Israel, Hamas reached a deal on captured soldier

Israeli and Hamas have reached a deal to free a captured Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, officials from both sides said Tuesday, capping five years of painful negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed in fingerpointing and violence. (more…)

Labor unions may call off nationwide strike, report

General Workers Union chief Ghassan Ghosn may still call off at the 11th hour on Tuesday a strike that is planned for Wednesday Oct. 12 after reaching a compromise with the government over the issue of minimum wage increases , according to local reports (more…)

Activists: Syrian security forces kill 3 in Homs

Homs, located some 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Damascus, has been a hotbed of dissent and mass protests since the popular uprising against Assad’s regime began in mid-March. It has also been the scene of heavy fighting between army defectors and security forces, most recently on Monday, underscoring the difficulty the regime faces (more…)

China warns may be losing patience with Syria

China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday signalled that its patience with Syria could be wearing thin, even after it rejected a Western-backed United Nations draft resolution condemning the bloody crackdown in the Middle Eastern country. (more…)

Sanctions Pose Growing Threat to Syria’s Assad

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian economy is buckling under the pressure of sanctions by the West and a continuing popular uprising, posing a growing challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s government as the pain is felt deeply by nearly every layer of Syrian society.
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Clashes kill 31 in Syria, EU hails opposition body

At least 31 people were killed across Syria in the latest wave of violence, notably clashes between gunmen believed to be army deserters and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian activist group said on Monday. (more…)

Top Syrian cleric threatens West with suicide bombing

Damascus/Beirut – Syria’s top Sunni Muslim cleric on Monday threatened to order suicide bombings in the United States and Europe if his country was attacked by them, while ongoing violence in the country claimed 32 lives in 24 hours. (more…)

Lebanon’s STL president resigns on health grounds

The president of the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Antonio Cassese, has resigned his post for health reasons, a tribunal statement said Monday.

The tribunal was set by the United Nations to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a car bombing widely blamed on Hezbollah. (more…)

Geagea slams Syrian army’s violations of Lebanon sovereignty

In an interview with Al-Jumhuriya newspaper published on Monday Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea blasted the Syrian army’s violations of Lebanese territories calling it a “flagrant violation” of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Geagea also slammed the cabinet for not issuing any statement on the Syrian “violation,” calling their silence “national treason”. (more…)

Egyptian cabinet to meet over violence that kills 24

Christians clashed with military police, leaving at least 24 people dead in Cairo, and the cabinet called an emergency meeting for Monday, vowing the violence would not derail Egypt’s first election since Hosni Mubarak was toppled. (more…)