Qatar will allow an American couple to fly home Wednesday, three days after being cleared of wrongdoing in the death of their adopted daughter, top U.S. diplomat John Kerry said.
An appeals court in Doha acquitted Matthew and Grace Huang on Sunday of any parental neglect following the death of eight-year-old Gloria, who had been adopted from an orphanage in Ghana, and said they were free to leave.
Full StoryPrime Minister Tammam Salam urged the Qatari emir on Tuesday to revive his country's mediation in negotiations aimed at releasing Lebanese servicemen taken hostages by jihadists in the summer, said the state-run National News Agency.
Salam telephoned Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid al-Thani to urge him to help “end the suffering of the families” of the soldiers and policemen who were taken captive by al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August, said NNA.
Full StoryA Qatari appeals court on Sunday acquitted a U.S. couple of parental neglect over their adopted daughter's death, but the couple said they were later prevented from leaving the country.
Matthew and Grace Huang were arrested in January 2013 after the death of eight-year-old Gloria, who had been adopted from an orphanage in Ghana.
Full StoryA Qatari appeals court acquitted Sunday a U.S. couple charged with parental neglect leading to their daughter's death by suspected starvation, ending a nearly two-year legal ordeal for the Americans.
Matthew and Grace Huang were arrested in January 2013 after the death of their eight-year-old daughter Gloria, who had been adopted from an orphanage in Ghana.
Full StoryArsal prominent figure Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri, who is also known as Abu Taqiyeh, denied on Sunday that he was tasked by the Lebanese state to negotiation the release of the abducted servicemen, warning of a “last chance” given by the jihadists to the government.
“The (al-Qaida-linked) Nusra Front has granted the government a last chance to engage in serious negotiations to release” the captive soldiers and policemen, Hujeiri told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.
Full StoryThe Lebanese state is reportedly waiting for the final names of the prisoners that the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front are demanding their release to exchange them with the captive soldiers and policemen.
According to al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Sunday, the Lebanese state gave the green light to the prisoners swap deal, demanding the abductors to hand over to the Qatari-appointed negotiator Ahmed al-Khatib, the list of inmates they want their release.
Full StoryThe al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front retracted late on Friday its decision to execute captive soldier Ali al-Bazzal after conflicting reports emerged over his fate, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.
Health Minister Wael Abou Faour confirmed the extremist group's decision, saying it has postponed the execution.
Full StoryHealth Minister Wael Abou Faour, who has been soothing the relatives of the abducted soldiers and policemen, has been negotiating with the Islamic State group the release of the captives who are in its custody.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Friday, Abou Faour is contacting the group via a mediator from the northeastern border town of Arsal after the IS refused to talk with the Qatari-appointed negotiator, Syrian Ahmed al-Khatib.
Full StorySyrian detainee Imad Jomaa, a member of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front, whose arrest sparked the Arsal unrest in August, reportedly expressed doubt that negotiations with the jihadists entrenched on the outskirts of the town on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border would lead to his release.
Jomaa, according to As Safir newspaper published on Thursday, is demanding to be referred to the judiciary to stand trial as he believes that the negotiations are “a waste of time.”
Full StoryNegotiations over the release of Lebanese soldiers and policemen abducted by jihadists, who briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August, reached a breakthrough, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Monday.
According to the daily, the mediation carried out by the Qatari-appointed negotiator, Syrian Ahmed al-Khatib, succeeded in easing several complications.
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