AFTER an angry debate, the Israeli cabinet has endorsed a controversial bill declaring the country a Jewish state, a move that will alienate the Palestinian minority further and push the government closer to early elections. The bill affirms that Jewish law should inspire the Israeli legal system, and reserves other “national rights” for Jews, including […]
Syria: Minority militias stir fears of sectarian war
Damascus – For months, most of Syria’s minority sects stood warily on the sidelines of the revolt by the Sunni Muslim majority against President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite-dominated rule. But in Damascus, neighborhood vigilante groups are arming themselves in Christian, Druze and Shi’ite Muslim areas,
Syria’s Zoubi assails Egyptian and Turkish leaders
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Syria’s top government spokesman declared Monday that the refugees fleeing its borders were welcome back “at any time,” mocked the presidents of Egypt and Turkey for their condemnations and called the armed opposition unfit for negotiations. The spokesman — Omran al-Zoubi, the minister of information