Baha’i poet jailed in Iran wins free speech PEN Pinter prize
Source: Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A Baha’i poet who was jailed for almost a decade in Iran has won a writing award celebrating free speech. Mahvash Sabet shares the […]
Israel approves plans for thousands of new settlement units in the West Bank
Source: The Washington Post By Ruth Eglash and Loveday Morris October 10 JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved building plans for 3,736 new units in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on […]
The Transformation Of Jerusalem
Source: Huffington Post BY James Zogby, Contributor President, Arab American Institute; Author, “Arab Voices” Last week a group of Likud members and experts presented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with […]
Islamic State nearly expelled from its last urban stronghold in Iraq
Source: The Washington Post By Mustafa Salim and Tamer El-Ghobashy October 5 DIBIS, Iraq — Iraqi forces have reclaimed the town of Hawijah from the Islamic State, Iraq’s prime minister said […]
Christians and Yazidis in Iraq stand on the brink of extinction
Source: Religion News Service By Chris Smith (RNS) — Astonishingly, for three years U.S. government bureaucrats have refused to help endangered religious minority communities like Christians and Yazidis survive the genocide […]
Germany redeploys anti-Isis surveillance jets to Jordan
Source: The Local Germany on Wednesday moved four Tornado jets flying surveillance missions against the Islamic State group to Jordan after withdrawing them from Turkey amid a bilateral dispute, the […]
Netanyahu backs annexation of 19 West Bank settlements
Source: The Guardian By Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has backed legislation that would in effect annex settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories that are home to between 125,000 […]
Iran says Tehran, Ankara to confront disintegration of Iraq, Syria: TV
Source: Reuters Ankara (Reuters) – Iran and Turkey will work together to confront the disintegration of Iraq and Syria to ease tension in the crisis-hit region, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani […]
Travel ban lawsuits filed by legal center, Muslim advocates
Source: Associated Press By JULIET LINDERMAN BALTIMORE (AP) — A coalition of Muslim and Iranian-American advocates and a nonpartisan legal institute filed the first lawsuits against the Trump administration’s new […]
Saudi sovereign fund to develop holy sites in Mecca, Medina
Source: Reuters By Stephen Kalin RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is forming two real estate development firms to boost the capacity of Mecca and Medina to […]
Saudi Arabia: Prince Mohammed plays his biggest card yet
Source: The Guardian Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent A rumbling war in Yemen, a festering standoff with Qatar, and a turbulent time at home: things haven’t being going well for Saudi Arabia lately. […]
Kosher? Historic ruling lets Israeli diners decide
Source: Religion News Service By Michele Chabin | September 26, 2017 JERUSALEM (RNS) — For decades, Israeli restaurateurs who served kosher food but who did not want to submit to the authority of […]
Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive
Source: The New York Times By BEN HUBBARD Photo A woman behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia in 2013. The kingdom said on Tuesday that women would be allowed to drive […]
Study finds Saudi government still tolerates hate speech
Source: Associated Press By AYA BATRAWY Yesterday DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Saudi government continues to tolerate hate speech by some clerics against minority groups while public school […]
Uproar in Turkey over removing evolution from biology class
Source: Associated Press By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY ISTANBUL (AP) — Students in Turkey are returning to school Monday where they will be taught evolution for the last time in their biology […]
Hardline Israeli rabbis use tough checks on Jewish identity to block marriages
Source: The Guardian An ultra-orthodox religious court is infringing human rights by demanding Israelis prove their Jewish status, critics say A rabbi leads worshippers in Ashdod on the shore of […]
Russia in the Middle East
Sep 18,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Amer Al Sabaileh Over the last few years, the Middle East started to witness the presence of new political protagonists: Russia, a very strong, evident player, Germany, a strong but latent player, and China, a strong economic power. Russia has played a role in […]
Saudi Arabia Detains Critics as New Crown Prince Consolidates Power
Source: The New York Times By BEN HUBBARD Photo Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last year. Some Saudis see him as a power-hungry upstart who is overturning […]
Israel’s Military Exemption for Ultra-Orthodox Is Ruled Unconstitutional
Source: The New York Times By ISABEL KERSHNER SEPT. 12, 2017 Photo Ultra-Orthodox Jews praying at the Western Wall in the Old City area of Jerusalem in June.CreditAtef Safadi/European Pressphoto Agency […]
Decades After Alcohol Ban, Iran Admits It Has a Problem
Source: The New York Times By THOMAS ERDBRINK SEPT. 11, 2017 Photo Nasser, a taxi driver who has been sober for three years, serving tea at an Alcoholics Anonymous association meeting […]