November 26th, 20200RIYADH — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman earlier this week, despite a denial of the meeting by Israeli officials.
On the discussion table was a country that has played the role of boogeyman for both Israel and its allies in the U.S. government: Iran. The two leaders talked...
February 21st, 20200ALEPPO — The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo’s northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups “wherever they are found."
The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking...
April 30th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, the White House said on Tuesday, which would bring sanctions against Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement.
“The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern...
October 19th, 20180Saudi Arabia and especially its young crown prince – who has been variously portrayed as naïve, venal and blood-thirsty – appear to have vastly misjudged the reaction to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who opposed the new heir’s unchecked efforts to reshape the kingdom and the entire Middle East region with...
October 16th, 20180The disappearance and possible murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has cast a long shadow over Saudi Arabia’s global image. If the Saudi government did in fact kill or kidnap him, the crime would have significant implications for Middle East politics.
Turkish authorities believe he has been killed and his body, possibly...
October 16th, 20180President Trump said on Thursday that he saw no reason to cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, possibly setting up a clash with the U.S. Congress.
Trump also said the U.S. may be closer to finding out what happened to Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi policies who...
October 13th, 20180ISTANBUL - Turkey’s investigation into the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has revealed recordings made on his Apple Watch purportedly indicating he was tortured and killed, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday.
The report in the pro-government Sabah daily, which could not immediately be verified,...
October 6th, 20180ANKARA - Turkish authorities believe that prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared four days ago after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, was killed inside the consulate, two Turkish sources said on Saturday.
“The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the...
September 17th, 20180AMMAN — A Syrian rebel commander said on Thursday rare military exercises with U.S. Marines in southern Syria sent a strong message to Russia and Iran that the Americans and the rebels intend to stay and confront any threats to their presence.
Colonel Muhanad al Talaa, commander of the Pentagon-backed Maghawir al Thawra group, told...
September 9th, 20180BEIRUT — On Thursday, Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis said in Damascus that opposition-controlled Idlib province will soon be restored to Syrian state sovereignty, vowing to win any coming war.
“Idlib will soon be restored to the nation,” Khamis said in a speech during the opening ceremony of the 60th edition of the annual...
June 25th, 20180ANKARA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan won sweeping new executive powers on Monday after his victory in elections that also saw his Islamist-rooted AK Party and its nationalist allies secure a majority in parliament.
Erdogan’s main rival, Muharrem Ince of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), conceded defeat but branded the...
May 15th, 20180ANKARA - Turkey and Israel expelled each other’s senior diplomats on Tuesday in a dispute over the killing by Israeli occupation forces of 60 unarmed Palestinians on Monday during protests on the Gaza border.
“The Israeli ambassador was told that our envoy to Israel was called back for consultations, and was informed that it would...
April 6th, 20180Turkey, Iran and Russia pledge to work for stability in Syria
ANKARA — Turkey, Iran and Russia pledged on Wednesday to accelerate efforts to bring stability to Syria, underlining their joint commitment to the country a day after President Trump raised the prospect of withdrawing U.S. troops.
A statement by the three countries after...
February 23rd, 20180ANKARA/BEIRUT — Pro-Syrian government forces entered Syria's northwestern Afrin region on Tuesday to help a Kurdish militia there fend off a Turkish assault, raising the prospect of a wider escalation of the conflict.
Soon after the convoy of militia fighters - waving Syrian flags and brandishing weapons - entered Afrin, Syrian...
February 20th, 20180ANKARA/BEIRUT - Pro-Syrian government forces entered Syria’s northwestern Afrin region on Tuesday to help a Kurdish militia there fend off a Turkish assault, raising the prospect of a wider escalation of the conflict.
Soon after the convoy of militia fighters - waving Syrian flags and brandishing weapons - entered Afrin, Syrian...
February 9th, 20180DAMASCUS/ANKARA — The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed on Thursday to meet in Istanbul to discuss the conflict in Syria, a Turkish presidential source said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the meeting in two phone calls on Thursday with the Russian and Iranian presidents, the source said. The date of the summit...
December 22nd, 20170ASTANA — U.N. special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he would take part in the latest round of Syrian peace talks in the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Friday, with a month to go before he hopes to break the deadlock in political talks in Geneva.
Delegations from the Syrian government and some opposition groups are...
December 8th, 20170On Wednesday, Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at President Trump's decision to...
December 5th, 20170WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - President Donald Trump told Israeli and Arab leaders on Tuesday that he intends to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a decision that breaks with decades of U.S. policy and risks fueling violence in the Middle East.
Senior U.S. officials said Trump on Wednesday, Dec. 6, is expected to recognize...
December 2nd, 20170GENEVA — The Syrian government delegation arrived in Geneva on Wednesday to participate in another round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks to bring an end to the Syrian Civil War, now in its seventh year.
All the previous rounds of U.N.-backed peace talks have failed to reach a peace deal, and have often been seriously hindered by the...
November 23rd, 20170By Laida Sukari and Dalia Sukari
The Arab American News - interns
DEARBORN — According to statistics by "Static Brain", an average of 51,650,000 total turkeys are consumed in America on Thanksgiving Day each year.
This national holiday became official in 1863 after President Lincoln declared that, annually, the fourth Thursday...
October 25th, 20170BAGHDAD - Elections for Iraq’s Kurdistan region’s presidency and parliament set for Nov. 1 will be delayed because political parties failed to present candidates.
Iraqi forces captured the oil city of Kirkuk and other territory claimed by the Kurds in retaliation for the referendum, dealing a severe blow to Kurdistan Regional...
May 10th, 20170VILNIUS ― Despite fierce opposition from NATO ally Turkey, President Trump has approved supplying arms to Kurdish YPG fighters to support an operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from ISIS, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Ankara views the Kurdish YPG militia, fighting within a larger U.S.-backed coalition, as the Syrian...
May 5th, 20170SOCHI, RUSSIA — On Wednesday, the leaders of Russia and Turkey publicly re-affirmed their commitment to working together to end the conflict in Syria, despite a gas attack on a Syrian city that tested their fragile alliance
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, have formed a pact on Syria...
ISTANBUL — Tens of thousands of women took to the streets across Turkey on Wednesday, marching for women's rights while some also rallied against expanding the president's powers.
In Istanbul more than 10,000 people, mostly women, walked the long Istiklal Avenue, chanting "end male-perpetrated violence."
On April 16, the Turkish...