Explaining the Israeli election: Who won, who lost?
April 19th, 20190 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the backing of a majority of parliament members on Tuesday to form a new government, following the April 9 election. Netanyahu is heading towards a record fifth term in office confident of being able to put together a bloc of religious-rightist parties. It would be a slim...
U.S. official: Washington will not remove Sudan from terror list while military rules
April 18th, 20190 WASHINGTON - The United States will not remove Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism list until the country’s leadership and policies change and the military no longer holds power, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. “We will be willing to look at removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism if there is...
Egypt to hold referendum on extending Sisi’s rule on April 20-22
April 18th, 20190 CAIRO - Egypt’s election commission said on Wednesday that a referendum potentially allowing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stay in office until 2030 will take place on April 20-22. The ballot, featuring several constitutional amendments, was given final approval in parliament on Tuesday. The changes, if approved, would extend...
Runaway Saudi sisters fear death, plead for world’s help
April 18th, 20190 TBILISI - Two Saudi sisters took to Twitter on Wednesday to plead for international protection and a safe haven, saying their lives would be at risk if they went back to Saudi Arabia. The women, in their 20s, said they had arrived in the former Soviet republic of Georgia and needed help from the international community to find a new...
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement co-founder denied entry by U.S. government
April 12th, 20190 Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli financial interests, has been denied entry to the United States after airline staff informed him he wouldn't be flying. Barghouti was at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday when he was told by U.S....
Pardoning Assange would be the first step back toward rule of law
April 12th, 20190 On April 11, the ongoing saga of journalist and transparency activist Julian Assange took a dangerous turn. Ecuador's president, Lenin Moreno, revoked his asylum in that country's London embassy. British police immediately arrested him — supposedly pursuant to his "crime" of jumping bail on an invalid arrest warrant in an investigation...
Trump congratulates Netanyahu: “U.S. with you and Israel all the way!”
April 12th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to congratulate him on his re-election, and Netanyahu said he thanked his ally for “tremendous support for Israel.” Netanyahu tweeted that Trump had called him from Air Force One. The president was on a flight to Texas. Netanyahu...
For Palestinians, it doesn’t matter who wins the Israeli elections
April 12th, 20190 Israeli elections have just concluded and the results indicate that Benjamin Netanyahu is set to win a fifth term as Israeli prime minister. The race between Netanyahu and his strongest challenger, Benjamin Gantz, who is a former chief of staff of the Israeli military forces, was very tight. But even if Gantz and his associated political...
Reuters: Egypt withdraws from U.S.-led anti-Iran security initiative
April 12th, 20190 RIYADH/WASHINGTON, DC — Egypt has pulled out of the U.S. effort to forge an “Arab NATO” with key Arab allies, according to four sources familiar with the decision, in a blow to the Trump administration’s strategy to contain Iranian power. Egypt conveyed its decision to the United States and other participants in the proposed...
State Dept. warns Americans of kidnapping risk: Lebanon among other Arab states on the list
April 11th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC - Due to the increased risk of American citizen abductions, the U.S. State Department has updated its travel advisories for 35 countries, with a new indicator to highlight the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Libya are the Arab states on the list. The...
Sudan’s Bashir ousted by military; how did Sudan get here?
April 11th, 20190 KHARTOUM — After leading an autocratic government for 30 years, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the armed forces on Thursday, but protesters took to the streets demanding a civilian government. The ouster of Bashir came after months of demonstrations against his rule. In an address on...
Julian Assenge forcibly removed from Ecuadorian embassy, arrested in London
April 11th, 20190 LONDON, UK —Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday, bringing his seven-year stay to a dramatic and unexpected end. Video showed Assange with a full white beard being escorted out by police into a nearby van. Assange was arrested for skipping bail in the UK in 2012, at...
U.S. senators seek details on nuclear power cooperation with Saudi Arabia
April 5th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, U.S. senators from both parties asked Energy Secretary Rick Perry for details about recent approvals for companies to share nuclear energy information with Saudi Arabia, with the lawmakers expressing concern about possible development of atomic weapons. Saudi Arabia has engaged in “many deeply...
U.S. House rebukes Trump on Saudi Arabia, backs measure to end Yemen involvement
April 5th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Thursday that would end all U.S. involvement with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, rebuffing President Trump’s policy of continued support for the kingdom. As the resolution had already passed the Senate, the vote in the Democratic-led...
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......
