With the third largest defense budget in the world, and continuous aggressive policies, the idea that Saudi Arabia could be beginning to acquire nuclear weapons. The kingdom is working towards becoming an “atomic power in the middle east”. The most threatening part about this is not that they are developing the technology themselves, but because they could so easily acquire… Read more »
The execution of this person known as “Sultan of Coins” is extremely inhuman and needs more attention brought to it. The Execution was so inhuman that the people of Iran have said that it was terrifying, and with the currency crisis also affecting everyone in Iran, there needs to be more done about these events and the issues that cause… Read more »
Beirut, Lebanon – “Do you see the empty chair with a guitar next to it? Only the musician is missing.” In the middle of her living room surrounded by dozens of paintings in her apartment in Haret Hreik, a suburb in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, Mariam Saidi describes her art, which is dedicated to her son. “This one shows the Last Supper, but everything… Read more »
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who wrote critically of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He was not seen since. Below is a summary of how Saudi Arabia’s narrative surrounding the circumstances of Khashoggi’s death changed over the weeks as international pressure mounted. October 2 Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul to pick up… Read more »
Occupied West Bank – Rows of Israeli flags mark the entrance to the Ahava Visitor Center a few hundred metres from the northwestern banks of the Dead Sea. Inside, the cosmetics manufacturer sells “With Love from Israel” skincare gift sets to the American, Russian and Korean tourist groups that arrive in buses every 10 minutes or so. For the unsuspecting visitor, it is not easy to tell that… Read more »
Some Saudi women have launched a protest against the abaya – a long loose-fitting robe used to cover their bodies in public – by saying that they will wear it inside out. Under the hashtag “inside-out abaya” they have posted pictures of the robe, which they feel under pressure to wear. In March Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the… Read more »
Iran has executed a currency trader known as the “Sultan of Coins” for amassing some two tonnes of gold coins. Vahid Mazloumin and another member of his currency trading network received the death penalty for “spreading corruption on earth”. According to the Iranian Students’ News Agency, Mr Mazloumin and associates had hoarded the coins to manipulate prices. Rights group Amnesty… Read more »
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has concluded that an intelligence officer ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, and not Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The officer was tasked with persuading the dissident journalist to return to the Gulf kingdom, a spokesman said. Khashoggi was given a lethal injection after a struggle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, he added. The… Read more »
Under Trump, the United States has decided to impose sanctions on Iran, mainly towards the oil industry. A few years ago, under Obama the United States agreed to keep a close eye on Iran, specifically on their nuclear situation, in exchange for a cease of many sanctions by the United States towards Iran. Now that Trump has reinforced sanctions on… Read more »
Defendant stands accused of broad range of crimes including murder and attempted murder Lawyers for Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who has been imprisoned without trial since August 2013, are set to begin their closing statements in a court in Cairo on Saturday, with the jailing having become a symbol for many of a crackdown on press freedom in the country. The photographer, known as… Read more »