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 four countries opposed to Qatar in the Gulf crisis have slammed the UN commission on Human Rights ((OHCHR) for its report accusing the quartet for imposing an unlawful blockade on Qatar in the diplomatic crisis that has gripped the region. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt have issued a joint statement […]
The International Monetary Fund (IFM) has drawn the attention of Arab leaders over the lack of employment for youth that it terms a ‘ticking time bomb’ for the entire region already facing a high rate of youth unemployment. In her opening remarks at a conference held in Marrakech January 29-31, the director of the multinational […]
Morocco, which re-joined last year the African Union, its institutional family, has gained praise for its migration policy and management at the 30th African Summit convened in Addis Ababa. Several African Heads of state attending the AU summit paid tribute to the leadership of King Mohammed VI, to his commitment and to his dedication to […]
Doha announced Monday from Washington it would expand the US Al Udeid military base despite the Saudi-led league’s request to remove the largest US base in the region and scrap US presence in Qatar, amid the unprecedented seven-month old Gulf crisis. The announcement was made by visiting Defense Minister Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah who […]
After three days of fierce fighting, the Southern Yemeni secessionists took control of key areas in Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government led by Saudi-Ally Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Leaders of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government are reportedly preparing to flee from Aden as southern separatists consolidate power in the city. With Back-up from […]
Amnesty International said that Saudi Arabia’s plans of a “fundamental transformation” of the country requires addressing the serious and systematic human rights violations in the country. The international rights watchdog enumerated in a statement on its website a plethora of violations that need to stop if Saudi Arabia wants to achieve the sought modernization of […]
Tensions have gripped Lebanon again as the country is on the way to May elections after supporters of Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, close to the powerful movement Hezbollah, protested Monday night at comments by Foreign Minister calling Berri a ‘thug’. Angry supporters of Berri’s camp reportedly set fire to tires and trash bins […]
At least 15 people were killed in Yemen’s interim capital, Aden, as fighting intensifies between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed southern separatists. Aden’s streets were empty except for tanks and armored vehicles as deadly clashes continue between forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the separatist Southern […]