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HERMEL, Lebanon: Hezbollah and the Syrian regime tightened the noose on armed rebels fighting in the mountainous regions straddling the border between Lebanon and Syria, in a major push to uproot fighters opposed to the embattled Assad regime. Hezbollah fighters gained control of hills surrounding rebel hideouts in the border province of Qalamoun and in the mountains bordering Shiite villages in northeastern Lebanon, helping seal off …

BEIRUT: A local television channel has launched an initiative in solidarity with the Christians in Mosul, as anchor and talk show host, Dima Sadeq, began her broadcast sporting a T-shirt with the letter “N” in Arabic, which has become a mark of solidarity with the minority group. “From Mosul to Beirut, we are all Noon,” Sadeq said, in the editorial briefing preceding …

CAIRO: Egypt’s army said Sunday that it had destroyed 13 more tunnels connecting the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip, taking to 1,639 the overall number it has laid waste to. Cairo has poured troops into the peninsula to counter a rising insurgency since the ouster of President Mohammad Morsi last year, and its security operation involves the destruction of these tunnels. Hamas, which is …

DAMASCUS: Guided more by what they can hear than see, Syrian troops and rebels are battling in the bowels of Damascus, digging tunnels in a campaign to control the eastern entrance to the capital. This is the suburb of Jobar, next to Abassid Square, a stronghold of President Bashar Assad’s regime. The army knows that if it is lost to …

NAIROBI:  Kenyan security forces were locked in a stand-off on Sunday with gunmen who killed at least 39 people at an upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, and it was still unclear how many hostages the al Qaeda-linked militants were holding. The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for Saturday’s assault on Nairobi’s Westgate mall, which is frequented by Westerners …

AMSTERDAM: Syria has handed over information about its chemical arsenal to a U.N.-backed weapons watchdog, meeting the first deadline of an ambitious disarmament operation that averted the threat of Western air strikes. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Saturday it had “received the expected disclosure” from Damascus, 24 hours after saying it had been given a partial document from …

BERLIN: In the first German election since Europe’s debt crisis erupted four years ago, voters are likely to give Angela Merkel a third term on Sunday, but may force her into a coalition with her leftist rivals and catapult a new anti-euro party into parliament. The vote is being closely watched by Berlin’s European partners, with some hoping Chancellor Merkel will soften …

Ruwaiss, Lebanon: The smell of burning still hung heavy in the air as first responders rushed to the Hezbollah stronghold of Ruwaiss in Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate stranded residents of a building struck by a massive car bomb just a few hours before. Through the smoke, people could be seen waving cell phones from the roof to grab the attention of …