Beirut-Saudi Arabia’s Arab Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer al-Sabhan continued on Friday to meet with Lebanese officials, carrying with him a single message that “the Kingdom is keen on (protecting) Lebanon.” Since the early morning, the envoy met separately with former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and
A Russian fighter jet flew so close in front of an aircraft of the U.S.-led coalition over Syria this month that the plane felt the jet’s wake, a U.S. coalition spokesman said on Friday. On Oct. 17 the Russian jet passed within about half a mile of the larger coalition plane, Colonel John Dorr
There has been an increase in violent confrontations on different battlefronts in the province of Taiz between legitimate forces and rebel militias, and the army has made new progress. Violent confrontations took place on fronts in the countryside of Taiz, Hifan and the Assilw district in southern T
US officials yesterday said that Al-Qaeda officials who were planning attacks in the west and in Afghanistan were targeted by a drone strike in the biggest operation against the organisation in a long time. Several rockets were launched during the operation which targeted two sites in the Kunar prov
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that the number of people who were killed in air raids on schools in the province of Idlib, northwest Syria, has increased to 22 children and six teachers. The raids were severely condemned by UNICEF and Britain, and Russia denied its invol
Tel Aviv- An Israeli government-sponsored bill that would expand the defense minister’s powers to restrict the freedom of citizens (Jonathan Lis, October 27) represents another step in an uninhibited campaign whose goal is to deal a death blow to human rights and the separation of powers. The bill w
ISIS has abducted “tens of thousands” of men, women and children from areas around the Iraqi city of Mosul and is using them as human shields as Iraqi government troops advance, the U.N. rights office said on Friday. The militants killed at least 232 people on Wednesday, including 190 fo
Dammam- Nesma Airlines first flight took off on Thursday while Flyadeal is expected to commence operations mid of 2017 – This actually hints that 2017 will be a competitive year among airlines. Effective airlines in Saudi Arabia will reach four companies in one year: Flyadeal, Nesma Airline, Saudia
Medina- Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir expressed no regret over boycotting Iran, showing no concern over its war strategy that was a hidden factor in the recently-ended relations. The President said Iran is leading an Israeli-cruciferous coalition, paving the way towards its Farisi pr
Cologne- German federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that they had brought charges against a 19-year-old Syrian man accused of having scouted targets in Berlin for a potential attack by the ultra-hardline terror group ISIS. The man identified only as Shaas Al-M. allegedly joined the extremist g
Manama–Bahrain’s High Court of Appeal has decided to uphold a decision to revoke the citizenship of 55 Bahrainis, and sentence five people to life in prison, and 51 others to jail terms of up to 15 years over charges of establishing a terrorist organization that targets policemen in Bahrain. Also Th
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made her first joint campaign appearance on Thursday with one of her most powerful supporters, first lady Michelle Obama, while the race suffered a scare when Republican Donald Trump’s running mate’s plane skidded off the runway. No
Baghdad- Iraq’s political efforts continue to fluctuate between using diplomacy to influence Turkey to withdraw troops on Iraqi grounds, while insisting that the country is in need of military support in its fight against ISIS. Iraqi President Fuad Masum says that the trust of Iraqis in national for
As the campaign to take back Mosul from ISIS continues, the chorus demanding the division of Iraq is back centre stage. That chorus has a long history and has been heard on many occasions whenever Iraq, in its present form as a nation-state, has been in crisis. What is different this time is that vo
London- Yemeni Minister of State Yasser Al Raeini stated that the government is committed to the political solution represented in the Gulf initiative, its executive mechanism, outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) and the U.N. resolution 2216. “Anything that contradicts with these does
Cairo- The U.N. delegate to Libya, Martin Kobler, defended the internationally-backed (Government of National Accord) GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj saying that its presidential council still is constitutionally legitimate. Kobler added that rumors on the GNA’s legitimacy coming to an end by the end of
Manama–King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa expressed pride in the kingdom’s hosting of the first GCC Joint Security Exercise which commenced on Thursday. “Arabian Gulf Security 1” exercises will continue until mid-November with the participation of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and K
Ankara-Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) plans to propose to parliament a Constitutional amendment to establish a presidential system based on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to expand his powers and shrink the government’s authorities. During AKP’s conference, Prime Minister
Beirut-Lebanon’s cabinet held on Thursday what it considered to be its last session before the election of a new president early next week, and the beginning of a new era. Meanwhile, the Free Patriotic Movement continued to hold meetings with political parties that are rejecting or have not yet anno
Jeddah-The command of the coalition forces to support the legitimacy in Yemen has announced that the Saudi Air Defense was able to intercept a ballistic missile launched by Houthi militias on Thursday evening from the province of Saada towards the Mecca area. In a statement, the coalition said the b
