This article originally appeared in New York Magazine: The nail salon in the picturesque village of Ras Baalbek looks like any other nail salon in Lebanon. Located in the northeast of the country, close to the Syrian border, the predominantly
Contents: Syrian Kurd militias deal a heavy blow to ISIS; Turkey’s support splits between Kurds and ISIS; US support for Kurds further alienates Saudi Arabia; Understanding men’s moustaches in Turkey
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told a visiting Lebanese delegation this week that the Assad regime may soon tumble under the weight of a strengthening Sunni rebellion, a Lebanese paper has reported.
Contents: Druze community split on Syria war after al-Nusra attack; History of the Druze religion; Jihadist Attack on Druze population could bring Israel into Syria war
In Syria, Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rai called for peace and criticized “the death of the world’s conscience” over the lack of action against militant groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in the Middle East.
The regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad appears ready to “accept de facto partition” of Syria, a move that would leave most of the country in the hands of rebels and jihadists, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, quoting experts and diplomats.
Contents: ISIS stokes sectarian Sunni-Shia clashes across the Mideast and Asia; Iraq’s government changes name of military operation to recapture Ramadi; Sunni Arabs are being forced to choose between ISIS and Shias
Muslim clerics gathered in Beirut on Wednesday to kick off the Khomeinist International Union of Resistance conference, where “scholars” discussed how to stand up against the “cancerous tumor of Israel,” according to reports from Lebanese and Iranian media outlets.
Zainab Bangura recently told the Middle East Eye that this is just one of many sadistic sexual acts that she learned of during a recent visit to Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to gather data on ISIS’ war on women.
Contents: Outrage grows over sting video of Lebanon MP planning terrorism; Stock market bubble accelerates explosion as economy falters
ABC News reports that American ISIS recruit Donald Ray Morgan, 44, of North Carolina has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on terrorism and weapons charges.
Nusra Front vows to eradicate ISIS in Qalamoun on Syria/Lebanon border; US escalates tensions with plans for patrols, aircraft in South China Sea; Vatican to recognize State of Palestine while canonizing Palestinian nuns
A man from Newport Beach, California will face trial in July for allegedly bilking investors out of over $4 million as part of a scheme to sell phony In-N-Out burger franchises in the Middle East.
Following the Obama administration’s craven presentation of America’s–largely imaginary–human rights shortcomings to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Monday, the member states took their turns to add to the criticism. In many cases, the countries piling on were dictatorships that murder and persecute their own citizens with absolute impunity.
Iran ally Hezbollah and Syrian regime troops joined forces to launch a successful offensive against al-Qaeda-led Syrian rebels in mountainous Qalamoun region along the Syria-Lebanon border, reports International Business Times (IBT).
Saudi Arabia declares that it’s met its military objectives in Yemen; Patriotism and nationalism surge in Saudi Arabia, but not in Iran
Lebanon’s Hizbullah terror gang is normally one of the most active and belligerent terrorist organizations in the world. It is therefore significant that Hizbullah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, told a Syrian News TV interviewer that his organization is not capable of carrying out a war against Israel on its own.
Saudis to Hezbollah: Yemen is none of your business; United Nations is ‘deeply shocked’ at Europe’s failure to save migrants
Ali Awad Asiri, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Lebanon, told terrorist group Hezbollah they should not be concerned about Yemen.
Bashar al-Assad’s Syria army showing signs of collapse; Why do Awakening era civil wars always fizzle?; US speeds up weapons deliveries to militias in Yemen
Puerto Rico bankruptcy may be imminent, potentially a ‘seminal event’; Israel releases tax revenue collections to Palestinian Authority; Mideast nations line up for and against Saudi airstrikes in Yemen; Mideast countries opposed to Saudi intervention in Yemen
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) claims water is being used as a weapon in the Middle East. The report stated the numerous wars and “aging delivery systems” cut down on clean water in the region.
In a youth conference in Tehran, Iran’s top military commanders assured the crowd that Jordan would soon be controlled by the mullahs, as they have already spread their malevolent influence into Iraq and Lebanon with terrorist forces, Haaretz reports.
The fate remains completely uncertain of around 220 Assyrian Christians who continue to be held captive in Syria by the Islamic State terror group.
A German court fined Nasser El-Ahmad’s father and two uncles after they attempted to kidnap and marry him off to a Lebanese girl against his will. He also claimed his relatives tortured him over his homosexuality.
Fadel Shaker, a former pop singer that renounced his international fame to become a committed Sunni jihadist, appeared in a new interview on Lebanese television lamenting his turn to radical Islam and hoping to return to a “normal life.”
The Assyrian International News Agency reports that four more Assyrian captives taken by the Islamic State during raids on their villages in Syria have been released.
People in the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL) way in the Middle East are desperate to fight against the terrorist group as the jihadists expand their caliphate. Syria’s Assyrian Christian population has increasingly expressed frustration over the lack of international funding and arms for their militias, while ISIS continues to kill and abduct hundreds.
The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL) jihadist group is reportedly planning to declare an Islamic emirate in Lebanon, security sources told a Lebanese news outlet.
WASHINGTON — Experts at a National Defense University (NDU) conference warned that the Iranian-backed narcoterrorist group Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, has expanded across Latin American and into the United States.
Members of the Lebanese Army were spotted unloading a massive arms shipment on Sunday supplied by the United States government.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A senior Hamas leader called Wednesday for the formation of Palestinian militant groups loyal to his Gaza-based Islamist movement in refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria for attacks on Israel.
A European Commissioner has revealed EU foreign ministers have discussed the role of the political bloc as peacekeepers in the Middle East. In an interview with An Nahar, Christos Stylianides said the role of European peacekeepers in the United Nations Interim
Spain’s far left Podemos party hopes to copy success of Greece’s Syriza party; Egypt’s al-Sisi blames foreign countries for terrorist attacks; Houthis use live fire against protesters in Yemen
The FBI has added a former Venezuelan ambassador to Lebanon and Syria to their Terrorism “Seeking Information” list, after evidence indicated that Ghazi Nasr al Din was using his position to help fundraise for the Shiite terror group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah backs down from war with Israel; Clashes between Nusra front and Free Syrian Army spreading in Syria; Jundallah takes credit for massive mosque attack in Pakistan; Egypt’s military begins ‘wide military offensives’ in North Sinai; Greece clashes with eurogroup ‘No more bailout, no more troika!’; In Denmark you are now paid to take out a mortgage
Greece’s Alexis Tsipras escalates confrontation with Germany; Israel promises revenge after Hezbollah attack kills two soldiers; Hezbollah’s attack breaks a taboo from 2006 war
Hezbollah jihadists reportedly fired missiles that killed two Israeli soldiers in an army vehicle along the border with Lebanon on Wednesday morning. Another seven were wounded in the attacks with light to moderate injuries, according to Israeli media reports.
The continuing flare-ups on Saudi Arabia’s northern border with Iraq has led some to believe that the Islamic State is set on an eventual push towards the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Miss Lebanon may lose her title over selfie with Miss Israel; Lebanon on edge after Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah commanders; Europe, under intense financial pressure, expected to start quantitative easing
