News

Headlines from major news outlets around the world.


Cabinet condemns Hezbollah 'coup'

BBC News | Middle East | World Edition - May 9 17:43

Lebanon's government says the seizure of most of western Beirut by Shia group Hezbollah is "a bloody coup"....


Pressure to quit builds on Israeli PM

FT.com - World, Middle East - May 9 17:28

Ehud Olmert has admitted receiving funds from a US-Jewish businessman while serving as mayor of Jerusalem and minister for trade, but said the money was for his campaigns...


Hizbollah seizes Muslim west Beirut

FT.com - World, Middle East - May 9 16:42

It took Lebanon's Hizbollah group just a few hours to seize control of Muslim west Beirut and bring the country's western-backed government to its knees...


Gaza mortar attack kills Israeli

BBC News | Middle East | World Edition - May 9 16:00

A mortar attack from the Gaza Strip kills an Israeli civilian, police and medical officials say....


Hezbollah takes over west Beirut

BBC News | Middle East | World Edition - May 9 14:10

Gunmen from Shia militant group Hezbollah take control of western Beirut, driving out government supporters....


Pressure to quit builds on Israeli PM

FT.com - World, Middle East - May 9 12:02

Ehud Olmert has admitted receiving funds from a US-Jewish businessman while serving as mayor of Jerusalem and minister for trade, but said the money was for his campaigns...


Iran Says April 12 Blast at Shiraz Mosque Was Terrorism

NYT > Middle East - May 9 06:48

Iranian officials told reporters that six people involved in the attack had been arrested and their links with the United States and Britain had been confirmed. <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/i...


Iraq al-Qaeda chief not captured

BBC News | Middle East | World Edition - May 9 06:44

The US military in Iraq says a man detained in Mosul is not in fact the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq....


Shiite-Sunni Clashes Intensify in Beirut

NYT > Middle East - May 9 06:29

Hezbollah’s leader said the government had threatened to shut down the group’s telephone network, and the TV station of a Sunni leader’s party went off the air. <img src="http://www.pheedo.co...


Israeli PM denies taking bribes

BBC News | Middle East | World Edition - May 9 05:29

Ehud Olmert is suspected of illicitly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars before becoming PM....


Hizbollah seizes large parts of Beirut

FT.com - World, Middle East - May 9 04:16

Hizbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut in a third day of fighting between the militant group and fighters loyal to the pro-western governing coalition....


Supporters Rally in Newark as an Imam’s Trial Opens

NYT > Middle East - May 9 02:03

Imam Qatanani, a Palestinian hailed as a voice of moderation, is facing questions of whether he lied about his detention in Israel on his application for U.S. residency. <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/...


Olmert ‘Never Took a Bribe,’ He Says

NYT > Middle East - May 9 01:52

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Thursday that the contributions he had taken from Long Island businessman Morris Talansky were legitimate campaign funds, not bribes. <img src="http:/...



Favorites

Our own selection of MENA, Islam and foreign policy blogs.


Friday Photo: Do not feed this monkey!

FP Passport - blogging on global news, politics, economics, and ideas - May 9 18:12

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images Fat monkeys spend their time in a 420-square-meter enclosure a...


Does the U.S. need the UN to fight terror?

FP Passport - blogging on global news, politics, economics, and ideas - May 9 18:05

Mario Tama/Getty Images The U.S. needs the UN according to a new report by Alistair Millar and Eric Rosand, of the Center on Glob...


A disturbing new type of ‘honour’ killing

Pickled Politics - May 9 17:10

Women are often involved in ‘honour’ killings as perpetrators, but it has tended to be older women (such as aunts and mother-in-laws) who help with the murder. This case in India is the first I have read about in which it was the daughter of th...


Fools Rush In...

American Footprints blogs - May 9 16:56

...To Seek Geopolitical Advantage from Myanmar’s Crisis For the impassioned interventionist, Myanmar has it all: a corrupt and despotic junta, a gallant pro-democracy princess, and brave, battling monks.  Now it’s got a colossal humanitarian crisis that throws the failures and flaws of the detested reg...


Monday: IMES Conference on Islamist Movements

Abu Aardvark - May 9 16:54

For those in the area and interested, just a quick note that I will be appearing on an Institute for Middle East Studies panel discussion Monday afternoon entitled "What have we learned about Islamist political movements?"...


"Training Camps"

-THE CUNNING REALIST- - May 9 16:52

Phil Giraldi:There is considerable speculation and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the N...


A FARC Document Trove

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run - May 9 16:43

It is now pretty clear that those laptops seized by the Colombian military in its cross-border raid on FARC commander Raul Reyes are genuine (I wrote previously about the killing of Reyes here). There was little doubt as to the authenticity of the captur...


Hezbollah’s Coup ‘On the Ground’

Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place - May 9 16:36

In taking over much of Beirut (including Sunni neighborhoods formerly controlled by pro-government forces), Hezbollah has engineered what I call a “coup on the ground.” It hasn’t touched the levers of power or elected government. But by controlling much of the territory of the capital city it has taken physical control of everyt...


DWI for Walking a Bicycle

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run - May 9 16:23

Jeff Brown of Columbus, Ohio was arrested for DWI, spent four days in jail, and had his license suspended for six months when he refused to take a breath test after an officer confronted him on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.  Brown was walking his bicycle across his own front yard. Brown has since made a YouTube video ...


Thank you, Mario, but our protein is in another configuration!

Unqualified Offerings - May 9 16:04

By Thoreau University of Washington researchers have developed a computer game that folds proteins. Yes, really. Protein folding is a tough problem. You’ve got this long chain of amino ...


"I'm not saying I'm depending on Maxim to keep me alive over there, but it helps"

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run - May 9 15:58

Does Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) hate our troops? If not, then why is he trying to ban morale-boosting men's magazines from U.S. military bases? From Stars & Stripes:A Department of Defense committee that reviews materials sold on bases rule...


Olmert Chief Witness Married to Deputy Attorney General

Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place - May 9 15:41

I don’t know if you could ever find a stranger conflict of interest in Israeli law and politics. Ehud Olmert’s former law partner and business associate, Uri Messer, is presently singing to Israeli police and the attorney general about his involvement in the funds Morris Talansky raised for Olmert. From what I’ve read, [...]<scr...


This Day in History: Vast Wasteland

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run - May 9 15:35

On this day in 1961, FCC Chairman Newton Minow proclaimed American television a "<a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/newton...


Medvedev: Russia's military "gaining in strength and power"

FP Passport - blogging on global news, politics, economics, and ideas - May 9 15:27

ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/Getty Images Russian President Dmitri Medvedev <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co...


Gender equality, Berlusconi-style

FP Passport - blogging on global news, politics, economics, and ideas - May 9 15:01

VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images It turns out that blatant racists aren't the only...