Hezbollah and the Syrian army Thursday swept areas surrounding the Qalamoun region’s highest peak for “remaining pockets” of jihadis, one day after capturing the strategic territory in fierce fighting that left dozens of militants dead. Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV said that Hezbollah and the Syrian army were “clearing” areas around Tallit Moussa and the nearby Jabal al-Barouh for rebel fighters. Al-Manar ...

A video broadcast by Lebanese TV channels Thursday showed former minister Michel Samaha and undercover police informant Milad Kfoury discussing plans to carry out explosions, indicating that Syrian President Bashar Assad was aware of the operation. Both MTV and LBCI broadcast videos showing a conversation between Kfoury and Samaha, during which Samaha talks about the quantities of explosives that he ...

A Moroccan F-16 warplane has crashed while on a mission with Saudi Arabia-led forces in Yemen, a Saudi military spokesman said on Monday, and Yemen’s dominant Houthi militia said tribesmen shot down the aircraft. The loss of the Moroccan military jet and intensifying volleys of heavy-weapons fire across the border between the Iran-allied Houthis and Saudi forces could endanger a ...

An Australian teenager who was allegedly planning a bomb attack has appeared in children’s court charged with terrorism offences. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in a raid on his home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs on Friday. Police said his arrest halted a plot to detonate three homemade bombs in the city. He was remanded ...

On May 12 the Federal Government will unveil its second budget — one that is expected to be far different from last year’s “budget repair job”. While Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have stressed the new budget will be “dull and routine”, there are several areas which are expected to see significant changes. Below are nine things ...

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Monday in a central neighborhood of the Syrian capital targeting the head of Syrian military supplies. The blast occurred in an area where major security compounds are housed, according to a Syrian army source speaking to Reuters news agency. The army source told state television the security forces had killed all the members ...

Israel’s prime minister has said racism in the country must be eliminated, after protests by Ethiopian Israelis against alleged discrimination. Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after meeting Ethiopian Israeli community leaders and an Ethiopian Israeli soldier, whose beating by police has fuelled tensions. A protest by Ethiopian Israelis on Sunday ended in clashes with police. Israel’s president said the community’s grievances “revealed ...

Two gunmen who opened fire at an exhibition and cartoon contest in Texas featuring depictions of the Prophet Mohammed have themselves been shot dead at the scene. The two armed suspects drove up to the front of the building in a car as the Mohammed Art Exhibit in Garland was coming to an end and began shooting at a security ...

The US military denied Sunday a report that strikes led by Washington had killed at least 52 civilians in northern Syria earlier this week, saying those killed were actually fighters. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor director Rami Abdel Rahman had told AFP that seven children were among the dead from US-led coalition strikes overnight Thursday into Friday on the ...

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has thrown his weight behind MP Michel Aoun’s demand for the appointment of new security and military chiefs, implicitly rejecting attempts to renew the mandate of the Army and police commanders, sources close to the Free Patriotic Movement head said Sunday. The agreement over Aoun’s demand was reached during a five-hour meeting between the FPM ...