First Independent Mena Newspaper
The early results of the presidential elections in Togo held on Saturday show that incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe is poised to win with a comfortable majority. The National Independent Electoral Commission disclosed this Monday that, according to the partial official results, Faure Gnassingbe, leader of the ruling Union for the Republic Party, is in the […]
Ahead of his two-day visit to Kuwait that will begin on Monday, President Erdogan said ties between the two countries are “strengthened by their common culture and by sharing the same religion” as he pointed out that their stability, prosperity and peace are interrelated. The Turkish president is hoping to boost commercial relations between them […]
Hamas leader Ahmad Yousef has stated that there are ongoing indirect “chats” with Israel but a deal could also be reached if Israel is committed to earlier agreements and releases all those who were re-arrested after the abduction of three Israeli settlers last year which eventually led to the war in the summer. Prime Minster […]
Lebanese Islamist group of Hezbollah, supported by Iran, has built a remote airstrip in the northern Bekaa Valley, says IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly in its latest release. The airstrip around 10 miles west of the Syrian border was discovered through some satellite images. According to some defence experts, the single unpaved strip is unlikely to […]
Syrian rebels’ seizure of the main frontier crossing with Jordan has begun to have an impact on the government in Damascus and regional countries that are engaged in trans-frontal trade. The Nasib crossing point fell to the rebels at the beginning of the month and some Jordanian businessmen have already started calling for the Assad […]
After several media outlets reported that the caliph of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was injured in a coalition airstrike in western Iraq last month, Iraqi government adviser Dr Hisham al Hashimi confirmed that the caliph has temporarily handed over power to Abu Alaa Afri due to the injuries he sustained from the bombings. […]
Saudi Arabia has announced the end of Operation Decisive Storm after coalition airstrikes “successfully removed threats to Saudi Arabia’s security and that of neighboring countries” but a new one dubbed “Operation Restoring Hope” will kick-off on Wednesday, according to a statement from the defense ministry. Brigadier-General Ahmed Assiri, the coalition’s spokesperson, said Operation Decisive Storm […]
President Assad has labeled the US-led coalition against ISIS as unserious because they have been ineffective. He said “IS was created in Iraq in 2006 under the supervision of the Americans.” Assad acknowledged that he called on Hezbollah to help his forces fight against the different rebel groups in Syria but refuted claims that there […]
Palestinian cabinet ministers from the West Bank were in Gaza for a week-long visit but their stay barely lasted 24hours before they headed back. The Ministers are part of an 11-member West Bank delegation working towards developing the region following last’s year war and resolving the salary crises after Israel froze the tax revenues that […]
During the Israeli cabinet weekly meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his concerns over the supply of the Russian-made S-300 missiles to Iran “especially at a time when Iran is stepping up its aggression in the region and around the borders of the State of Israel.” Tel Aviv raised the concerns with Moscow but Kremlin claimed […]