London- The British House of Commons announced on Friday that maintenance works at the Elizabeth Tower in London, which includes the famous clock and the Big Ben bell will cost double of the original estimate. On its official website, the House said: “the repair project will totally cost 61 million
Baghdad – Sunni leaders in Iraq plan to meet with Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to suggest establishing their own region as they follow in the footsteps of Kurds, who last week voted for their own independence. They will “propose establishing several regions in respect with the Constitution t
Marseille – ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack, which saw a man stabbing to death two women at the main railway station in Marseille, southern France, before being shot by the police. One of the victims had her throat slit by the assailant, a man with a criminal record believed to be in
Erbil– In an urgent session held on Saturday, Kurdish parliament rejected the list of measures announced by the Iraqi parliament. The government of Kurdistan region also refused to receive any military or security Iraqi personnel to oversee the airports. Meanwhile, reports indicated that both Turkey
London- Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Europe to take the lead for the sake of rescuing the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program signed in 2015, threatening that Iran may abandon the nuclear deal if the United States decides to withdraw from it. “Europe should
London, Geneva- The Dutch project to internationalize the investigations in Yemen, which was proposed by Human Rights Council in Geneva, has ended with the formation of a group of international and regional prominent experts to investigate claimed violations of human rights that have been made in th
Beirut- Massive escalation in Russian air strikes against the Idlib province in northwest Syria was registered on Friday. Strikes were far-reaching and touched on border areas with Turkey, amid expectations that the raids pave the way for an imminent military operation to expel Al Qaeda-linked milit
US President Donald Trump is set to visit Asia in November for the first time since becoming president. Trump is expected to stop in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines on a trip to be highlighted by the North Korea nuclear threat. Trump will travel Nov. 3-14. with first lady Mela
Beirut- The Lebanese government overpassed on Friday the test of a tax law and the repercussions of a meeting held last week in New York between its Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem. On Friday, the cabinet convened at the Grand Serail in Beirut and adopted a ne
London – OPEC oil output has risen this month by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd), a Reuters survey found, as Iraqi exports increased and production edged higher in Libya, one of the producers exempt from a supply-cutting deal. OPEC’s adherence to its pledged supply curbs slipped to 86 percent fro
Baghdad, Irbil- All international flights to and from the Kurdistan region were suspended from Friday evening after the Iraqi central government enforced a travel ban in response to the referendum on independence held by the Region last Monday. The travel ban came as Kurdish authorities insisted to
London- ISIS issued on Thursday what appears to be the first recording in nearly a year of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The message released was his first purported audio communication in almost a year during which his group has lost much of its self-proclaimed “caliphate.” The date of the 46-mi
Geneva- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed that the coalition operations in Yemen began in 2015 at the request of its legitimate government when it faced an illegal armed rebellion that obstructed the process of peaceful political transition and seized state institutions by armed force. In his sp
London- Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has told the parliament that the draft state budget for 2018 would include for the first time a wealth tax as part of measures aimed at securing new sources of finance after a sharp fall in energy earnings. State finances of the OPEC member North African
Beirut, Ankara, Damascus, London- A Cultural and linguistic conflict has emerged recently among competing forces in addition to the rapid military and economic conflict in various regions of Syria, which have become areas of regional and international influence. In the areas that are controlled by t
London- Informed sources confirmed that President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani informed Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi on Thursday that he was “ready” to cooperate with the latter’s initiative to contain the growing crisis between Baghdad and Erbil that erupted due to the Kurdis
Beirut- Lebanon’s permanent military tribunal sentenced hardline cleric Ahmad al-Assir to death and Lebanese retired singer Fadel Shaker to 15 years in prison in absentia ending the so-called case of the Abra clashes that erupted in 2013 in the southern city of Sidon between al-Assir’s supporters an
Tunis – Cairo – The two delegations to the Libyan political dialogue, which is hosted by Tunisia under the supervision of UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame, discussed on Wednesday the structure of the executive authority and its powers, within a plan to amend the Skhirat political agreement. Th
Washington, London, Berlin – Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to drive was widely supported around the world, as international leaders have officially welcomed the King’s order. US President Donald Trump commended the royal order to apply the traffic system and its executive regulations –
Jeddah, Beirut– Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz met on Thursday with the leader of Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea. Geagea landed in Jeddah on his first stop in a foreign tour that would also take him to a number of Arab and western states. A statement by the Saudi Press Age
