French lawmakers are set to vote on Tuesday to call on the government to recognize Palestine, a symbolic move that will not immediately affect France’s diplomatic stance but demonstrates growing European impatience with a stalled peace process. While most developing countries recognize Palestine as a state, most Western European countries do not, supporting the Israeli […]
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy wins leadership of the centre-right UMP
Nicolas Sarkozy has won the leadership of the centre-right UMP party, in a victory widely seen as a first step in a plan to return to the French presidency in 2017. The 59-year-old former president, who announced his political comeback in September after two years in the wings, claimed 64.5 per cent of the votes […]
Push for Palestinian statehood grows in Europe
France has become the latest country in Europe to consider recognizing the state of Palestine. With a non-binding vote getting under way Friday, its National Assembly is following the lead of four other European nations that have taken similar steps. By Sara Miller Llana, As France’s National Assembly began debating a non-binding vote on recognizing […]
63 % of French people support a Palestinian state, poll
France warned on Friday it would recognize a Palestinian state if an international effort to overcome the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians failed, and proposed a two-year timeframe to end the conflict through a U.N.-backed resolution. Lawmakers will hold a symbolic parliamentary vote on Dec. 2 on whether the French government should recognize Palestine as […]
French delegation in Lebanon to finalize weapons needed by army
A 30 member French delegation of state and military officials is in Lebanon to finalize the list of military equipment that should be provided by France under the $3 billion Saudi Arabian grant that was finalized earlier this month, An-Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday An-Nahar revealed that the list of equipment includes two kinds of […]
6 more French fighter jets join fight against ISIS
France’s defense minister said Wednesday the country will send an additional six fighter jets to aid the battle against extremists from the Islamic State group, Reuters news agency reported. Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the reinforcements in comments to the French parliament. The French Defense Ministry says there are 12 French aircraft already in the region […]
Islamic State video fuels concerns about foreign jihadis
Several of the jihadis appearing in a new Islamic State video of the beheadings of a dozen captives, including American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, appear to be French and British. The European residence of the jihadis is likely to add further pressure on European governments to crack down on their citizens fighting in the Middle […]
Briton, Frenchman seen in Islamic State video of beheadings
A British medical student and a Frenchman who went to Syria last year are believed to have appeared in a video showing a squad of Islamic State jihadists beheading Syrian soldiers and displaying the severed head of American aid worker Peter Kassig. Ahmed Muthana told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper his 20-year-old son, Nasser Muthana, appeared […]
Syrian Druze shifting support to the opposition
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Members of Syria’s Druze community, a small but significant religious minority, are joining the opposition in bigger numbers, ramping up pressure on the beleaguered government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to opposition activists and rebel military commanders.
Europeans Warned to Evacuate Libya’s Benghazi
Several European governments urged their citizens to evacuate the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in response to what the U.K. described as “a specific and imminent threat to Westerners,” highlighting jitters in the region after last week’s deadly hostage siege at a natural-gas facility in Algeria.