Old regime elements and al-Qaeda are both interested in fostering violence and widening instability as the Middle Eastern nation tries to stay on path to democracy.
Tag: terrorism
A French reporter is the first Western journalist to get inside the village of Lukqun where in June 2013, 27 people were killed under unclear circumstances before access was shut off.
BEIJING — The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has sparked rumors and conspiracy theories, and generally obsessed people — around the world. But with most of the passengers on board being from China, the most speculation is swirling around Chinese society, both on official news sources and in social media — particularly Weibo, China’s […]
BAGHDAD – Everywhere in the Iraqi capital is an off-limits “red zone” for Westerners except for the American invasion’s legacy known as the “green zone.” This central quarter in Baghdad, accessible only by the right identification document or special permission, is actually a sort of privileged prison for those with valuable blood. But I have […]
Outrage in China has followed the Kunming attack that killed 29, not just for the violence, but for the way the West has (and hasn’t) defined what happened. Making sense of the *T* word.
The singular tale of a young French-Malian who spent three years in the world’s jihad hot spots in an attempt to join al-Qaeda fighters. No one would take him.
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The Dangers Of Being Christian In Libya
Following its 2011 revolution, Libya has struggled to establish a democratic rule of law as it navigates the political divisions sowed through the decades-long bloody reign of Muammar Gaddafi. Religion, per se, had not been seen as a major source of conflict in a country that is 97% Sunni Muslim. Roaming jihadist groups, however, would […]
After last weekend’s terrorist attacks that left four dead, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry has taken to Facebook to announce that it is cracking down on the niqab. Proponents of heightened surveillance suggest that jihadist men use the full-body garment and face veil to disguise themselves while traveling, especially when being pursued by police. One alleged male […]
The singular story of a Somali restaurateur who left the sweet life in the UK to return to his war-ravaged homeland, where he has survived multiple attacks on his restaurant.
– Commentary – WARSAW — The Washington Post story was both scary and a bit comical: Polish intelligence received $15 million from the CIA to operate secret prisons — or “black sites” — and the money was supposedly delivered in two cardboard boxes. Hmmm. According to my calculations, the dimensions of the two boxes would […]
The inside story of the Syrian army photographer assigned to log images of the victims of torture. One day, he’d seen enough, and joined the opposition – photos in hand.
Wednesday, January 14, 2014 NEW CHARLIE HEBDO ISSUE SOLD OUTOne week after the terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, thousands of people lined up at newsstands to get a copy of the much-awaited “survivors’ issue” of the satirical magazine. As many as one million copies were distributed today and every single one […]
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 ANOTHER SUSPECT FOUND IN PARIS TERRORA Frenchman of Haitian origin who is believed to have been in contact “several times” with one of the brothers responsible for the Charlie Hebdo killings will be extradited from Bulgaria, AFP reports. Fritz-Joly Joachin, 29, was arrested Jan. 1 as he tried to cross into […]
CAIRO – Another year down the drain for Egypt’s economy. Three years since the January 2011 revolution, and little has been done to salvage what’s left of the crumbling economy, weighed down by the burdens of political turmoil and mismanagement. Now, a growing fear of terrorism has been added to the many economic ailments. I […]
Thursday, January 8, 2014 FRENCH MANHUNT CONTINUES AMID MORE VIOLENCEThe search continues in France for the two gunmen who killed 12 people in the course of attacking the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo with Kalashnikovs yesterday, a terrorist attack that Le Monde describes on today’s front page as “France’s 9/11.” Here are 31 front […]
Wednesday, January 7, 2014 DEADLY ATTACK AT FRENCH SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER HQAt least 10 journalists and two policemen were killed after two heavily armed men opened fire at the Paris offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo Wednesday morning. Four other people were seriously wounded in the shooting; the gunmen managed to flee and a […]
Eyewitnesses tell of the scenes of horror, while authorities still try to confirm if the second attack in two days was a suicide bombing.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014 PAKISTAN MOURNS DEAD CHILDRENA three-day period of mourning began today in Pakistan, with vigils held in the country’s major cities and funerals in Peshawar, after Tuesday’s Taliban attack on a school in the northwest city that killed 141 people, including 132 children. The army began a series of massive air strikes […]
Thursday, November 27, 2014 SUICIDE BLAST HITS BRITISH EMBASSY IN KABUL At least five people died and 30 were injured in a suicide attack on the British embassy in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, the BBC reports. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed one British citizen and mostly hit Afghan bystanders. The group’s […]
The two explosions that killed at least 23 people this week in Beirut are the latest sign that the country is moving toward the kind of conflict that has torn it apart in the past.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 NORTH KOREA COULD FACE HUMAN RIGHTS PROBE The United Nations’ human rights committee has called on the Security Council to refer North Korean leaders to the International Criminal Court over allegations of crimes against humanity, the BBC reports. The resolution approved late Tuesday was based on a report published earlier this […]
Syria is an apocalypse: dozens of disparate armed groups clash, alliances change weekly, the death toll has reached 100,000, and some two million Syrians have fled the country. Meanwhile, all sides are trying to gain an edge before the second round of Geneva talks to be held next month. Indeed, a recent increase in the […]
Thursday, October 23, 2014 CANADA “NOT INTIMIDATED” Details of the suspected Ottawa gunman who killed Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa yesterday are starting to emerge. The Globe And Mail describes 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as “a man who had had a religious awakening and seemed to have become mentally unstable.” The Toronto Star portrays him […]
Ankara had bet on Islamist rebels taking down the Assad regime. Now they may have helped create a monster right across the border.
