Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile fired toward Riyadh, no reported casualties
December 19th, 20170 RIYADH — Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, the latest attack by a Yemeni group that could escalate a proxy war between the kingdom and regional rival Tehran. There was no immediate report of casualties or damages. The Iran-aligned Houthi...U.S. vetoes U.N. call for withdrawal of Trump’s Jerusalem decision
December 18th, 20170 UNITED NATIONS — The United States was further isolated on Monday over President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital when it blocked a United Nations Security Council call for the declaration to be withdrawn. The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, which did not...Lebanon detains Uber driver suspected of murdering British embassy worker
December 18th, 20170 BEIRUT — A Lebanese Uber driver with a previous arrest for drug use confessed to killing a British woman who worked at the British Embassy in Beirut, a senior Lebanese security official said on Monday. A spokesman for Uber said in an email: “We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her...Iraq: More than 7,000 militia fighters lost in war against ISIS
December 15th, 20170 BAGHDAD — The mainly Shi'a Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries have lost more than 7,000 and sustained more than 21,000 injuries during the war against the ISIS terror group since 2014, an Iraqi militia leader has revealed. Qais al-Khazali, the head of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, which is funded and supported by Iran, said that with the...Syrian top negotiator blames West, Saudis and U.N. for failed Geneva peace talks
December 15th, 20170 GENEVA — Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja'afari accused a Syrian opposition group, backed by Western countries and Saudi Arabia, of sabotaging a round of U.N.-led peace talks that ended in Geneva on Thursday without any results. He said Damascus did not want the talks to fail, but the opposition had put down a precondition...Nazareth scales down Christmas celebrations in protest of Trump’s Jerusalem decision
December 15th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Nazareth, the Arab city occupied by Israelis, where Jesus is thought to have been raised, has canceled some Christmas celebrations in protest of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, an official said. Trump announced the move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week, reversing...Yemen: Saudi-led coalition air raids kill dozens in Sanaa
December 15th, 20170 SANAA — Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck a military police camp in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people and wounding 90 more, including some prisoners, an official and witnesses said. The strike is part of an air campaign by the Western-backed coalition on the Iran-allied Houthis that has escalated...Study: U.S. weapons given to Syrian rebels fell into ISIS’ hands
December 15th, 20170 WASHINGTON — Sophisticated weapons the U.S. military secretly provided to Syrian rebels quickly fell into the hands of ISIS, a study released Thursday disclosed. The study stated that ISIS's possession of these weapons remains a threat to the forces still operating against the terror group in Iraq and Syria. The arms included...Egyptian singer jailed over video inciting debauchery
December 15th, 20170 CAIRO — An Egyptian court jailed a little-known singer for two years on Tuesday for inciting debauchery, judicial sources said, after she appeared in a music video in her underwear and suggestively eating a banana. Shyma's song, titled "I have issues", sparked controversy on social media in the conservative country. The singer,...Muslim leaders call on world to recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital
December 13th, 20170 ISTANBUL — Muslim leaders on Wednesday condemned President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called on the world to respond by recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who hosted the summit of more than 50 Muslim countries in Istanbul, said the U.S....‘We are one’: Palestinian Christians and Muslims unite against Trump’s Jerusalem call
December 12th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Less than an hour after President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Palestinians protested by turning off the lights on the Christmas tree outside Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. It was a timely reminder that while headlines focused on Islamist calls for...Trump senior National Security Adviser Dina Powell to resign early next year
December 11th, 20170 WASHINGTON —President Trump’s Deputy National Security Adviser for strategy, Dina Powell, plans to resign early next year but will continue to have a role in Middle East diplomacy, the White House said on Friday. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Powell, a key player in U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, had...World rejects Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
December 8th, 20170 On Wednesday, Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator. The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at President Trump's decision to...Frustration and fury among Arabs at Trump’s Jerusalem declaration
December 6th, 20170 CAIRO/AMMAN/BEIRUT — Arabs denounced President Trump’s plan to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem as a slap in the face but few thought their governments would do much in response. A Palestinian man steps on a representation of an Israeli flag as other demonstrators hold crossed out posters of Trump phoned allies in...Trump tells Arab leaders he will move embassy to Jerusalem, breaking with U.S. policy
December 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - President Donald Trump told Israeli and Arab leaders on Tuesday that he intends to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a decision that breaks with decades of U.S. policy and risks fueling violence in the Middle East. Senior U.S. officials said Trump on Wednesday, Dec. 6, is expected to recognize......
