Tag Archives: middle east

Several ancient archeological sites were “destroyed” after the Israeli Antiquities Authority conducted controversial digs in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian news agency reported Wednesday. The West Bank and East Jerusalem are part of the Palestinian territories, which have been internationally recognized since 1967. Maan News reported ...

An Egyptian court sentenced 26 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death on charges of forming a “terrorist cell” aimed at attacking the Suez Canal. The 26 defendants have been sentenced in absentia. Meanwhile, the Northern Cairo Criminal Court sentenced a 27th defendant to 15 years in prison. The accusations ...

Egyptian authorities have refused to renew prominent Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook’s residency permit, a Hamas spokesman said. It is now believed that Abu-Marzook may be deported when his permit expires next month. Speaking to the Jordanian newspaper Al-Sabeel, Hosam Badran called on the Egyptian authorities to review their decisions relating ...

Senior British army officers have blocked an investigation into the killing and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners during the Iraq occupation, a public inquiry has found. Al-Sweady Inquiry into the incidents heard on Monday that senior British army officers have been making efforts to block a military police investigation into the ...

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry has banned 50 given names including “foreign” names, names related to royalty and those it considers to be blasphemous. Saudis will no longer be able to give their children names such as Amir (prince), Linda or Abdul Nabi (Slave of the Prophet) after the civil ...

It was Turkey’s Shia (Jaafari) community’s turn to be offended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he criticized the Gulen faith movement, which he holds responsible for revealing the corruption files. Talking about Gulenists on a TV program, Erdogan said, “These people have three major characteristics. They practice taqiyya [religiously sanctioned dissimulation], they lie, they slander. As a result ...

An alleged plot by Qatar to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has been the main reason behind Riyadh’s withdrawal of its ambassador from Doha, a political analyst says. Citing diplomatic sources, Egyptian newspaper al-Shorouk‘s Editor-in-Chief Emad El-Din Hussein said in a recent interview that Saudi Arabia is in possession of authentic ...

Thousands of Zaidi rebels marched through a provincial capital in northern Yemen on Friday to demand the resignation of the central government, which they accused of corruption, witnesses said. With many toting assault rifles and accompanied by vehicles mounted with rocket launchers, they chanted “down with the corrupt government,” as ...