-
2009-09-30
Iran tested its longest-range missiles on Sept. 28, and warned that they could reach any place that threatened their country, including parts of Europe and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
-
2009-09-30
Saudi officials have tightened security measures and are monitoring the border with Yemen more closely after Al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and the Arabian peninsula issued simultaneous video recordings vowing to carry out more attacks in the kingdom.
-
2009-09-30
Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills by the elite Revolutionary Guard on Sept. 27, a show of force coming just days after the West warned Tehran about a newly-revealed underground nuclear facility Iran was secretly constructing.
-
2009-09-30
Of the 468 new hotels planned or under construction in the Middle East and North Africa, 54 are in the UAE, with 47 percent of all rooms.
-
2009-09-30
Umm Salal’s captain has referred to his team’s win over Seoul as a “well-deserved victory,” noting that the players never gave up. The return match, however, will provide the Qatari team with even greater challenges.
-
2009-09-30
Egyptian fans are anticipating three weeks of soccer heaven as the Under-20 World Cup kicks off. The Young Pharaohs are hoping to beat the more established Brazil and Cameroon teams.
-
2009-09-29
American entertainers Beyoncé and Aerosmith will perform at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, one of a series of Formula One races to be held in late October.
-
2009-09-29
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended celebrations marking the opening of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University and the kingdom’s 79th National Day.
-
2009-09-29
Internal security forces in Lebanon reported that State Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani was the target of a failed suicide mission on Sept. 21, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr.
-
2009-09-29
Music filled the air in the UAE recently, as Arab stars sang in celebration of the end of Ramadan.
-
2009-09-28
More than one million Syrians have been affected by severe drought in the Fertile Crescent, while trilateral talks between Syria, Turkey and Iraq ended without agreement on the distribution of water from the Euphrates River.
-
2009-09-28
Head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) Ammar al-Hakim called for political unity at a critical time, with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki facing a tough political battle against his former Shiite allies.
-
2009-09-28
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called for an international tribunal to investigate the bomb attacks in Baghdad last August that killed 96 and injured 600 people.
-
2009-09-26
Heavy and unexpected rains in Lebanon have damaged field crops and greenhouses in a number of regions throughout the country and flooded homes in the Choueyaafat area.
-
2009-09-26
With U.S. President Barack Obama in the chair at an unprecedented meeting of the UN Security Council, major world powers on Sept. 24 endorsed his goal of a nuclear weapons-free world and pledged to strengthen the shaky international system for preventing the spread of nuclear arms.
-
2009-09-26
Eighty civilians were recently reported killed in a government air strike on suspected Hawthi rebel positions in the north of the country.
-
2009-09-26
With the continued spread of swine flu across the Middle East and North Africa, a 70-year-old man has died of the virus in Kuwait, while Egypt declared that all international schools in the country will remain closed until Oct. 3.
-
2009-09-26
Two fires recently erupted in Abu Dhabi leaving a number of men homeless, and in Sharjah killing three children and their grandmother.
-
2009-09-26
published an article by Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah stating that Iran's policy of exporting the Islamic Revolution is aimed at taking over the neighboring countries and plundering their wealth.
-
2009-09-25
Pressure on Iran increased on Sept. 25, when the world's eight top economic powers gave Tehran until the year's end to stop enriching uranium or face new sanctions. However, resistance from China could undermine their effort.
-
2009-09-25
Jordan has nominated Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, one of the kingdom's largest and most beautiful desert areas, to be declared a UNESCO world heritage site.
-
2009-09-25
The International Atomic Energy Agency has adopted a resolution drafted by 18 Arab member-states on Israel’s nuclear capability.
-
2009-09-25
Al-Safa are the champions of the Lebanese football season, having beaten Al-Ahad 2-1 to win the Elite Cup.
-
2009-09-25
Armed with the disclosure of a secret Iranian nuclear facility, the leaders of France, the U.K., and the U.S. demanded on Sept. 25 that Tehran fully disclose its nuclear ambitions "or be held accountable" to an impatient world community.
-
2009-09-25
Cricket fans in the United Arab Emirates are eagerly awaiting informal coaching assistance for their national team from British cricket star Andrew Flintoff as he recovers from a sports injury in Dubai.
-
2009-09-25
Al-Qaeda has threatened further attacks inside Saudi Arabia following a suicide bomber's failed attempt to kill Riyadh's deputy Interior Minister last month.
