Israel must play a crucial role in the reconstruction of Gaza, a top US official said, ahead of a donor conference in Cairo. The US also pressed for all sides involved to agree on permanent peace. US Secretary of State John Kerry will be among those attending the reconstruction conference being co-hosted by Norway and Egypt on Sunday, billed by …

A powerful suicide blast in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Thursday killed at least 47 people, plunging the violence-plagued nation into additional turmoil after weeks of political gridlock. Over dozens were wounded in the bombing at Al-Tahrir square, targeting a gathering of Shi’ite insurgent supporters. In a separate suicide attack in the country’s southeast, 20 Yemeni soldiers were killed by …

Militants from the Islamic State (IS) launched a new offensive in the eastern part of Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobane after withdrawing from parts of the town following US-led air strikes. “There are fierce clashes underway in the east of Ain al-Arab (Kobane) after the Islamic State launched an offensive to retake the areas it lost control of”, Rami …

Several pro-Kurdish demonstrations took place across Turkey on Wednesday as people were enraged over their government’s lack of action regarding the Syrian Kurdish border town Kobane. According to government officials, at least 14 people were killed in the protests. The violence was mostly in the pre-dominantly Kurdish southeast but also flared up in Ankara, Istanbul and other cities, where protestors …

On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of complicity in letting Jewish “extremists” into the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem as dozens of Palestinian youth protested against Jewish people entering the holy site before a religious feast. “Aggression against the blessed al-Aqsa mosque is increasing, led by settlers and extremists, sponsored by the Israeli government”, Abbas said. Palestinian youth …

Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thanion Wednesday said that Egypt will help train the Libyan army, and then called on his compatriots to fight the militia that has overrun parts of the country. Thani and most of the parliament elected in June are virtually in domestic exile in the city of Tobruk because of extensive security problems in capital city Tripoli, …

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has rejected and dissociated itself from its own anti-terrorism handbook only a day after it was released with much fanfare, citing the manual’s “adversarial tone”. Last week, the “United Against Terrorism” handbook was released by the RCMP, in association with two Canadian Muslim groups, to combat the rise in radicalization of local Muslim youth …

By Urooba Jamal This article is the second in a 3-part series that investigates Israel’s massacres in Gaza from a UBC perspective. It examines the challenges to Palestinian solidarity activism on campus. This first part provided a general overview of Canada’s relationship with Israel. The last piece will focus on Hillel UBC. In yet another harrowing series of military airstrikes …

Shi’ite rebels who stormed through Yemen’s capital Sana’a unopposed last month are now expected to seal their grip on the country by capturing oilfields and the strategically located Bab al-Mandeb strait. Huthi militiamen stormed in the capital on September 21st and easily took over government facilities, and now run checkpoints and patrols in the city as security forces are nowhere …

Shi’ite rebels in Yemen rejected the appointment of new Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad Mubarak on Tuesday, in a major blow to hopes of restoring peace in the country.The Huthis had stormed into the capital on September 21st and established a strong military presence quickly, manning checkpoints and mounting patrols. “We strongly reject this nomination, which is not in accord …