Jordan’s king warns Trump over moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem
December 5th, 20170 AMMAN — Jordan’s King Abdullah told President Trump on Tuesday that any move by the United States to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel would have “dangerous repercussions” for regional stability, a Jordanian palace statement said. Trump said he intended to go ahead with a decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to...Yemeni former president Saleh killed after switching sides in civil war, Houthis maintain upper hand in Sanaa
December 4th, 20170 SANAA - Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed in a roadside attack on Monday after switching sides in Yemen’s civil war, abandoning his Iran-aligned Houthi allies in favor of a Saudi-led coalition, foes and supporters said. Analysts said Saleh’s death would be a huge moral boost for the Houthis and serious blow to the......
Yemen war: Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh ‘killed’
December 4th, 20170 SANAA - Reports from Yemen say ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed in clashes with the rival Houthi movement. Houthi-controlled al-Masirah TV cited the interior ministry as announcing the "end of the crisis of the treason militia and the killing of its leader". There was no independent confirmation, but pictures...Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against Netanyahu, corruption
December 3rd, 20170 TEL AVIV - About 20,000 Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday against government corruption and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is under criminal investigation over allegations of abuse of office. The demonstration was by far the largest of weekly anti-corruption protests sparked by corruption allegations against...Kushner: Trump still considering whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
December 3rd, 20170 WASHINGTON – President Trump has not yet made a decision on whether to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Sunday, a move that would break with decades of U.S. policy and could fuel violence in the Middle East. “He’s still looking at a lot of different facts, and...Senior Saudi Prince Miteb freed in $1 billion settlement agreement
December 2nd, 20170 RIYADH — Saudi Arabia freed influential Prince Miteb bin Abdullah on Tuesday after agreeing to pay more than $1 billion to settle corruption allegations against him, a Saudi official said. Miteb was detained more than three weeks ago in a sweeping anti-corruption purge of the kingdom's elite. The former National Guard chief was......
Regardless of what happens in Geneva, Assad will be the winner
December 2nd, 20170 GENEVA — The Syrian government delegation arrived in Geneva on Wednesday to participate in another round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks to bring an end to the Syrian Civil War, now in its seventh year. All the previous rounds of U.N.-backed peace talks have failed to reach a peace deal, and have often been seriously hindered by the...Egypt’s Sisi orders military chief to secure Sinai in three months
December 2nd, 20171 CAIRO — On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered his military command to use all force necessary to secure the Sinai peninsula within the next three months, following a militant attack on a mosque that killed more than 300 people. No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in which authorities say......
Khamenei calls for Iranian Navy expansion
December 2nd, 20170 TEHRAN — This week, Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei called on the country's military leaders to expand the country's naval capabilities, the Iranian media reported. In a meeting with senior Navy commanders in Tehran, Khamenei said the Navy should boost its assets and capabilities both in terms of military gear and combat...Tom Friedman’s paean to a Saudi tyrant ignites NYT comments-storm
December 2nd, 20170 By Mike Whitney "I've never thought much of Friedman's work, but this is the work of a complete toady." Jim, New York Times comments section "What a nauseating exercise in a…-kissing!" Karim Pakravan, NYT comments section NEW YORK — Why did Tom Friedman write such a gushing tribute to the Saudi tyrant, Mohammed bin Salman?......