-
2009-09-25
Somalia's Al-Shebab group proclaimed its allegiance to Osama bin Laden in a video released on Sept. 21, the latest evidence of Al-Qaeda's growing ideological influence among Somali Islamists.
-
2009-09-24
Suspected Taliban militants bombed a primary school on the outskirts of Peshawar on Sept. 22, underscoring their disregard for the Taliban 'Code of Conduct' issued in July that forbids attacks on civilians.
-
2009-09-24
High-level delegations from 143 countries recently met for five days to examine sensitive nuclear issues, with Iran and Syria at the top of the agenda.
-
2009-09-24
The Islamic Republic of Iran displayed its third-generation Sejjil homemade ballistic missile in a military parade on Sept. 22, the local Fars news agency reported.
-
2009-09-24
Iraq refuses to attend any further meetings with Syria after Syrian officials refused to accept a list of the names of militants hiding in Syria who are wanted by Iraq in connection with a recent wave of bombings.
-
2009-09-24
After his brother was badly injured in a car accident, Khalid al-Shammari invented a system that prevents drivers from starting their engines until their seatbelts are fastened.
-
2009-09-24
Syria’s permanent UN representative rejected UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s response to his request to call investigator Detlev Mehlis and his aide, Gerhard Lehmann, to account.
-
2009-09-23
The Turkey-Iraq Strategic Cooperation Council recently held its first minister’s meeting to discuss strategies of strengthening bilateral security and economic cooperation and generating greater stability in the Middle East.
-
2009-09-23
Syria and Turkey have agreed to establish a pioneering model for high-level strategic cooperation.
-
2009-09-23
Just one week after resigning from the office of Prime Minister of Lebanon, the March 14 Alliance re-nominated prominent Sunni politician Saad Al-Hariri. Representing the parliamentary majority, the Alliance has given him another opportunity to organise a national unity government.
-
2009-09-23
MBC, the leading TV satellite broadcaster in the Middle East, concluded an agreement with Paramount Pictures, a major U.S. film production and distribution company.
-
2009-09-23
Saudi Al-Nasr Club defeated Oman’s Al-Sur in the Group B opening round of the 25th GCC Club Championship,
-
2009-09-22
Former Syrian officer Mohammad Al-Siddiq resurfaced in the UAE, a year after disappearing from his home in Paris. He now faces trial in Abu Dhabi on charges of entering the country with forged documents, allegedly for self-protection. He is wanted by Lebanese and Syrian authorities for his suspected involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.
-
2009-09-22
Three refugee boats capsized within 48 hours in the Gulf of Aden, leaving 31 dead and another 98 missing.
-
2009-09-22
Mamdouh Ramzi knows the presidential election battle will be tough, but he challenges those who doubt a Christian can govern an Islamic state, saying that he is an Egyptian national first and foremost and therefore qualified to run for the office.
-
2009-09-22
Sept. 20 marked the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, celebrated by Eid al-Fitr. The traditions of this three-day feast vary from country to country, but are overall very similar.
-
2009-09-22
The United States Army has announced the closure of Iraq’s largest detention centre, with housed a range of detainees, from petty thieves to notorious militants.
-
2009-09-22
Despite the economic slump, Lebanon still lures Arab investment capital, thanks to its positive business climate.
-
2009-09-22
Iranian nuclear energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi agreed to new terms of cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog that is investigating Tehran’s nuclear activities, according to a top Iranian official in Vienna on Sept. 15.
-
2009-09-21
Sharp words were exchanged when Syrian and Iraqi security delegations met in Ankara for talks mediated by Turkey.
-
2009-09-21
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied on Sept.18 in defiance of Iran's Islamic leadership, clashing with police and confronting state-run anti-Israel rallies.
-
2009-09-21
Syrian authorities have blocked internet users in Syria from accessing the popular website Facebook because it allows Israeli settlers in the Golan Heights to list Israel as their place of residence.
-
2009-09-21
Kuwait's Al-Arabi and Iraq's Erbil clubs are poised to qualify for the semi-finals of the Asian Confederation Cup tournament. Each played on opposing teams' soil and tied with Syria's Al-Karamah and Kuwait's Al-Kuwait clubs, respectively.
