Russia: Nuclear submarine fire finally out

Firefighters extinguished a massive fire aboard a docked Russian nuclear submarine Friday as some crew members remained inside, officials said, giving assurances that there was no radiation leak and the vessel’s nuclear-tipped missiles were not on board. (more…)

Charbel denies presence of al-Qaeda cells in Lebanon

During a press conference, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel denied on Friday al-Qaeda presence in Lebanon and stressed that the country could be a transit route for the group but not a permanent base. (more…)

Anti Syrian regime protests in north Lebanon

Lebanese protesters gathered in Bab el Tabbaneh neighborhood of Tripoli following Friday prayers to express their support for the uprising by the Syrian people and to denounce the Syrian regime’s crackdown against the civilians, National News Agency reported on Friday. (more…)

The List: Next Year’s Wars

What conflict situations are most at risk of deteriorating further in 2012? Foreign Policy came up with 10 crisis areas that warrant particular concern

PSP slams Israel over measures taken against the Druze

Progressive Socialist Party which is led by MP Walid Jumblatt condemned on Thursday Israel’s “unfair measures taken against Knesset member Said Nafaa and 16 Druze religious clerics due to visits they made to Syria and Lebanon.”

PSP’s statements come after Israeli prosecutors indicted Nafaa on charges of visiting an “enemy country and meeting foreign agents”. (more…)

Airstrike on Turkey-Iraq border kills 35 people, report

A Turkish airstrike on the border with Iraq killed 35 people who are now thought to have been smuggling cigarettes, a senior Turkish lawmaker said Thursday. (more…)

Death toll rises to 41 in Syria despite AL mission

The death in Syria has risen to 41 , Al Arabiya TV reported on Thursday, despite the Arab League monitoring mission aimed at ending the bloodshed

In a related development a Member of the General Secretariat of the Syrian National Council (SNC), Imad al-Deen al-Rashid slammed the Arab League monitoring mission (more…)

US finalizes $30 billion deal to sell F-15s to Saudi Arabia

The sale of $30 billion worth of F-15SA fighter jets to Saudi Arabia has been finalized, boosting the military strength of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East to help counter Iran, the Obama administration announced Thursday.

Under the agreement, the U.S. will send Saudi Arabia 84 new fighter jets and upgrades for 70 more. Production of the aircraft, which will be manufactured by Boeing Co., (more…)

US warships cross Strait of Hormuz despite Iran threats

Two American warships have crossed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident despite Iranian threats to close the strategic oil route, the US Navy said Thursday.

The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay “conducted a pre-planned, routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz” on Tuesday, (more…)

Syria always backed Lebanon’s security stability, unity says envoy

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said on Thursday that “Syria paid dearly to maintain the survival of Lebanon as a united country free of any foreign tutelage,” National News Agency quoted him as saying (more…)