International

Middle East – Arab airlines beat Trump’s electronics ban with sarcasm and jokes

US President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on electronic devices on flights from Muslim-majority countries began Saturday. But instead of condemning the move, Arab carriers took advantage of it as a fun PR boost and to promote their products… The US announced, to much fanfare on March 21, a ban on electronic devices for passengers on […]

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Middle East, USA

IDF chief said to promise rabbis increased gender separation

Eisenkot reportedly vows separate bathrooms, sleeping quarters by end of 2017; army says he only seeks to enforce existing policies By Times of Israel staff IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, on February 22, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot has

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Middle East

US-led coalition says it may be responsible for airstrike that killed more than 200 Iraqi civilians

MOSUL, Iraq — The U.S.-led military coalition fighting to dislodge the Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul said Saturday it may have been responsible for an airstrike that killed more than 200 civilians in the western part of the city. The U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said

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Middle East, USA

Thousands attend funeral of slain Hamas terrorist as group vows revenge

Top official says killing of Mazen Faqha ‘has clear marks of Mossad’ as organization claims Israel is trying to ‘wage clandestine war’ By Times of Israel staff The body of Hamas official Mazen Faqha is carried by members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during his funeral in Gaza city on

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Middle East

Premier Li and Australia’s Turnbull watch football game

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (L4) watch a football game in Sydney, March 25, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Premier Li Keqiang and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull watched a football game on Saturday in Sydney, the latest sports event the premier has participated in with other countries’ leaders. Both

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International, Sports & Competitions

Mike Pence: Democrats’ victory on health care ‘won’t last long’

Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that congressional Democrats won’t be able to savor very long the survival of Obamacare, after Trump administration and House Republican leaders lost a bid to repeal and replace the law. “Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats, actually said yesterday was a victory for the American people,” Mr. Pence

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USA

Palestinians pin hopes on Merkel’s support for two-state solution

Berlin (dpa) – Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed on Friday Germany’s commitment to a two-state solution for peace in the Middle East, fanning Palestinians’ hopes that she will mediate a future peace deal. “I still do not see a reasonable alternative to the goal of a two-state solution,” Merkel said after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

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International, Middle East, USA

Congress members urge Trump to back ‘two-state solution’

A bipartisan group of 191 Congress members on Friday sent a letter to President Donald Trump, in which they urged him to reaffirm support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict. The letter was spearheaded by representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and David Price (D-NC). “As strong supporters of Israel, we write to urge

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Middle East, USA

Mitch McConnell is a top Republican untouched by GOP’s health care mess

WASHINGTON — One key Republican Washington power player — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — emerges from the wreckage of Friday’s GOP effort to overhaul Obamacare relatively unscathed. While McConnell had supported the bill, which failed to get enough Republican support and was pulled from the House floor, the Kentucky Republican never asked his 52-member

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USA

After US-Israeli talks, White House expresses ‘concerns’ with settlement building

Israel says it intends to adopt a settlements policy that takes Trump’s concerns ‘into consideration,’ but no agreement reached By Eric Cortellessa US President Donald Trump, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 15, 2017. (AFP/Saul

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Middle East, USA

US warns against travel to French Guiana amid social unrest

Large protests have spread throughout French Guiana, blocking roads to neighbouring Brazil and Suriname, prompting the US government to issue a travel warning Friday for the French territory in South America. Hundreds of people have taken part in protests over the high crime rate, cost of living and the poor quality of social services such

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International, USA

Alex Jones Apologizes For ‘Pizzagate’ Fake News

Conservative radio host Alex Jones apologized Friday for promoting an anti-government conspiracy theory that allegedly inspired one man to open fire in a Washington restaurant last year. Broadcasting from his website InfoWars, Jones said he was not the author of the so-called “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, but regretted prior comments made in support of it. He

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USA

UN reports widespread rape and killing of children in Sudan

Johannesburg (dpa) – The United Nations has documented widespread violations of children’s rights in the Sudanese states of Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei, including killings, rape and use of children as soldiers. The report submitted to the UN Security Council, which was made public late Friday, covers the period from March 2011 to

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International