Tag: Region Middle East

This July 3 marks the 10th anniversary of Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah Sisi’s violent seizure of power in Cairo. The first democratically elected leader in 5000 years of Egyptian history, Mohamed Morsi, was swept from office, his supporters were massacred by the hundreds, and he ultimately died in prison. With US and UK support, Sisi quickly reversed any tentative democratic gains made during the country’s brief, difficult transition from the rule of longtime Western-backed autocrat Hosni Mubarak. In…

Dr. Jordan Peterson, the ex-University of Toronto psychology professor who gained fame for his vigorous defense of free speech, has been subjected to what is perceived as a systemic censorship effort by YouTube. A popular figure in media circles, Peterson’s prolific online presence took a hit when the video-sharing platform decided to censor his account, a move the professor lamented on social media. On Wednesday, the professor shared on Twitter a copy of the email he received from YouTube justifying…

American online political news daily Punchbowl News reported Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the negotiations, that the Biden administration supports the $20 billion sale worth of F-16 fighters to Ankara and has informally informed Congress on the willingness to do so, but Menendez and the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee can place holds on major weapons sales as part of the review process. Top Biden administration officials want to make sure that the senator will not obscure…

BEIRUT (AP) — A French court Tuesday upheld the freezing of the assets of Lebanon’s embattled central bank governor, rejecting his appeal to have them released, an official close to the investigation said. Several European countries are investigating central bank Gov. Riad Salameh and his associates over myriad alleged financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and laundering of $330 million. A French investigative judge on May 16 issued an international arrest warrant, or Interpol red notice, for the 72-year-old Salameh after…

Monday, 03 July 2023 5:02 PM Turkish authorities say they have uncovered and disrupted a vast “ghost” Mossad spy network centered in Istanbul, following months of surveillance. The substantial efforts by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) exposed 56 operatives allegedly spying on non-Turkish citizens in Turkey in the service of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper reported on Monday. MIT and the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Istanbul Police Department also managed to arrest seven of the suspected…

The United States said Monday that ally Israel had a right to “defend its people” against Islamist militants but called for protection of civilians after a major, deadly raid in the occupied West Bank. “We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups,” a State Department spokesperson said. “It is imperative to take all possible precautions to prevent the loss of civilian lives,” the spokesperson added. The United States, Israel’s…

China’s defense minister said on Monday he hoped to expand naval cooperation with Russia, in the highest-level public talks between military officials from the two countries since a failed mutiny in Russia last month. Li Shangfu spoke in Beijing with Nikolai Yevmenov, head of the Russian navy, and said he hoped both countries could “strengthen communication at all levels,” according to a readout from the Chinese defense ministry. He also said the two should “regularly organize joint exercises, joint cruises, and joint military…

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the first audio statement since an aborted armed rebellion he staged on Saturday, defending the move as a reaction to an attack on his force that killed some of his 30 fighters. “We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in an 11-minute audio. He didn’t offer any details as to where he was at the moment or what his future plans are. Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the…

Editor’s note: This story was first published in InvestigateWest, an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Subscribe to their newsletter. Amanda Klinksiek knows that when she breaks out in hives, she likely has another problem: mold. Hives tipped Klinksiek off to mold in a previous home. And in September, when she moved into a two-bedroom townhouse at Joint Base Lewis-McChord with her husband and two kids, the itchy red bumps appeared again. Klinksiek, 30, tried…

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Israel to halt and reverse what he described as troubling and alarming decisions on settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, a U.N. spokesperson said. “The Secretary-General reiterates that settlements are a flagrant violation of international law. They are a major obstacle to the realization of a viable two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace,” deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement. “The…

A military attack against Sweden cannot be ruled out following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a report by the Swedish military said Monday, stressing the importance of its swift entry into NATO. The report entitled “Serious Times” did not single out Moscow for instigating a potential attack but rather said Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s mounting influence in Asia and the world were responsible for rising insecurity. “An armed attack against Sweden cannot be excluded,” the report said. Russia is…

Omar Asad, 80, was detained at a temporary checkpoint in the occupied West Bank overnight in January 2022. The soldiers left him unresponsive on the ground of a construction site and said they assumed he had fallen asleep. Palestinian leaders say this case shows the near impunity of Israeli soldiers. They have called for those involved to be prosecuted in an international court. Mr Asad had been out drinking coffee and playing cardsbeforedriving to his home in the village of…

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait reached an agreement worth $367 million with Turkish drone giant Baykar to purchase its increasingly sought-after TB2 combat drones, the Kuwaiti army said. The drone, Bayraktar TB2, boasts unmanned aerial vehicles that can carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs, and fly for up to 27 hours at a time, which, according to the company, was “a record,” it had set while testing the drone in Kuwait in 2019. The announcement, on Tuesday, would set Kuwait…

Struggling to overcome recruiting shortfalls, the Army and the Air Force have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits. Airman 1st Class Joshua Fancisco, from the Philippines, left, Airman 1st Class D’elbrah Assamoi, from Cote D’Ivoire, center, and Airman 1st Class Jordan Flash, from Jamaica, looks at their U.S….

China has been operating a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019, part of a global effort by Beijing to upgrade its intelligence-gathering capabilities, according to a Biden administration official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S. intelligence community has been aware of China’s spying from Cuba and a larger effort to set up intelligence-gathering operations around the globe for some time. The Biden administration has stepped…