http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/09/middleeast/iraq-isis-military-liberated/index.html (CNN)The Iraqi military has “fully liberated” all of Iraq’s territory of “ISIS terrorist gangs” and retaken full control of the Iraqi-Syrian border, it said Saturday in a statement. “Our heroic armed forces have now secured the entire length of the Iraq-Syria border,” Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on his Twitter account. “We defeated Daesh (ISIS) through our unity and… Read more »
Trump’s Jerusalem decision: All the latest updates – Al Jazeera Last week, US President Donald Trump formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a unilateral move that broke with decades of US policy and disregarded warnings from the international community. The decision generated a series of reactions in Palestine and around the world. Here are the latest developments,… Read more »
Trump Jerusalem shift puts counter-terror efforts at risk – BBC The recognition by US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has triggered more than just criticism from America’s allies. Here in Bahrain, at the annual Manama Dialogue security conference, there is an almost universal concern that the announcement will be a gift to the region’s twin adversaries –… Read more »
Jerusalem: Trump move prompts negative world reaction – BBC US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv has been met with a wave of disapproval. Leaders from within the Arab and Muslim worlds, and from the wider international community, were swift to criticise the move. Some warned of… Read more »
EU’s Federica Mogherini rebuffs Netanyahu on Jerusalem – BBC The EU’s foreign policy chief says there is “full EU unity” in support of Jerusalem becoming the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state. Federica Mogherini said the bloc’s member states would not recognise the city as Israel’s capital before a final status peace agreement. She spoke after meeting… Read more »
Saudi Arabia’s ruler, Muhammed bin Salman, recently purchased a da Vinci painting for a little over 450 million dollars. Even through appreciation or depreciation of the currency Muhammed bin Salman chose to keep his purchase secret, that is a lot of money. Especially for a leader- who could be spending on other things. The story surrounding his purchase; however, is bringing… Read more »
At least 31 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank, during protests against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. One person is in a critical condition. Mr Trump’s announcement – met with worldwide dismay – reversed decades of US policy on the sensitive issue. Israel deployed hundreds… Read more »
President Trump, who has been taking heat from humanitarian groups that say his administration has mostly ignored an escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, on Wednesday pressured Saudi Arabia to lift a blockade on that country. The United Nations estimates that as of November, 5,295 civilians have been killed and another 8,873 injured in the fighting in Yemen’s civil war. The… Read more »
WASHINGTON ― Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman, secretly spent $450.3 million on a Leonardo da Vinci painting last month, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday based on U.S. government intelligence and an interview with a top Middle East figure in the art world. The Journal noted that news of the prince’s purchase ― the… Read more »
The war in Yemen began in March of 2015. The Saudi Arabians launched Operation Decisive Storm because Yemenis overthrew the former and now deceased president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. A failed transition sponsored by the United States and the Gulf states led to the rise of Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi who became president after Saleh. Hadi was overthrown by Houthis, Shia… Read more »