-
2009-09-21
Yemen claims it has proof that Shiite groups in Iran and Iraq are funding Hawthi rebels in the north of the country.
-
2009-09-19
The escalating war of words with Syria, considered by many an attempt by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to avoid being blamed for the recent surge in violence in Iraq, is not working in his favour.
-
2009-09-19
Jordan’s Atomic Energy Agency recently signed an agreement with Belgian company Traktabl Engineering to conduct a field survey of the site chosen for the country’s first nuclear power plant, scheduled to be built in 2012 and in operation by 2022.
-
2009-09-19
With the end of the holy month of Ramadan approaching, Saudi King Abdullah has announced that US$312 million will be distributed to low-income families to cover their Eid Al-Fitr expenses.
-
2009-09-19
Abu Dhabi environmental officials confirmed that 18,000 flamingos were discovered in the Bu Sayayif water reserve.
-
2009-09-19
Foreigners in the UAE may soon be able to own 100 percent of their businesses; the most they can currently own is 49 percent.
-
2009-09-18
U.S. Special Forces helicopters attacked a car in southern Somalia on Sept. 14, killing one of east Africa's most wanted Al-Qaeda militants.
-
2009-09-18
Schoolchildren are celebrating the government's decision to delay the start of school by another week. Health officials say the government will use the extra time to further contain the H1N1 virus. It is feared that the return of pilgrims from Umrah may trigger an increase in the number of cases.
-
2009-09-18
Despite the determined efforts of the Yemeni government, children's rights organisations and other social groups to ban the marriage of children, a 12-year-old girl died after three days in labour.
-
2009-09-18
The 2009 Youth World Cup for players younger than 20 (U-20) kicks off on Sept. 24 with Egypt playing against Trinidad & Tobago.
-
2009-09-18
Salah Ezzedine, his partner and five others have been charged with fraud and embezzlement of investors to the tune of nearly US$1 billion in a Ponzi scheme.
-
2009-09-18
Passengers can look forward to lower airfares under a new partnership between Egypt’s pioneering travel group, Travco, and the UAE’s Air Arabia.
-
2009-09-17
Egyptian cinema legend Omar Sharif received accolades from audiences and critics at the 2009 Venice Film Festival for his new film, Al-Musafer.
-
2009-09-17
Al-Ahly is hoping to defeat hosts Al-Masri of Port Said on Sept. 16 to retain the top spot in the Premier League for the sixth successive year.
-
2009-09-17
During its first two days of operation, 110,000 passengers, or ten percent of Dubai's population, used Dubai's new metro.
-
2009-09-17
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden appears to be a man weakened under pressure in his latest message addressed directly to the American people, analysts said on Sept. 14.
-
2009-09-17
Two Grad rockets fired in the direction of Nahariya in northern Israel from the district of Tyre have raised tensions in the border region between Lebanon and Israel.
-
2009-09-17
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Sept. 10 that it will not change its production quotas.
-
2009-09-16
The United Arab Emirates has increased its security in recent months as violence in Yemen, which can potentially spread to Saudi Arabia, threatens to destabilise the entire Gulf region.
-
2009-09-16
The Syrian and Iraqi Ministers of Foreign Affairs recently met in Cairo in an attempt to calm the escalating tensions between the neighbouring states. Sources suggest that the talks were heated and did not produce an agreement.
-
2009-09-16
The Bahraini media is celebrating its national team’s victory over Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Derby, which qualifies Bahrain to compete for an additional fifth slot in the World Cup finals.
-
2009-09-16
At least 30 people were killed within 24 hours on Sept. 9 and 10, following a series of car bomb explosions and a suicide bombing in a town just outside of Mosul.
-
2009-09-16
Political developments in Lebanon accelerated after Saad al-Hariri, who was charged with forming a government, presented his cabinet to President Michel Suleiman, who declined to accept it. Al-Hariri then stepped down from his position as designated Prime Minister.
-
2009-09-15
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman will address the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 25.
-
2009-09-15
Four men arrested in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy compound in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa were carrying hand grenades, machine guns and several rounds of ammunition.
-
2009-09-15
Zain Telecom is currently in talks to sell 46 percent of its shares to unnamed investors.
-
2009-09-15
Hezbollah is trying to distance itself from Salah Ezzedine, a businessman arrested for operating a Ponzi scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from his clients.
