أخبار عاجلة

By Ramzy Baroud America’s ruling elites are blatant in their intentions of maintaining “white privilege” at home and economic dominance by military means abroad. Their “democracy” in both of these regions is a ruse, and it is yet to deliver any degree of social justice and equality to the millions of disadvantaged Americans which are comprised mostly of black and …

By Max Fisher There’s a certain ritual that each and every one of the world’s billion-plus Muslims, especially those living in Western countries, is expected to go through immediately following any incident of violence involving a Muslim perpetrator. It’s a ritual that is continuing now with the Sydney hostage crisis, in which a deranged self-styled sheikh named Man Haron Monis …

An Iranian-born gunman and two hostages were killed as heavily armed Australian police ended the day-long hostage situation created by the gunman on Tuesday. The man, described by Australian media as a “self-styled sheikh”, took 17 people hostage at a central Sydney café before he was taken down by the police. Police hurled percussion grenades before opening fire, after several …

Since May, over 22 people have left Switzerland to fight abroad as foreign militants, including eight in the past two weeks, Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), said on Monday. According to the agency, 61 Swiss nationals have left to fight overseas since 2001, including 37 who left to Iraq and Syria, and 25 to Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The …

After slamming the Canadian government for not doing enough to help Syrian refugees, critics took Conservatives to task for being selective in picking the refugees who will get asylum. Parliamentary secretary for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Costas Menegakis faced several questions from the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the House of Commons on Friday – Menegakis was unrepentant …

Syrian Hazem Sharif was declared the winner of singing contest “Arab Idol” for 2014 on Saturday’s grand finale in Beirut. The audience broke into cheers and applause, chanting “Syria! Syria!” and “Hazem!” when the 21-year-old was declared by judges Ahlam, from the UAE, Lebanese singers Wael Kfouri and Nancy Ajram and Hassan Al Shafe’ei, an Egyptian music production expert, as …

Filmmaker Marcel Ophuls, whose four-and-a-half-hour documentary “The Sorrow and the Pity” on the Nazi occupation of France was banned on French television, is looking to crowd-fund his newest film “Unpleasant Truths” on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The 87-year-old, who is collaborating with Israeli filmmaker Eval Sivan on the film, has appealed for $62,000 on KissKissBankBank, a French crowd-funding …

A new report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Poverty and Human Rights Centre has suggested that the absence of a human rights commission in British Columbia has led to a “gaping hole” in the province’s human rights protection system. In “Strengthening Human Rights”, authors Gwen Brodsky and Shelagh Day note that British Columbia is the …

The United Nations (UN) has called on Canada to do more to help Syrian refugees struggling with the Syrian war crisis. The call comes only a few days after the UN urged wealthier nations to help re-settle over 100,000 displaced Syrians. Canada, which has pledged to let in 1,300 refugees, needs to show its humanitarianism, Furio De Angelis, the representative …

Irish parliamentarians on Wednesday urged their government to recognize the state of Palestine after a symbolic motion for the same passed in the parliament unopposed. This makes the Irish parliament the fourth European assembly to demand Palestinian statehood since October – Spanish, British and French lawmakers have all passed similar motions, indicating growing frustration with the peace process. Sweden has …