July 12th, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Biden will make the case for greater oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations to bring down gasoline prices when he meets Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia this week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
Biden leaves Tuesday...
July 1st, 20220President Biden said on Thursday he would not directly press Saudi Arabia to increase oil output to curb soaring crude prices when he sees the Saudi king and crown prince during a visit later this month.
Biden also said at a news conference in Spain that Americans will have to stomach high gas prices for "as long as it takes" to beat...
June 17th, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House confirmed dates and some details on President Biden’s July trip to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, amid concerns over the human rights records of both countries.
Human rights advocates are critical of Biden’s July 13-16 trip, which will include a meeting with the...
June 5th, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden should not visit Saudi Arabia or meet its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to U.S. intelligence, a leading Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday.
Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the...
July 19th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Israeli company's spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organizations published on Sunday.
One of the organizations, The Washington Post, said the...
July 8th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said he held "a great meeting" on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they explored strengthening U.S.-Saudi ties and reviewed regional developments.
Prince Khalid, the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto...
May 29th, 20210A Danish pension fund, which prides itself on being the world's strictest on human rights violations, says it is considering adding Israel to a long list of countries it excludes following this month's conflict with Palestinians.
The $22 billion Akademiker looks after the pensions of Denmark's teachers and university lecturers and has...
November 19th, 20190TIGARD — $233 million in Oregon’s state employee pension funds have been invested in a private equity firm that owns majority share of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, according to a recent report by AP.
The deal between Novalpina Capital, which along with other partners recently bought majority stock in NSO, occurred in...
March 9th, 20190WASHINGTON, 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...
February 15th, 20190WASHINGTON, 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...
February 8th, 20190WASHINGTON, 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...
December 14th, 20180WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blaming the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The votes were largely symbolic because to become law the resolutions would have to pass...
November 30th, 20180WASHINGTON — While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was lobbying senators on Capitol Hill not to "pack up and abandon" the U.S. role in the Saudi-led coalition war on Yemen, the Senate voted 63-37 to consider a measure that would do just that, ending U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen.
The vote was a...
November 23rd, 20180WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Trump praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices as pressure intensified for the U.S. to impose tougher sanctions on its Arab ally over dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
In a tweet, Trump thanked Riyadh for the recent drop in oil prices and called for prices to go...
October 19th, 20180Saudi Arabia and especially its young crown prince – who has been variously portrayed as naïve, venal and blood-thirsty – appear to have vastly misjudged the reaction to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who opposed the new heir’s unchecked efforts to reshape the kingdom and the entire Middle East region with...