Masked watchmen to exact laws and orders in Zuwara

The GuardianIt’s early in the morning and Islam Halab is putting on his military uniform, including a mask that reveals only his eyes. Fully covered and all in black, he’s about to go to work as a volunteer policeman in his home…

Kobler pushes for unity government from Libya

Libyan News + Other AgenciesThe UN envoy for Libya arrived Thursday in the east of the restive country in a bid to persuade the internationally recognised administration to join a national unity government, state media reported.…

Russia: ISIS carried out gun attack in Dagestan

BBC World NewsGunmen opened fire at the Derbent citadel, a Unesco World Heritage site in the North Caucasus, on Tuesday evening.A statement posted to IS's main channel on the Telegram messaging app said the attack had targeted…

Microsoft Will Warn Users About Suspected Attacks

TechCrunchMicrosoft users will now be notified if a state-sponsored attacker tries to break into their accounts, the company said in a blog post. The announcement comes the same day as a Reuters report that Microsoft did not warn…

9 of the best smartphones from 2015

The Next WebWith 2016 knocking on the door, there’s just about enough time to look at some of the best smartphones of the year. While we saw lots of new devices across the premium and mid-range categories, only the most notable make…

Book review: Translating Libya by Ethan Chorin

The NationalIt takes a particular type of American diplomat to master Arabic, fall in love with a country and reinvent himself as a literary archaeologist and translator of fiction. Yet this is exactly what Ethan Chorin has managed…

Security Raised at New Year Celebrations

NBC NewsNew Year celebrations around the world were going ahead despite heightened terror fears Thursday — as New York deployed 6,000 police officers to Times Square and Belgium charged a 10th suspect over the Paris massacre.…

Simone de Beauvoir Explains “Why I’m a Feminist”

Open CultureIn Simone de Beauvoir’s 1945 novel The Blood of Others, the narrator, Jean Blomart, reports on his childhood friend Marcel’s reaction to the word “revolution”:It was senseless to try to change anything in the world…

AP’s top albums of 2015

AP EntertainmentMore than hit singles, albums are works of art that move you to think, reflect, dance and smile. Here are 10 albums that did that in 2015, according to Associated Press music editor Mesfin Fekadu."Blue…

Oman to slash fuel subsidies

APOman's government will hike fuel prices and charges for public services in the face of falling oil prices, the official ONA agency reported on Wednesday.Non-OPEC Oman is the latest Gulf state to announce austerity plans amid…