Following a Twitter post by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr which called for gender segregation in the anti-government rallies, hundreds of women gathered to demand their rights. On Thursday, February 13, Baghdad’s Tahrir Square was filled with defiant chants of “Stop discrimination against women, stop gender segregation.” In response to the protest, al-Sadr took to Twitter, calling the march sinful and… Read more »
Three years in the making, President Trump’s long awaited Middle East plan was revealed on Tuesday, January 28th. The plan is intended to resolve ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, however it was conceived without Palestinian input and clearly favored Israeli priorities. The United states has previously backed minor adjustments to the Israeli boundaries that existed before the Arab-Israeli war… Read more »
Baghdad, Iraq – By the time Mazen Mohammad woke to the news of a fire in his warehouse, the Iraqi businessman had lost an estimated $2m in merchandise. All three floors and the basement of the warehouse had been engulfed in flames overnight, when violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces sparked the fire in Baghdad’s commercial centre. The… Read more »
Baghdad, Iraq – Defiant chants and combative banners filled Tahrir Square in Iraq‘s capital Baghdad on Thursday as hundreds of women from all walks of life gathered to demand their rights. The march, spearheaded and organised by women, sought to challenge a Twitter post by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr which called for gender segregation in the anti-government rallies that have swept across… Read more »
The UN human rights office has issued a long-awaited report on companies linked to Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The report names 112 business entities the office says it has reasonable grounds to conclude have been involved in activities related to settlements. They include Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group and Motorola Solutions. The Palestinians said the report was a… Read more »
The United States has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), President Donald Trump said. Qasim al-Raymi, who has led the jihadist group since 2015, was killed in a US operation in Yemen, the White House said. The jihadist leader had been linked to a series of attacks on Western interests in the 2000s. He took over… Read more »
Jerusalem – Three mortar shells have been fired from the besieged Gaza Strip enclave into southern Israel, the country’s military has said in a statement, amid tensions in the region over US President Donald Trump’s proposed Middle East plan. The Israeli army’s statement on Friday said its Iron Dome anti-missile air defence system intercepted a projectile midair as violence continued for… Read more »
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit the United Nations within two weeks to address the Security Council on his rejection of the new US Middle East plan, his ambassador to the body has said. At that time, a draft resolution will be submitted to the council, Riyad Mansour told reporters on Wednesday, without specifying a date for the visit. US… Read more »
The Syrian army says it has recaptured the strategic town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province, the opposition’s last stronghold. State media reported that troops had “liberated” the town after inflicting heavy losses on jihadist fighters. A monitoring group earlier said the opposition had withdrawn. Maarat al-Numan straddles a major highway that has been an objective for the army as… Read more »
Lebanon is currently facing the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. The cabinet of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned, resulting in three months of political deadlock. On Tuesday, January 21st Lebanon formed a new cabinet consisting of 20 ministers and led by the newly-appointed Prime Minister Hassan Diab. Diab describes this new cabinet as “a rescue government”, claiming they… Read more »