The Syrian National Dialogue Congress, kicked off in Sochi on January 29 with pro-Assad delegates dominating the event. The dialogue brings together 1,500 pro-regime delegates and few opponents of the Syrian government. A key delegation of the armed opposition had arrived in Sochi, the venue of the Congress, only to refuse to leave the airport. […]
Swiss academic Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at the University of Oxford, has been taken into custody by French police after two women filed rape charges against him, media reports said. Ramadan has denied the allegations and filed a complaint for slander against the author Henda Ayari, one of his accusers. In October, […]
The European Union Council of Foreign Ministers has urged the Palestinians and the Israelis not to disengage from the peace process, and renewed commitment to a two-state solution. “This is not the time to disengage; on the contrary. Palestinians and Israelis need to show more than ever before their engagement with the international community, with […]
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen will offer $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country in coordination with the UN. A further $2 billion will be granted by the Saudis to the Yemeni central bank to avert a currency collapse, in a country where three quarters of the population – 22.2 million people – […]
The 14th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Western Mediterranean Forum, commonly referred to as 5+5 Dialogue, commended the role played by Al Quds Committee, under the chairmanship of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, in preserving the identity of Jerusalem and its character as an open city to the followers of all revealed religions. In […]
The Syrian conflict braces for a new turn as Turkey prepares a military assault on the US-backed Kurdish forces in the region of Afrin in northern Syria. Turkey dispatched its military chief to Moscow on Thursday, seeking approval for an air campaign in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled Afrin region, although Damascus warned it could shoot down any […]
Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog suggested that Saudi Arabia could take responsibility for administering Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem in any peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. In an interview with Saudi-funded news website Elaph, the Knesset member and former leader of the Israeli Labor Party said “Saudi Arabia could play a big role […]
A protest momentum is building up in different Iranian cities as thousands took the streets for the third day in a row to vent their anger and frustration at the dire economic conditions in the country. The demonstrations in Tehran turned violent with police firing tear gas at protesters. Some social media users are sharing […]
Thousands of Iranians vented anger in protests in Iran’s second largest city, Mashhad, chanting slogans critical of the government’s decision to rise food prices. The protesters who denounced President Hassan Rouhani raised banners saying “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran” in a rant against Iran’s spending on regional influence to the detriment of […]
An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed 68 Yemenis in Taiz bringing the death toll to 109 in past 10 days alone leading the UN to strongly denounce the heavy civilian casualties. The increasing civilian Yemeni victims of the indiscriminate shelling by Saudi and allied fighter jets was described by the UN as “absurd and […]