-
2009-09-15
After tying in the second game of the ‘Gulf Derby’ on Sept. 9, Bahrain qualified to face New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania play-off for a spot in the FIFA 2010 World Cup final.
-
2009-09-14
Describing the global financial crisis as nothing more than a 'passing cloud', Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum told business leaders in Dubai that the private sector and government must unite to overcome the effects of the crisis.
-
2009-09-14
On World Literacy Day, officials in Lebanon and Jordan called attention to the importance of combating illiteracy to promote social development, and suggested activities to strengthen and encourage literacy among the young and old.
-
2009-09-14
The leaders of the two countries met during Jordanian King Abdullah’s short visit to Abu Dhabi, UAE’s capital, to discuss strategies of improving bilateral cooperation. The two discussed challenges the region faces, particularly with respect to the Middle East peace process, to which both stressed strong commitment.
-
2009-09-14
On Sept. 9, the Dubai Metro ran its first train on the Red Line. The metro system will later expand to include other lines.
-
2009-09-14
Fawwaz al-Otaibi, the latest militant to surrender to Saudi officials, claims Al-Qaeda is suffering a financial crisis. A lack of funds is preventing effective recruitment and training, and has generated widespread disillusionment about jihad among young radicals.
-
2009-09-12
Prime Minister-elect Saad Al-Hariri has referred the matter of the formation of the Lebanese government to President Michel Suleiman.
-
2009-09-12
The Saudi Ministry of the Interior announced that one of the kingdom’s 85 “most wanted” has turned himself in, saying that he is prepared to renounce violence.
-
2009-09-12
The Omani economy is climbing out of the global financial crisis. According to a new report from the Kuwait-based Global Investment House, annual inflation in Oman is expected to dip to 8 percent in light of the drop in oil prices and imports.
-
2009-09-12
Iraq has taken another step to expand the conflict with Syria, deploying thousands of security and police forces to the Iraqi-Syrian border in what it says is an attempt to block illegal entry into Iraq.
-
2009-09-12
The UN recently briefed Yemeni government troops and Hawthi insurgents on the humanitarian consequences of their conflict, leading to a ceasefire that allowed affected civilians to receive aid. It was violated just a few hours later, however, and each side has blamed the other for the renewed outbreak of violence.
-
2009-09-11
Although Syria's human rights record and connections with militants and Iran remain controversial, EU leaders say that they are close to reaching an economic partnership agreement with Syria.
-
2009-09-11
The Lebanese Minister of Energy has presented a plan to address the electrical power crisis by becoming a pivotal player in the Mediterranean Solar Plan.
-
2009-09-11
Despite many attempts at a Saudi goal, Bahrain failed to score against the Greens’ excellent goalkeeper. At the same time, Saudi strikers were unable to make their way through an equally tight Bahraini defence in the first match of the ‘Gulf Derby.’
-
2009-09-11
In Qatar, home to just 1.6 million people, men outnumber women by nearly four to one. Officials say that the huge influx of foreigners seeking employment in Qatar accounts for the disparity, as most are men unaccompanied by wives and families.
-
2009-09-11
Many in southern Lebanon were shocked by the collapse of the empire of Shiite financier Salah Izz Al-Din, who has been linked to Hezbollah.
-
2009-09-10
The Egyptian national football team is celebrating a priceless victory against Rwanda in the African continent’s fourth round group C qualifier match for the 2010 World Cup finals held at the Amahoro Stadium.
-
2009-09-10
Three months after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad derided his opponents as "dirt and dust," sending hundreds of thousands of angry protesters into the streets, he risked enraging them again on Sept. 7 by likening them to "pollutants" staining "the gown of the revolution."
-
2009-09-10
Efforts to find an Ottoman treasure mentioned in a document belonging to Jordanian archaeologist Dr. Ahmed Hassan Mahmoud have failed.
-
2009-09-10
Although officials from both sides have not clarified the status of contracts under which Russia will provide Syria with MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighter jets, military analysts say that the contracts, one of which is estimated at a value of nearly US$500 million, will finalised as soon as Syria funds the deal.
-
2009-09-10
The Jordanian prime minister's visit to Baghdad on Thursday, Sept. 3 resulted in agreements aimed at developing and strengthening relations between the two countries.
-
2009-09-09
The 34th Omani League soccer season opens on Sept. 12.
