Algeria’s Bouteflika – from revolutionary to ailing recluse
April 5th, 20190 ALGIERS — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned on Tuesday after resisting weeks of protests, established himself by ending a ruinous civil war but came undone over corruption and economic stagnation. The 82-year-old, a veteran of Algeria’s war for independence, has rarely been seen in public since a stroke in...
U.N.: Arab states face water emergency, urgent action needed
April 5th, 20190 CAIRO — Arab states are facing a water supply emergency they need to coordinate an urgent response to, with per capita resources expected to fall by 50 percent by 2050, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday. The Middle East and North Africa have suffered more than any other region from water scarcity and...
Israeli elections: Bibi channels Trump
April 3rd, 20190 TEL AVIV — As Israel's April 9 elections approaches with a possible indictment on corruption charges, Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu's advisers are channeling President Trump's use of social media to sway the opinions of millions of his social media followers. His young campaign advisers are sending out a steady supply of...
Algeria’s Bouteflika to resign before mandate ends April 28
April 2nd, 20190 ALGIERS - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate ends on April 28, state news agency APS said on Monday, bowing to weeks of mass protests and army pressure seeking an end to his 20-year rule. There was no immediate reaction from leaders of the protest movement that has buffeted Algeria, a major oil...
Senate votes to pull U.S. aid for Saudi war on Yemen
March 15th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate voted 54-46 on Wednesday to end America’s involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, potentially setting the stage for President Trump to use veto powers for the first time. The resolution to end American aid in a war that has been largely invisible to most U.S. taxpayers places the president in a...
Dozens dead in New Zealand shooting at two mosques during Friday prayers
March 15th, 20190 WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A gunman opened fire on Friday prayers at two mosques, killing many worshippers and forcing the city of Christchurch into lockdown, in what looked set to be the country’s worst ever mass shooting. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said 40 people have lost their lives and more than 20 people were seriously...
Lebanese illustrator challenges views of Arab women through art
March 9th, 20190 BEIRUT — Lebanese artist Christina Atik has produced a series of digital pictures to illustrate sentences commonly used in Arab countries to criticize women with the aim of empowering Arab women. The project tackles issues of female freedom, beauty and sexuality in societies traditionally dominated by men. Atik, 27, said she...
U.S. senators say Saudi crown prince has gone ‘full gangster’
March 9th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — Retired General John Abizaid, President Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia, defended the U.S.-Saudi relationship on Wednesday as lawmakers accused the kingdom of a litany of misdeeds and criticized its crown prince as going “full gangster.” Both Republican and Democratic Senators at Abizaid’s...
Far-rightists cleared for Israel election, Arab party blocked
March 9th, 20190 TEL AVIV — Israel’s election board has approved far-right Jewish candidates accused by rivals of racism for next month’s election while disqualifying an Arab party that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said supported terrorism. The Central Elections Committee’s decisions, taken late on Wednesday, were unlikely to be...
Summit between Trump, North Korean leader ends without a deal
March 1st, 20190 HANOI, VIETNAM— A summit between President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un was cut short on Thursday after no agreement was reached. Kim reportedly asked for an end to all U.S. sanctions on his country. The two leaders canceled a planned signing ceremony and departed after what White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called...
Israeli PM Netanyahu indicted on corruption charges after two-year investigation
February 28th, 20190 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges after a two-year investigation, NBC News reported on Thursday. The controversial prime minister now faces one count of bribery and three counts of breach of trust, the report said. “The attorney general, Avihai Mandelblit, has informed the prime...
Saudi crown prince defends China’s right to put Uighur Muslims in concentration camps
February 27th, 20190 RIYAHD — Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman defended China's right to use concentration camps for Muslims on Friday, saying it was Beijing's “right” according to the Telegraph newspaper. "China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremization work for its national security,” Salman said while in...
Israeli pharmaceutical firms test medicines and weapons on Palestinians
February 24th, 20190 JERUSALEM - In yet another violation of Palestinian rights, the Israel occupation authorities issue permits to large pharmaceutical firms to carry out tests on Palestinian and Arab prisoners, according to a report by Israeli Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian issued yesterday. In addition, the Hebrew University lecturer also revealed...
Palestinian lawsuit reopened in U.S. court against billionaire Israeli American donor Sheldon Adelson
February 20th, 20190 Jewish-American mogul Sheldon Adelson faces a billion-dollar lawsuit that the U.S. appeals court has reopened, seeking to hold him and other Israeli donors and supporters (more than 30 people) liable for war crimes and support of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
U.S. mercenary group linked to UAE agrees to deal with China to run anti-Muslim detention camps
February 16th, 20190 BEIJING — A U.S. mercenary group with ties to the United Arab Emirates has signed a deal to build a training center in China where up to 1 million Muslims are reportedly being held in detention camps, according to the Middle East Monitor. The Muslims are of the Uighur minority, a community of Turkic people who live throughout East......
Starving girl shows impact of Yemen war, economic collapse
February 15th, 20190 HAJJAH, Yemen — Displaced by war, starving and living under a tree, 12-year-old Fatima Qoba weighed just 10kg when she was carried into a Yemeni malnutrition clinic. “All the fat reserves in her body have been used up, she is left only with bones,” said Makiah al-Aslami, a doctor and head of the clinic in northwest Yemen. “She...
Report: U.S. negotiating multibillion-dollar fine with Facebook
February 15th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. government and Facebook Inc. are negotiating a settlement over the company’s privacy lapses that could require the online social network to pay a multibillion-dollar fine, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The newspaper said that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Facebook had not agreed on an......
House backs measure to end U.S. support for Saudis in Yemen war
February 15th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Wednesday that would end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, as many lawmakers sought to push President Trump to toughen his policy toward the kingdom. It was the first time the House of Representatives has...
Trump may declare ISIS defeated next week
February 8th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump said on Wednesday he expected a formal announcement as early as next week that the coalition fighting ISIS militants has reclaimed all of the territory previously held by the extremist group. “Their land is gone. It’s a big factor — their land is gone,” Trump told foreign ministers and other...
U.S. lawmakers renew push for penalties against Saudi Arabia
February 8th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers renewed their push on Thursday to penalize Saudi Arabia for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, introducing legislation to bar some arms sales and impose sanctions on those responsible for his death. Democrats Bob...
Study: Religious engagements key factor to happiness and health
February 4th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, participation in a religious congregation is a key factor to civic engagements, happiness and health. People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members......
America’s first Muslims were slaves
February 1st, 20191 WASHINGTON, DC — In 1807, a wealthy 37-year-old scholar was captured in West Africa, in what is now Senegal, and transported to the United States to be sold into slavery. That man, Omar Ibn Said, lived the remainder of his life enslaved in the American South, and his story might have been forgotten if not for the handwritten...
Senate advances measure opposing troop withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan
January 31st, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC - In a rebuke of President Trump, the Republican-led U.S. Senate advanced largely symbolic legislation on Thursday opposing plans for any abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan. The Senate voted 68-23 in favor of a non-binding amendment, drafted by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying it......
UAE uses cyber-weapon “Karma” to spy on adversaries
January 30th, 20190 UAE - The United Arab Emirates employed a team of former U.S. government intelligence operatives to hack into the iPhones of activists, diplomats and rival foreign leaders with the help of a spying tool called Karma. This campaign shows the potential of dangerous cyber-weapons that are passing through the hands of world’s superpowers...
Iranian commander threatens Israel’s destruction if it attacks his country
January 28th, 20190 TEHRAN - A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander on Monday threatened Israel with destruction if it attacks Iran, state media reported. The comments by Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, came after an Israeli attack on Iranian targets in Syria last week - the......
