Middle East

A message captured in the audio record of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi is widely believed to be an instruction to notify the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman that the operation to slay the Washington Post journalist had been carried out successfully. In the recording, which Turkey has said was passed on to western allies, […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza kill 4, destroy TV Station, as Rockets kill 1 in Israel

AFP

By Sakher Abou El Oun with Mike Smith in Jerusalem Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Renewed violence in Gaza threatened to thwart efforts to end months of unrest as Israeli air strikes killed four Palestinians and destroyed a Hamas TV building while a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave left one dead on […]

Yemen

150 Killed in Battle for Yemen’s Hodeida as Millions Face Starvation

Natacha Yazbeck

Main Author: Khaled Mohammed with Natacha Yazbeck in Dubai Hodeida (Yemen) (AFP) – At least 150 people have been killed in 24 hours of clashes in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, medics said Monday, as Britain’s top diplomat visited the Gulf seeking to boost international calls for a ceasefire. Government loyalists supported by a […]

Israel/ Palestine

Netanyahu Defends allowing Qatar to Send millions in Aid to Gaza

AFP

by Jonah Mandel | – Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended allowing Qatar to transfer millions of dollars to Hamas-run Gaza despite criticism from within his own government over the move aimed at restoring calm after months of unrest. The Israeli-authorised money transfer appeared to be part of talks that would […]

Iraq

Iraqi Parliamentarians Demand Timetable for US Troop Withdrawal

Middle East Monitor

Iraqi MP Ahmad Al-Assadi, senior leader of the Iraqi Construction Alliance, revealed on Friday parliamentarian moves to pressure the Iraqi government to evict US forces from the country. Al-Assadi said that the previous Iraqi parliament had started the calls, but now the new parliament was calling for a clear timetable for the US withdrawal from […]

Saudi Arabia

Turkey’s Erdogan sends Audio of Khashoggi’s murder to Western Capitals

AFP

by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi Ankara (AFP) – Turkey has shared recordings linked to the murder last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Riyadh, Washington and other capitals, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. “We gave them the recordings, we gave them to Saudi Arabia, we gave them to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to […]

Featured

Yemen: Trump admin Further distances Self from Saudi-Led bombers

Juan Cole

After Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave Saudi Arabia and its allies a month to start negotiations with the Houthi rebels in Sanaa, nothing much seemed to happen. Friday, an official Saudi source said that the coalition had asked the US, after consultations, to cease its in-flight refueling of […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Snipers Shoot 6 Children, 9 Women & 22 Other Unarmed Protesters in Gaza

Juan Cole

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Injuries were reported among Palestinians protesting at the eastern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip, on Friday afternoon. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that at least 37 Palestinians were injured with Israeli live ammunition, including six children, nine women and one paramedic woman. Medical sources told Ma’an that […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Gov’t, still not Tired of Controversy, May Execute 12 Shiites “Imminently”

AFP

Dubai (AFP) – Amnesty International said on Wednesday it feared 12 minority Shiites in Saudi Arabia faced “imminent” execution after their cases were transferred to a powerful security body that reports directly to the king. The men, sentenced to death in a mass trial in 2016 after being convicted of spying for regional rival Iran, […]