Arab World

Hannibal Kadhafi Released After Decade in Prison
Hannibal Kadhafi Released After Decade in Prison

Lebanon released Hannibal Kadhafi, the son of deposed Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, on bail on Monday after nearly a decade in prison, his lawyer told AFP. "We left; he is free," Laurent Bayon said, hours after Kadhafi's bail of $900,000 was paid. The younger Kadhafi, 49, was accused of withholding information about the 1978 ...

Washington Partially Suspends Caesar Act Sanctions
Washington Partially Suspends Caesar Act Sanctions

The US Department of the Treasury announced the suspension of sanctions imposed on Syria under the Caesar Act, coinciding with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House, where he was received by US President Donald Trump. In a statement, the Treasury specified that the suspension does not include transactions involving Russia ...

US Envoy Kushner and Netanyahu Discuss Phase Two of Gaza Truce
US Envoy Kushner and Netanyahu Discuss Phase Two of Gaza Truce

US mediator Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks Monday on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, as Washington intensified its efforts to ensure the fragile truce endures. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said Israel would enforce the ceasefire in Gaza as well as one in Lebanon with an "iron ...

Syria: From Pariah State to a Guest in Washington
SpotlightSyria: From Pariah State to a Guest in Washington

This Monday, Donald Trump is hosting Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House. It is a historic moment: never before has a Syrian president been officially received in Washington since the country gained independence in 1946. The event symbolizes the end of half a century of hostility between the two capitals. For a long time, Syria was one of the most ...

Trump Threatens BBC with $1 Billion Lawsuit over Speech Edit
Trump Threatens BBC with $1 Billion Lawsuit over Speech Edit

Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit over the editing of a speech he gave just before the 2021 US Capitol riots, a source close to the US president's legal team told AFP Monday. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Fox News report that Trump's letter gave the UK broadcaster a Friday deadline to ...

Mamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue
Op-edMamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue

The New York elections attest to the ubiquitousness of domestic political events in a globalized era and more specifically in New York City, which recapitulates the promises, illusions, and contradictions of the global era. The overlapping variables of the urban order and its economic, social, cultural, and religious factors coalesce to define the ...

French Court Frees Ex-President Sarkozy From Jail Pending Appeal
French Court Frees Ex-President Sarkozy From Jail Pending Appeal

Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday was freed from prison, a 20-day experience the former president called a "nightmare," as a judge ordered his release pending an appeal decision over Libyan funding. Sarkozy was freed from La Santé prison in Paris shortly before 3 pm (1400 GMT) on Monday, a source familiar with the case told AFP. The ...

Bulgaria Adjourns Extradition Hearing for Beirut Blast Shipowner
Bulgaria Adjourns Extradition Hearing for Beirut Blast Shipowner

A Bulgarian court on Monday adjourned an extradition hearing for a shipowner wanted over a devastating blast at Beirut port in 2020, asking Lebanon to confirm he would not face the death penalty. Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot, over the disaster, one of the world's largest non-nuclear ...

Nigeria: Where Every Fault Line Is Exploding
SpotlightNigeria: Where Every Fault Line Is Exploding

The tragic events of Monday, November 11, speak volumes about Nigeria’s downward spiral. Nearly 200 jihadists were killed in clashes between Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) around Lake Chad, according to several local sources. The infighting highlights the extreme fragmentation of a conflict that has torn apart ...

Damascus: When Electricity Becomes a Luxury
VideosDamascus: When Electricity Becomes a Luxury

In the suburbs of Damascus, hammering sounds still echo, but anger is rising. The new Syrian government has raised electricity prices up to sixty times, making power nearly unaffordable. Blackouts can last more than twenty hours, forcing many to depend on costly private generators. Street vendor Alaa Moussa says, “No one can pay. There’s no ...

Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa
Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa

According to Reuters, Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, in what officials described as a direct threat to the leader as he prepares to join a U.S.-led coalition against the militant group. Two senior officials, one Syrian and one from the broader ...

BBC Expected to Apologize Over Trump Row After Chief Resignation
BBC Expected to Apologize Over Trump Row After Chief Resignation

The BBC was on Monday expected to apologize for editing a speech that suggested Donald Trump had directly instigated an attack on the US Capitol, resulting in the dramatic resignations of the broadcaster's top brass. Director general Tim Davie and the BBC News CEO Deborah Turness stepped down on Sunday after accusations that a documentary by ...