one-year anniversary on Sunday of the …

Afghan media workers on Saturday called on the government for more protection, a day after a sixth journalist was killed in the country in less than two months. Bismillah Adil Aimaq, editor in chief of Sada-e-Ghor radio station, was shot dead by gunmen near Firoz Koh, the capital of Ghor …

Two car bombings in separate parts of Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria killed six people on Saturday, including children, a war monitor said. In the first, a car bomb near a vegetable market killed five people including two children in the border town of Ras Al-Ain, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory …

A mock funeral procession in Iraq marked the one-year anniversary of the US drone strike near Baghdad that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and top Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. Thousands of mourners joined the march on the highway leading to the Baghdad airport Saturday evening where the …

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Vice President Mike Pence said he welcomes efforts by lawmakers to challenge Electoral College results in the upcoming congressional joint session on Jan. 6, when the votes are formally counted, according to a statement sent by his chief of staff to reporters. Vice President Chief of Staff Marc Short issued …

A group of 11 senators on Saturday announced they’re going to challenge electoral votes during the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress. The Levant News newsdesk “America is a Republic whose leaders are chosen in democratic elections. Those elections, in turn, must comply with the Constitution and with federal and …

The Celebrity Lebanese psychic Michel Hayek included Jordan in his 2021 predictions saying the Kingdom will become an important investment hub that would contribute to reviving the economic situation. He also predicted that Jordan would have a huge role in the issue of world peace and confronting a massive terrorist …

Georgia election data indicates 17,650 votes were switched from President Donald Trump to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, data scientists testified on Wednesday during a state Senate hearing. The Levant News newsdesk A team led by Lynda McLaughlin, along with data scientists Justin Mealey and Dave Lobue, presented the results …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday not to be “trapped” by an alleged Israeli plan to provoke a war through attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. He issued the warning on the anniversary of the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani …

The Saudi Space Commission (SCC) is counting down to announce a set of preparatory partnerships to help propel the Kingdom’s role in the space sector, the agency’s chairman, Prince Sultan bin Salman, has revealed. Once an integrated project proposal has been completed, it will be submitted to the Saudi government …