-
2009-09-09
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu said that, despite the escalating war of words between Iraq and Syria on the subject of two wanted militants, he is optimistic about the possibility of the two reaching a settlement through negotiations.
-
2009-09-09
A recent edict requires that students in both public and private schools convene at the beginning of each school day to raise the flag of the United Arab Emirates and sing the national anthem.
-
2009-09-09
Tickets for the FIFA Club World Cup 2009 tournament hosted by Abu Dhabi went on sale 100 days before the event, scheduled to take place between Dec. 9 and 19.
-
2009-09-09
Kuwait’s leading bank has consolidated its reputation for sound fiscal policy during the current global financial crisis.
-
2009-09-09
NATO is investigating the controversial airstrike on two fuel tankers in northern Afghanistan by U.S fighter jets that were called for by a German ground commander. Up to 90 people were killed in the early morning airstrike on Sep. 4 after Taliban militants stole the tanker trucks.
-
2009-09-08
Ramadan is a special time in Lebanon, as bright lights and decorations adorn the packed streets of the main towns.
-
2009-09-08
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman recently told political leaders that Prime Minister-elect Saad Al-Hariri must be committed to organising and forming a national unity government before the UN General Assembly convenes later this month.
-
2009-09-08
Demand for travel by private jet in Saudi Arabia, the country with the highest number of swine flu cases in the Middle East, has recently spiked by 50 percent. While travel always increases during Ramadan, the danger posed by swine flu is pushing many to choose private jets this year.
-
2009-09-08
A ship smuggling arms from North Korea to Iran in defiance of UN sanctions was recently intercepted by UAE authorities.
-
2009-09-08
As a result of heightened violence in northern Yemen, thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that it is unable to provide them with critical assistance due to intense violence in the region.
-
2009-09-07
The European Union foreign policy chief has been looking for an opening to unblock the Middle East peace process. Most recently, Javier Solana paid visits to five countries in the region.
-
2009-09-07
The Iranian parliament Sept. 3 supported President Ahmadinejad’s main Cabinet choices including the suspected mastermind in the 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish centre that killed 85 people as Defense Minister.
-
2009-09-07
While desalination plants provide drinking water to the region, they are also contributing to the increased levels of salt in the surrounding sea.
-
2009-09-07
Two young Kuwaitis with links to Al-Qaeda told interrogators that the group is active in the Afghani drug trade.
-
2009-09-07
Al-Nahda Football Club won the Omani Super Cup title for the first time in its history with its defeat of Al-Suwaiq by a single goal.
-
2009-09-07
After being elected to succeed Sayyed Abd Al-Aziz Al-Hakim as head of the Supreme Islamic Supreme of Iraq, his son, Sayyed Ammar Al-Hakim announced that he will seek to modernise the council while retaining its core principles.
-
2009-09-05
The situation in Saada in northern Yemen has taken a more serious turn with the rebels’ capture of government tanks and weapons, dealing a serious blow to efforts to contain violence in the region.
-
2009-09-05
Already struggling with rebel forces on three fronts, the central government in Sanaa now faces the prospect of a serious nation-wide drought.
-
2009-09-05
A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing the deputy head of Afghan intelligence and more than 20 other people.
-
2009-09-05
Despite the release of a ‘Code of Conduct’ in July that forbids violence against civilians, a farmer from Afghanistan had his nose and both ears mutilated in a barbaric attack by Taliban militants as punishment for casting his vote in the country’s recent elections.
-
2009-09-05
The Egyptian government is considering pumping an additional US$2.7 billion into the economy to increase job opportunities, but has remained silent about how the plan for a second stimulus would be financed.
-
2009-09-05
Despite new evidence indicating that smoking shisha poses a risk to health five times greater than smoking cigarettes, young people in the Arab world seem unconcerned. Smoking shisha remains one of the main social activities in the region.
-
2009-09-05
Though the value of his US$16 billion fortune fell 4.6 percent last year, Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal remains the wealthiest citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
-
2009-09-04
Diplomatic steps are being taken to resolve the crisis between Damascus and Baghdad after both sides recalled their ambassadors.
-
2009-09-04
Saudi Arabia is expected to purchase up to 150 Russian helicopters, more than 150 tanks, hundreds of combat vehicles and numerous air defence systems.
