أخبار عاجلة

French lawmakers on Tuesday voted in favor of recognizing the state of Palestine, following similar moves made by Spanish and British parliaments, as European nations try and restart the stalled peace process in the Middle East. The vote in the lower house of France’s national assembly is a non-binding resolution and can’t effect French government policy, but is likely to …

An online survey conducted by financial services company Manulife suggests that over 50% of Canadians expect to retire in debt, and that nearly 20% of Canadian homeowners expect to rely on the value of their property to finance life after retirement. The poll, which had 2,373 respondents, also suggested that 10% plan to borrow against their homes, while 8% are …

A recent survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute suggests that almost 80% of Canadians support training mental health workers to spot signs of radicalization and prevent home-grown terrorism. Additionally, four in five Canadians support deportation, and blocking internet websites related to radicalization. The survey, which polled 1,609 Canadians, also found that two-third of them favored indefinite imprisonment. “What stands …

Floods in Morocco triggered by torrential rains have left 11 people dead, a local television state reported on Monday, only a week after a storm had killed 36 people. Storms lashed the south of Morocco yet again, with resort town Agadir experiencing over 10 inches (250 millimeters) of rainfall, equivalent to a year’s worth of rain, from Friday to Sunday. …

A 7-month extension for nuclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran was announced in late November after the two sides failed to reach an agreement in Vienna. The parties now have until the end of June 2015 to reach a deal. 84 percent of American Jews polled by J-Street said they would favor a nuclear deal with Iran that would …

The new Tunisian parliament on Tuesday held its inaugural session, a landmark event in the nation’s transition to democracy after the 2011 revolution in the country that fuelled the region’s Arab Spring. After singing the national anthem, the National Constituent Assembly’s (NCA) speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar opened the parliament of 217 members elected in October. “Tunisia has managed to secure …

The United Nations on Tuesday warned that Egypt must rein in its security forces and look into human rights abuses against protesters, calling the political tension in the country “alarming”. The UN rights office said that it was deeply concerned by “the seriously damaging lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by security forces in the context of demonstrations”. …

By Constanze Bayer – NOW. Banque du Liban’s initiative is aimed at keeping new business in Lebanon Banque du Liban Accelerate 2014, the first international start-up conference in Lebanon, took place last week. Visitors came away with the impression of a strong and developing start-up economy in Lebanon. More than 20 companies presented their ideas, most of them founded a …

By Ramzy Baroud When news reports alleged that the two cousins behind the Jerusalem synagogue attack on 18 November were affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a level of confusion reigned. Why the PFLP? Why now? The attack killed five Israelis and wounded others. It was, to a degree, an expected addition to a violent episode …

A Saudi woman was arrested on Monday after attempting to drive into the kingdom in defiance of a driving ban on women in the conservative country. “I have been at the Saudi border for 24 hours. They don’t want to give me my passport nor will they let me pass”, Loujain Hathloul tweeted before tweets from her account @LoujainHathloul stopped. …