La Stampa’s veteran war correspondent Domenico Quirico was held hostage in Syria for five months by rebel soldiers. Earlier this week, along with Belgian writer Pierre Piccinin, the 61-year-old was released after what he described as a “very dangerous and complex” captivity. Here is his first account of what happened… TURIN — We entered Syria […]
On the first day of school in Sept 2004, after terrorists took hundreds of children and parents hostage in Russia’s Northern Caucasus region, a bloodbath ensued. Questions and scars linger.
Sept. 11, 2014 OBAMA OUTLINES ANTI-ISIS STRATEGYOn the eve of today’s 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks, President Barack Obama vowed to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Mideast’s ISIS terror group, also known as ISIL. Saying he had authorized air strikes against the jihadist group in Syria and the deployment […]
REUTERS, AFP, BBC Worldcrunch ANKARA — Militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced in a statement Monday that they are halting their withdrawal from Turkey, citing the Turkish government’s failure to keep its part of the peace deal, Reuters reports. The militants said their decision did not affect the ceasefire it announced in March. […]
Monday, September 8, 2014 RUSSIA THREATENS RETALIATION Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned in an interview that further Western sanctions against Russia will see Moscow “respond asymmetrically.” According to news agency Ria Novosti, Medvedev suggested that Russia could decide to close its air space to Western companies, a move that he believes would lead some […]
Will Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff call off a state visit to Washington?
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch SANA’A – Yemen said on Wednesday it had foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country’s main ports. Security remains tight – and hundreds of armoured vehicles have been deployed to protect key targets. Both the U.S. and UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from […]
BOGOTA – Negotiators for rebel group FARC — engaged now in historic peace talks with the Colombian government — received an interesting visit in Havana last month. During a pause in negotiations with Bogota officials in the Cuban capital, FARC loyalists met with a group of former members of the IRA. Indeed, the veterans of […]
CNN Worldcrunch Al Qaeda’s No. 2 man in Yemen, Said al-Shihri, once emerged from the aftermath of drone strikes in the past to lambast the CIA for trying to kill him. Now, it has been confirmed, US forces have finally struck their target. A message on jihadi websites announced al-Shihri’s death Tuesday. It was purportedly […]
The revelations of the NSA surveillance program came on the heels of the Boston Marathon attack. America weighs the links between an alleged terrorist and self-avowed whistleblower.
Cases of vandalism are multiplying against Arab villages and places of worship.
BRUSSELS- The European Union-Russia summit taking place in Yekaterinburg has a major sticking point forming over privacy for travelers arriving — or even just passing through — Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Transportation has decreed that airlines flying in Russian airspace, or taking off or landing in Russia, have to provide authorities in Moscow […]
DAWN, NEWS PAKISTAN, PAKISTAN TODAY (Pakistan), WASHINGTON POST (U.S.), REUTERS Worldcrunch MIRAMSHAH – At least seven people were killed in a reported U.S. drone attack early Wednesday in northeastern Pakistan. The drone fired two missiles at a mud-built house in the tribal region of North Waziristan, which is considered a bastion of Taliban and al-Qaeda […]
A Muslim-American writer recounts the days after the Boston Marathon attack. No doubt, parents in the UK are having similar conversations right now.
BBC, THE GUARDIAN, ITV, THE TELEGRAPH, SKY NEWS, PRESS ASSOCIATION (UK) Worldcrunch LONDON– One of the two injured suspects has been named after Wednesday afternoon’s terrorist machete murder of a soldier outside a military barracks in southeast London. Both alleged attackers were wounded and arrested by armed police in the aftermath of the spectacular murder […]
Thursday, May 22, 2014 UKRAINIAN TROOPS KILLED IN FIGHTING Overnight attacks from pro-Russian gunmen on a Ukrainian military checkpoint in the Donetsk region and against a military convoy in the Luhansk region have left at least nine Ukrainian soldiers dead and several injured, AFP reports. But the total number of casualties is likely higher, with […]