The black flag of ISIS flies over government buildings. Police cars carry the group’s insignia. The local football stadium is used for public executions. A town in Syria or Iraq? No. A city on the coast of the Mediterranean, in Libya. Fighters loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are now in complete […]
Libya Crackdown on Lebanese with Iranian visas
Reports that Libya has banned foreigners with Iranian visas in their passports from entering the country appear to be only partly true. An immigration official at Tripoli International Airport said that the ban applies solely to Lebanese passport holders with Iranian visas
Clinton bids farewell to the U.S. State Department
Hillary Clinton gave her final speech as secretary of state on Friday, thanking employees at the State Department in an emotional goodbye and pledging to them that she “will be an advocate from outside” for the work that they do.
The all-female militias of Syria, report
BEIRUT – The Syrian regime is arming and training Syrian women to fight for President Bashar al-Assad, putting it out in front of the Pentagon when it comes to sending women to the front lines. A video posted on Russia Today’s Arabic channel from the central city of Homs shows dozens of women in combat […]
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.
Assad’s speech echoes Gaddafi’s final desperate rallies
It was the first time in two years of revolution we have seen support for the Syrian leader so choreographed, accompanied by such fist-pumping chants from the audience. Even the slogans were the same as the slain Libyan dictator: “God, Syria, Bashar, enough”.
US State Dept Faulted in Libya Attack
The US State Department suffered from “systemic failures” in its response to the terrorist threat in Benghazi, Libya, and had insufficient numbers of security on the ground, according to an independent panel investigating the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate there.
Syria, world’s deadliest place for journalist
Twenty-eight journalists have been killed in Syria this year, making the country the world’s deadliest place to be a reporter, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Nearly half of all the journalists killed worldwide in 2012 were slain in Syria, including top foreign
Covert US plan to arm rebels, report
According to a report in The Sunday Times , The United States is launching a covert operation to send weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time as it ramps up military efforts to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Lebanon banks target Iraq, Libya as home market stalls
Lebanon’s biggest bank, Bank Audi , will launch operations in Iraq next year and its rival Byblos Bank is to enter the Libyan market as both contend with a flagging domestic economy.