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Syria

WASHINGTON The United States on Wednesday sanctioned two Iranian defense officials, an Iranian company and members of a China-based network for supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement. The targeted sanctions come on the same day the Trump administration said it would continue to waive other, broader sanctions on Iran, a move that was required to keep implementing the 2015 nuclear deal […]

By Ayesha Rascoe | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday his country would not accept Syrian Kurdish fighters in the region but stopped short of directly criticizing a U.S. decision to arm them. At a White House meeting, Trump lauded Erdogan as an important ally in the “fight against terrorism” and did not mention Erdogan’s domestic crackdown after last year’s […]

WASHINGTON The U.S. Treasury said it imposed sanctions on Tuesday against five people and five entities accused of providing support to Syria’s government or linked to those previously sanctioned over the Syrian government’s violence against its citizens. Among those put on the Treasury sanctions black list are Muhammad Abbas, a cousin of Rami Makhlouf, a dominant business figure in Syria and himself a cousin of Syrian President […]

By Yara Bayoumy and Katie Paul | WASHINGTON/RIYADH WASHINGTON/RIYADH When U.S. President Donald Trump meets Saudi princes in Riyadh on Saturday, he can expect a warmer welcome than the one given a year ago to his predecessor Barack Obama, who Riyadh considered soft on arch foe Iran and cool toward a bilateral relationship that is a mainstay of the Middle East’s security balance. Beneath the pomp, Riyadh will be looking for assurances […]

An intense and disturbing 30-part drama series showing what is life like under ISIL and how the terrorist organisation recruits women will make its debut on the MBC television channel during Ramadan. Al Gharabeeb Al Soud (meaning Black Crows) is considered to be the first Arabic television show to delve into the rise of extremism in the region from a female perspective, relying on real-life accounts and […]

President Donald Trump‘s controversial travel ban has reached the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with a three-judge panel discussing its constitutionality on Monday, May 15. Trump first issued a travel ban preventing people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Affected countries included Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. The ban stirred great controversy and opposition, and a U.S. judge granted emergency stay. Faced with […]

The timing, intensity and public announcement of the accusations suggested that the Trump administration was signaling a tougher political line on Syria, as well as seeking to embarrass Russia and Iran, all in an effort to put pressure on Damascus at the Geneva talks. Continue reading the main story Five previous rounds of negotiations in Geneva have yielded little progress. The war is now in its seventh […]

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ANKARA Germany’s decision to grant asylum to Turks accused of participating in last year’s failed coup has further heightened tension between the two NATO allies, Turkey’s prime minister said on Tuesday. German officials said last week that 414 Turkish citizens with diplomatic passports and other government work permits had requested asylum in Germany since the attempted putsch, which prompted Ankara to launch sweeping purges of the military, […]

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed met Donald Trump for talks in Washington on Monday, as the White House announced a defence cooperation agreement between the two countries. Sitting alongside one another in the Oval Office, the US president called Sheikh Mohammed a “very special person” who loves his country and loves the US. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces is […]

The following map, from BofaML’s Transforming World Atlas, shows the world mapped proportionally by country according to the number of times mentioned  by President Trump in his tweets and speeches (campaign and presidency)… Source: BofAML The Top 8 are: USA, China, Syria, Russia, Iraq, Mexico, Iran, and United Kingdom Source link

In one episode from the series, a Yazidi slave is sent to clean an Islamic State fighter’s room, where his bored wife asks if the woman is hungry or would like to watch a movie. The captive woman is outraged. Video Scene From ‘Black Crows’: The Women of ISIS A Yazidi slave kept prisoner by an Islamic State fighter confronts his wife in a scene from “Black […]

Saudi King Salman on Monday expressed hope a “historic” summit to be held Sunday between Arab and Muslim nations and US President Donald Trump will enhance ties and promote tolerance. The summit will be one of three forums held during a visit by Trump, who is making Saudi Arabia his first overseas stop since assuming office in January. Trump has frequently been accused of fuelling Islamophobia but […]

Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity, By the end of this month, Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Advisor HR McMaster will deliver to President Trump their plans for military escalations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. President Trump would be wise to rip the plans up and send his national security team back to the drawing board – or […]

ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed met Donald Trump for talks in Washington on Monday, as the White House announced a defence cooperation agreement between the two countries. Mr Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, said the agreement, which was concluded “recently”, would allow the UAE and United States “to work more closely together to address common security threats”. “The [US] president hopes to work together even […]

Photo The Sednaya Prison complex outside Damascus, Syria. Credit Amensty International/Forensic Architecture WASHINGTON — The State Department released satellite images on Monday that officials said showed that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has built a crematory at a military prison outside Damascus to hide a large number of executions. Stuart E. Jones, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said officials believed that the […]

By Angus McDowall and Ayat Basma | BEIRUT BEIRUT The Middle East’s protracted conflicts have caused a region-wide health crisis that goes beyond war wounds to heightened resistance to antibiotics and a collapse in vaccination drives, leading to a resurgence of diseases tamed in peacetime. Health threats are so varied that one of the Middle East’s main teaching hospitals, the American University of Beirut Medical Center, has […]

BEIRUT Heavy shelling by Islamic State militants killed at least seven people in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday night, a war monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organisation that monitors the war, said the militants continued to shell the city’s government-held districts on Monday. Islamic State holds most of Deir al-Zor province, apart from an enclave in the […]

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Strategic Culture Foundation, With Moon Jae-In’s victory in South Korea, the period of tension on the Korean Peninsula is likely to end. With the rise to power of the new president, South Korea can expect a sharp decline in hostilities with North Korea as well as a resumption of dialogue with China. An expected and highly anticipated victory was confirmed in South Korea on […]

“A child’s drawing is pure ­imagination,” says Sara ­Shamma as she reflects upon the paintings in her latest exhibition. “I am fascinated by the way they draw, without any preconceptions or thought. It is coming straight from them.” The works in the Syrian artist’s show – titled London, as a result of recently moving to the United Kingdom after being awarded a visa for exceptional talent – […]

Abu Dhabi // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed will hold talks at the White House with Donald Trump on Monday to discuss enhancing cooperation on counterterrorism, confronting Iran and other core issues in the increasingly close relationship. Over the course of what is expected to be a two-day visit to Washington, Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is also […]

By Michel Rose and Jean-Baptiste Vey | PARIS PARIS Emmanuel Macron took power as president of France on Sunday, vowing to restore the country’s status in Europe and the world and heal divisions in society — a nod to the bitter campaign the pro-EU centrist fought to defeat a far-right leader. The 39-year-old former investment banker, unknown to the wider public three years ago and whose May […]

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN More than 1,500 rebels and their family members left the devastated district of Qaboun on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said on Sunday. The rebels had agreed overnight to a secret evacuation deal after being cornered in a small pocket of Qaboun, which lies […]

Private dining in the UAE is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich and famous. Heeding requests from ­customers with a desire for closed-door rooms and secluded enclaves for entertaining, restaurants in the country are increasingly providing spaces where patrons can host private get-togethers. While some packages can cost thousands of dirhams, if your tastes are gourmet or your group exceeds 30, there are deals to […]

The confusing times at ESPN have produced this strange contradiction: The network says it is increasing its commitment to journalism less than a couple of weeks after it dismissed a virtual All-Star team of the best journalists in sports. Yet Bob Ley and Jeremy Schaap insist their new Sunday morning “E:60” show represents ESPN’s premium on reporting and storytelling on important sports issues from around the world. […]

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