Saudi Arabia - Page 67

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia supports the Iran nuclear deal despite its concerns with Iran’s malign activities in the Middle East.

Contents: Car bombs target Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza; Possible rapprochement in the works between Hamas and Saudi Arabia; Greece’s banks to reopen at start of another stormy week

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has announced the arrest of 431 suspected terrorists linked to Islamic State,  preventing suicide attacks on mosques, security forces and a diplomatic mission. The announcement came after Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for Thursday’s car bomb attack at a security

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack at a security point in Riyadh near Saudi Arabia’s highest security prison, according to several news reports.

Contents: Arab views of Iran nuclear deal; Another Arab view of Iran’s nuclear deal; Generational Dynamics view of Iran nuclear deal; Congratulations to my readers for sticking with all this

The nuclear deal reached with Iran on Tuesday is clouded by uncertainty about whether the Iranian regime will live up to its relatively weak commitments. One outcome is almost certain, however: Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran, hoping to weaken the regime and stop, or slow, its nuclear program.

While some Arabic speakers applauded Iran’s nuclear deal with America on Twitter, there are some who blasted the country for negotiating with the United States at all. Saudi Arabia, a natural enemy of Iran, is also displeased about the deal, specifically the release of sanctions.

As the Shiite Houthi rebels who have taken over Sanaa continue to wage war against troops loyal to deposed Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the Sunni Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group has taken credit for another Shiite mosque bombing, stating that they plan to “take revenge” upon the Houthis for attempting to control the country.

Sinai Province, an Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) affiliate in Egypt, took credit for rockets launched into “occupied Palestine.” There are no reports of casualties or damage.

The United Nations has upgraded the humanitarian crisis in Yemen to a Level 3 emergency, the most dire possible scenario on the UN scale. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow for food, water, and medicine to enter the nation, as more than 80% of the population is entirely dependent on foreign aid to live.

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has significantly expanded its footprint in Yemen over the last year, posing a challenge to its rival al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), reports Reuters. ISIS’s ranks have been bolstered with new members amid the messy war in Yemen between Iran-allied Shiite Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab nations.

Yemen’s pro-Houthi military proudly announced that it had launched a Scud missile at a base in Saudi Arabia, reports Yemeni state-run news outlet Saba.

The Saudi embassy in Islamabad has been in contact with the Haqqani Network, a Sunni Islamist organization that operates along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and is considered the most lethal and sophisticated group targeting U.S. and Afghan forces, documents released by WikiLeaks reveal.

Yemeni Houthi Shiite forces launched two separate attacks on Saudi border positions late Wednesday, killing three soldiers amid continuing escalation between both sides of the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country.

Nearly 80% of Yemen’s civilian population is dependent on humanitarian aid for food and water, while six million are believed to be suffering “severe” hunger, and up to 8,000 people may have contracted Dengue fever. This is the dire portrait of a war-torn nation the United Nations presented this week, as fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels and supporters of Sunni President Hadi and Saudi Arabia continue to struggle for power.

Saudi Arabia, a Sunni country, provided financial support to a charity foundation that has been linked to Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, a Shia terrorist group based in Lebanon, according to an Arabic-language cable released by WikiLeaks.

The Saudi embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum believed Iran shipped advanced nuclear equipment, including centrifuges for enriching uranium, to Sudan in 2012, a document released by WikiLeaks reportedly shows.

CNN has a long buildup to the introduction of Saudi comedian Nasser al-Qasabi, stressing how amazing it is to see the menace of ISIS tackled with humor. “Humor may not be the first thing that comes to mind when the topic is ISIS, a group known for mass rape and torture, and for posting videos of its members beheading captives or burning them alive,” the network writes. “Not a lot of yuks in that, it wouldn’t seem.”

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), a Sunni group, has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in Yemen’s capital Sanaa near the Qiba al-Mahdi mosque used by Shiite Houthi rebels, reports Reuters, citing witnesses and a security source.

Bahrain says that it thwarted an Iran-backed plot to bomb Bahraini territory and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports.

Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) publicly executed at least two men accused of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia and the United States and then hung their bodies from a bridge, reports The Long War Journal.

UN-organized peace talks between the competing Sunni and Shiite sides of the growing Yemeni civil war ended explosively after a journalist threw a shoe at a Houthi leader, prompting a melee between multiple parties at the resulting press conference. United Nations mediators nonetheless stated they were optimistic the two sides would resolve to end violence.

Thailand has confirmed its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) following travel warnings issued against South Korea by Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, as that nation struggles to limit the number of cases of the deadly disease, which takes an estimated 40% of the lives it touches.

Contents: Fistfight breaks out at Yemen peace talks in Geneva; Report: Iran’s Supreme Leader has fired Qassam Soleimani in Syria; Emergency Eurogroup summit called for Monday to deal with likely Greece default

On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s stock markets, the biggest in the Middle East, were open to foreign investors for the first time in history.

Healthcare workers in South Korea have begun experimental trials of a plasma treatment they think might help the fight against MERS. Health officials also announced a nineteenth death due to the disease.

Saudi Arabia executed two more people on Monday, bringing the number of executions the kingdom has carried out to 100 so far this year alone. They are just 92 executions short of breaking their 1995 record.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an official health advisory on Thursday in response to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea. They urge all hospitals to prepare and familiarize employees with the disease.

“Top Egyptian intelligence officers met recently with senior Hamas officials from outside the Gaza Strip to discuss the poor relations between Egypt and the Strip’s Hamas regime, senior officials of the Islamist organization confirmed on Tuesday,” Israel’s Haarez wrote on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia may lift a ban that requires women to receive permission from a man in order to travel. It is one of a few reforms being considered in the conservative Islamic kingdom. The International Business Times (IBT) suggests terrorism might ease the restrictive laws against women.

The Pakistani government lifted its moratorium on the death penalty permanently in March, which led to more than 150 executions in the last six months. Pakistan now executes more people than Saudi Arabia, but it is important to note why.

A 22-year-old Yemeni rapper, who has become the first high-profile female artist of her kind in the troubled Arab nation, is receiving threats. Amani Yahya fled to Saudi Arabia due to the civil war engulfing Yemen and has dedicated her artistic career to shining a light on the suffering of Yemeni women and defying cultural norms for women in the devout Muslim nation.

Global outrage and criticism from the United States, United Nations, European Union and Canada was not enough to keep Saudi Arabia’s supreme court from upholding their extreme sentencing of 10 years in prison and 1,000 blood-curdling lashes as punishment for liberal blogger Raif Badawi, 31, on charges for insulting the religion of Islam.

Contents: South Korea fears that MERS virus will break out into general population; Iran demands a nuclear agreement ‘snapback’ provision of its own

Four Saudi children have died and 28 others have been hospitalized due to a poisoning in an Iranian hotel. Three of the dead were only three years old and the fourth was a 14-year-old girl.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry denied allegations that his country could sell a nuclear weapon to Saudi Arabia, reports Daily Times.