Middle East

Saudi-led airstrikes hit Sanaa following Houthi ballistic missile attack

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — Saudi-led coalition warplanes waged a series of airstrikes on military targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, just few hours after Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile towards the Saudi capital Riyadh. The warplanes hit several military targets inside Sanaa, including the parade viewing stand in al-Sabeen Square, the nearby presidential palace, the national security headquarters, interior ministry and air defense bases […]

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Saudi princes, ex-ministers arrested in sweeping anti-graft purge as crown prince cements power

  by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia pursued a sweeping purge of the kingdom’s upper ranks on Sunday, saying it would freeze the accounts of dozens of princes, ministers and a tycoon arrested as the crown prince cements his hold on power. Prominent billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal was among the princes arrested late Saturday, a government source told AFP, immediately after a new anti-corruption commission headed by Crown […]

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US approves $1 bln Qatar arms deal despite Gulf crisis

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States government on Wednesday approved a $1.1 billion deal to service Qatar’s F-15 fighter jets despite the diplomatic stand-off between the Gulf emirate and its neighbors. Qatar, home to one of the largest US military bases in the Middle East, is locked in a bitter dispute with Washington’s other Arab allies in the region, led by Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump took Riyadh’s side in June when Saudi Arabia, […]

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Bahrain suggests freezing Qatar’s GCC membership

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Bahrain’s foreign minister on Monday suggested suspending Qatar’s Gulf Cooperation Council membership until it accepts the demands of its Arab adversaries in the region’s worst crisis in years. “The correct step to preserve the GCC would be to freeze Qatar’s membership until it sees reason and accepts the demands of our countries. If not, we will be fine with it leaving the GCC,” Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said on Twitter. […]

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G7 to focus on foreign fighter fallout from rout of IS

by Ella Ide Agence France-Presse ISCHIA, Italy – The threat of fresh attacks on the West by foreign fighters fleeing the fallen Islamic State stronghold of Raqa is set to dominate a G7 meeting of interior ministers in Italy. The two-day gathering, which kicked off Thursday on the Italian island of Ischia, comes just days after US-backed forces took full control of the jihadists’ de facto Syrian capital. Most foreign fighters are believed to have fled over the […]

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Iraqi Kurds say open to talks after Baghdad military operation

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) – The Iraqi Kurdish regional government said Thursday it was open to talks with Baghdad after central government forces seized a swathe of disputed territory from Kurdish fighters. “The cabinet welcomes the initiative of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on starting negotiations with the regional government to solve pending issues according to the constitution and principles of partnership,” it said in a statement. “Kurdistan demands the help and contribution of the international community in sponsoring this dialogue,” […]

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Almost 150 go on trial over Turkey coup bridge massacre

by Fulya OZERKAN Agence France-Presse SILIVRI, Turkey – Almost 150 former Turkish military personnel went on trial Monday over clashes on an Istanbul bridge during last year’s failed coup that claimed dozens of lives, including a key aide of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The bridge across the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul was the scene of bloody fighting between Erdogan’s supporters and renegade soldiers seeking to oust the elected government on the night of July 15, 2016. It was […]

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At least 16 dead as suicide bombings hit Damascus police station

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — A double suicide bomb attack hit a police station in Syria’s capital Damascus on Monday, state media said, with a monitor saying at least 16 people were killed. Damascus has been largely insulated from the worst of the violence during the country’s brutal six-year war, but several bomb attacks have shaken the city. Syria’s interior ministry said two suicide bombers had blown themselves up at the police station in the southern […]

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Israeli president denounces Palestinian Interpol membership

Jerusalem, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday criticized Interpol’s decision to admit the Palestinian Authority as a member, saying it would weaken the global police body’s anti-terror capabilities. “This decision will harm Interpol’s ability to fight international terror,” his office quoted him as saying a conference call with American Jewish leaders. “This is not a decision based on professional need. It is absolutely a political decision,” he told members of the Conference of Presidents of […]

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Saudi Arabia wins plaudits for ending ban on women driving

by Anuj Chopra Agence France-Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to allow women to drive won plaudits internationally and inside the conservative kingdom on Wednesday, as euphoria mixed with disbelief among activists who long fought the ban. King Salman’s decree, which takes effect next June, is part of an ambitious reform push that runs the risk of a backlash from religious hardliners. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to ban women driving, […]

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Massive ‘yes’ vote in Iraqi Kurd independence referendum

by Abdel Hamid Zebari Agence France-Presse ARBIL, Iraq – Iraq’s Kurds announced a massive “yes” vote for independence on Wednesday following a referendum that has incensed Baghdad and sparked international concern. Official results showed 92.73 percent of voters backing statehood in Monday’s non-binding referendum, which Iraq’s central government rejected as illegal. Turnout was put at 72.61 percent. Longtime Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani said the vote would not lead to an immediate declaration of independence and should instead […]

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Israel’s Netanyahu vows to fight ‘Iranian curtain’

by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to fight an “Iranian curtain” descending on the Middle East, pledging to prevent Tehran from ever establishing a permanent foothold in Syria. Netanyahu — who in recent years has coined his own sort of theater at the annual United Nations speech marathon with podium props and dramatic warnings — was in a lighter mood for 2017, cracking jokes and […]

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