Middle East

Baghdad (AFP) – Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s alliance won Iraq’s May parliamentary election according to a manual recount, the electoral commission said Friday, paving the way for a government to be formed nearly three months after the vote. Allegations of fraud prompted the supreme court to order a partial manual recount, but Sadr’s joint […]

Saudi Arabia

How Bin Salman’s Attack on Canada is Harming the Saudi Economy

Middle East Monitor

By Alastair Sloan | – The Canada-Saudi spat looks set to accelerate as the Kingdom’s central bank ordered its fund managers to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars in equities, bonds and cash from Canadian financial markets yesterday. The Wall Street Journal quickly judged that “the relatively small selloff isn’t expected to carry a major […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Airstrike in Yemen hits School Bus, kills 29 Kids

AFP

Sanaa (AFP) – An attack on a bus at a market in rebel-held northern Yemen killed at least 29 children Thursday, the Red Cross said, as the Saudi-led coalition faced a growing outcry over the strike. The coalition said it had carried out a “legitimate military action”, targeting a bus in response to a deadly […]

Featured

The Saudi Problem: Wildly Erratic, and Savagely Lashing out from Yemen to Qatar to . . . Canada?

Juan Cole

Mohamed Bin Salman is at it again. The yacht-loving Renaissance art collector who tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the American elite this spring is a serial diplomatic disaster. Bin Salman’s plans for a transition of Saudi Arabia from being an oil giant to being a financial hub depend heavily on international […]

Israel/ Palestine

Palestine Recognized as Sovereign State by Outgoing Colombia Government

AFP

Bogota (AFP) – Colombia recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in the days before new President Ivan Duque took office, according to a letter from the foreign ministry made public on Wednesday. “I would like to inform you that in the name of the government of Colombia, President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to recognize […]

Iran

Why Iranians shrug off Trump Sanctions: ‘No one in the World Trusts US’

Eric Randolph

Tehran (AFP) – If the US was hoping renewed sanctions on Iran would cause immediate economic turmoil and mass anti-government protests, it may be disappointed, though real pain could still be on the horizon. US President Donald Trump described the embargoes that returned on Tuesday as “the most biting sanctions ever imposed”. AFP / ATTA […]

Featured

Europe, Russia, China defy Trump on Iran Sanctions

Juan Cole

A further round of new Trump sanctions against Iran went into effect yesterday, but the president is failing to get buy-in from allies and rivals, who pledge to keep dealing with Iran. Chinese auto-makers are flooding into Iran to replace French car companies there. China has pledged to pay no attention to the Trump threats. […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Arabs Launch High Court Challenge to Apartheid Law As Shaked Warns Justices

Maan News Agency

Israeli Justice Minister known for anti-Palestinian hate speech warns of ‘earthquake’ if court finds Palestinian-Israelis equal citizens

Saudi Arabia

Saudis Seek to Silence Foreign Critics as Canada Feud Erupts

Anuj Chopra

Riyadh (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic rupture with Canada underscores the kingdom’s newly combative foreign policy to tame international criticism after a crackdown on domestic critics, as it struggles to implement risky reforms, analysts say. Saudi Arabia on Monday expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own envoy while freezing all new trade and investments, after […]