-
2009-09-04
Israel's U.S. ambassador and leaders of the Orthodox and Reform movements joined U.S. President Barack Obama at a White House celebration of Ramadan on Sept. 1.
-
2009-09-04
An assassination attempt against the Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs is the latest failed Al-Qaeda operation.
-
2009-09-04
Officials from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany issued a statement calling on Iran to formally accept, within weeks, renewed talks on its nuclear programme.
-
2009-09-04
Continued difficulties in the formation of a national unity government in Lebanon are hindering the country's security and economic recovery, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries.
-
2009-09-03
The member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council will follow in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates as each conducts a population census in 2010.
-
2009-09-03
The Dead Sea has made it onto a shortlist of 14 sites, seven of which will be selected via internet polls as the new natural wonders of the world.
-
2009-09-03
Jordan and Iraq are working to expand the flow of passengers and goods between the two countries, which has been thwarted by security issues on the main roads since 2003.
-
2009-09-03
Dubai anti-narcotics officials worked for more than a month with Omani authorities to monitor a gang planning to smuggle 26kg of heroin from Asia to the UAE through Oman. Five people with links to the gang have been arrested.
-
2009-09-03
As Iran’s nuclear programme continues to raise fears in the region, its neighbours are engaged in their own arms race. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Israel are all negotiating arms deals worth a combined US$100 billion over the next five years.
-
2009-09-02
Ongoing clashes between government forces and Hawthi insurgents have uprooted almost 100,000 civilians who are fleeing for their lives.
-
2009-09-02
Asia is turning its attention to the ‘Gulf Derby,’ which pits Saudi Arabia against Bahrain on Sept. 5 and Sept. 9.
-
2009-09-02
Sayyed Abd Al-Aziz Al-Hakim, an influential and highly popular Shiite politician in Iraq, passed away after a struggle with lung cancer, leaving a large void in the Shiite political leadership.
-
2009-09-02
The Saudi Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs, Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz, was the object of a recent assassination attempt carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated himself inside the prince's office.
-
2009-09-02
Ramadan activities in the UAE draw on the virtues of tolerance and inclusion characteristic of the holy month of fasting.
-
2009-09-01
Festival organisers hope that the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, scheduled for late October, will make Qatar a regional hub for filmmakers and writers.
-
2009-09-01
A major operation is underway to curb hashish cultivation in Bekaa Valley. The hashish growers claim that without the crop’s revenue, their children will starve.
-
2009-09-01
Senior Egyptian diplomats recently received Libya's Minister of Foreign Affairs and American envoys to Sudan for a consultative meeting on Darfur.
-
2009-09-01
Despite the fact that growth was less than the 7.2 percent achieved during the previous fiscal year, analysts say that the Egyptian economy has proven to be relatively resilient in the face of the global economic crisis.
-
2009-09-01
Relations between Syria and Iraq have deteriorated as Baghdad demands the surrender of Iraqi nationals, who it claims are implicated in terrorism.
![A torn poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad hangs in the northern Syrian city of al-Raqa on March 5th following days of fierce fighting. [Mohammad al-Hussein/AFP]](/shared/images/2013/04/19/Syria-assad-raqaa-90_58.jpg)
![Iraqi soldiers train during a recent security exercise. [Mohammed al-Qaisi/Mawtani]](http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/shared/images/2013/06/19/iraq-army-exercise-90_58.jpg)
![Participants in last year's programme attend their graduation ceremony, held in a Baghdad mosque. [Mohammed al-Qaisi/Mawtani]](http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/shared/images/2013/06/19/iraq-islamic-courses-90_58.jpg)
![Iraqis take part in Friday prayers at Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad's al-Adhamiyah district. Clerics are urging young people to stay out of the Syrian conflict. [Khalil al-Murshidi/AFP]](http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/shared/images/2013/06/18/Iraq-sunnis-baghdad-90_58.jpg)
![Security personnel inspect the list of registered candidates outside an Anbar polling station. [Saif Ahmed/Mawtani]](http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/shared/images/2013/06/18/iraq-elections-military-90_58.jpg)
COMMENT OF THE DAY
Nobody supports al-Qaeda and everyone rejects all their actions, so no one accepts al-Qaeda's attitudes or encourages them to commit all these crimes. I wonder a lot at al-Qaeda in Iraq now, becaus...منار سليمان