Security

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) recently celebrated the launch of the Avante 2200 corvette, which is the fourth warship of its type within the Sarwat project. The ship, named Jazan, was unveiled by the Spanish shipbuilder as part of its ceremonial launching held at the shipyard of the Navantia Naval …

The US and other Western coalition members should increase their ground forces in Iraqi Kurdistan in order to head off the threat of a resurgent terror campaign in the region, one of the main fighters against Daesh and Iran-backed militias told Arab News. General Sirwan Barzani, who commands a key …

Tunisia’s president has suspended parliament and dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi in a move condemned as an attack on democracy by his rivals but which others greeted with celebrations on the streets.By The Levant News newsdeskPresident Kais Saied said on Sunday he would assume executive authority with the assistance of …

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Sunday that his country had previously been attacked by Iranian-made drones, adding that there are many concerns related to Iran’s activities in the region. Speaking during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, the king said: “Jordan always supports dialogue…(but) there are legitimate concerns in …

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and two were wounded in an attack on their armoured vehicle in northern Syria, and Turkish forces immediately launched retaliatory fire, Turkey’s defence ministry said on Saturday. “Our punitive fire against terrorist positions is continuing,” the statement on Twitter on said. It said the attack …

An entire network that planned and executed a suicide bombing in Sadr City which killed dozens of people on Monday has been arrested, Iraq’s prime minister said on Saturday. A suicide bomber targeted shoppers in a crowded market in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad on the eve of Eid …

Iran’s intervention in the internal affairs of other countries is a threat to the region and a matter of concern, the chief of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said on Saturday. Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, and its support for militias, must also be included in ongoing talks in Vienna …

On 6 August, 6 major international events of the Central Asian format will be held in Avaza National Tourist Zone of Turkmenistan. Six major international events of the Central Asian format will take place on August 6 this year in Avaza National Tourist Zone. Among them is the Consultative Meeting …

President Joe Biden is committed to maintaining sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for buying Russian S-400 missile defenses and would impose further sanctions if Ankara bought additional major arms systems from Moscow, a senior US diplomat said on Wednesday. In congressional testimony, US …

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) drafted joint letters with numerous media outlets on Wednesday to urge the US government to provide humanitarian assistance and emergency visas to Afghans who assisted American forces during the past two decades of war. In April, US President Joe Biden ordered the full withdrawal …

French President Emmanuel Macron has called a national security meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware after reports about its use in France emerged this week, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. “The president is following this subject closely and takes it very seriously,” Attal told France Inter …

Syria’s air defenses intercepted early on Thursday an Israeli attack on the al Qusair area in Homs, Syrian state media reported. A Syrian military source said in a statement there was some material damage from the strike and no casualties.The Israeli military said it had no comment. In a separate …

The supply of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah undermines Lebanon’s national security and poses a threat to the security of the US, President Joe Biden said Tuesday. The president served notice to Congress to extend the national emergency with respect to Lebanon, in place since 2007, beyond its termination date of Aug. …

The News Story aboutUnhoardable Money with demurrageand declaring  demurrage on The US dollar continues… Baron Samedi:Angel my little friend,“I have delivered your Message.And I have one here,from someone very important,who asked mevery politelyto please deliver it to you.”He is seated a very old table,along with …Angel NicGillicuddy:“Let me guess …On …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Turkey could run Kabul airport if its NATO ally the United States met certain conditions including on logistics and financing. Turkey has been negotiating with US defense officials over its offer to help secure and run Kabul airport, which is key to allowing countries …

The Israeli military said its artillery shelled southern Lebanon early Tuesday after two rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. The army said in a statement that aerial defenses intercepted one of the rockets, and the second fell in an open area. No injuries or damage were reported. The …

An Israeli company’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organizations published on Sunday. One of the organizations, The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/nso-spyware-pegasus-cellphones/?itid=lk_inline_manual_14, said the Pegasus spyware licensed …

South Korea will airlift all troops from a ship on anti-piracy patrol in the Middle East, the Ministry of Defense said on Sunday, while a replacement team will steer the vessel back home after dozens of soldiers on board tested positive for the coronavirus. South Korea, once cited as a …

 A demonstrator was shot dead during protests against water shortages in drought-hit southwestern Iran, state media reported Saturday, with officials blaming the death on “opportunists and rioters”. The demonstrator was killed in the Khuzestan province town of Shadegan, the official IRNA news agency said.“Last night (Friday), a number of Shadegan’s …

 Riots left more than two dozen people injured in Tripoli on Friday, including 10 soldiers, as tensions continued to rise in Lebanon. “The situation seems to be getting worse, and things are about to escalate because we are facing a difficult political and social fate,” said Lebanese Armed Forces Commander …

The Taliban are more qualified to run a future political set-up in Afghanistan than the current Kabul government, a spokesman for the group told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, amid a surge in violence and mounting doubts about the future of US-backed peace negotiations. Taliban officials said …

Police fired tear gas to try to disperse relatives of victims of last year’s Beirut port blast protesting outside the home of the caretaker interior minister on Tuesday over his refusal to let the lead investigator question Lebanon’s security chief. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed …

Discussions between the United States and Turkey on security cooperation in Afghanistan are ongoing, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Monday, after Ankara offered to operate and guard the Kabul airport after the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Spokesperson Ned Price declined to provide details on how arrangements for the …

A Lebanese minister has denied a request by the judge probing the Beirut port explosion to question a top security official, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed, as attempts to deliver justice over the catastrophe continue to flounder. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed …

Hit by the collapse of Lebanon’s economy, the army has started selling rides on its helicopters to finance their maintenance, a measure of the depth of the financial troubles facing the country. “The war we are in is economic and therefore requires unconventional means … and the idea we had …

The Pentagon said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about a series of attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria in recent days. U.S. diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks on Wednesday alone, including at least 14 rockets hitting an …

A huge explosion shook buildings in Dubai late on Wednesday with authorities saying there had been a fire on board a commercial ship anchored off Jebal Ali Port. Dubai Media Office (DMO) said: “A fire has been reported to have broken out in a container within a ship anchored in …

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held talks with senior US military officials in Washington on Tuesday. Prince Khalid met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who confirmed Washington’s commitment to its defense relations with the Kingdom. Prince Khalid said he discussed “longstanding and historic partnership between …

The U.S. military has told Newsweek that it was aware of reports that a drone attack had hit near Erbil International Airport, but said early information suggested no human or material loss. Meanwhile, a local militia claimed they had killed a number of people in a series of similar attacks. Footage emerged Tuesday via …

The leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia has vowed to retaliate against America for the deaths of four of his men in a US airstrike along the Iraq-Syria border last month, saying it will be a military operation everyone will talk about. Abu Alaa Al-Walae, commander of Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, …

A spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces has said that they are aware of the challenges facing the region and are prepared to deal with them. “It is not wise, in light of our capabilities and high deterrence power, to test the reaction of the Egyptian Armed Forces,” added Gharib …

Jordan’s Prince Hamza is among witnesses who will be asked to testify by the defence team of a former confidant of King Abdullah who is on trial on charges of agitating to destabilise the monarchy, the defence’s lawyer said on Wednesday. Mohamed Afif told Reuters it would be up to …

The US has carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region. Sunday’s strikes hit “operational and weapons storage facilities”, in response to drone attacks on US forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. President Joe Biden would “act to protect US personnel”, it added. The Pentagon …

Israel’s army chief on Wednesday hailed “unprecedented” cooperation with the US, as he wrapped up a US visit focused on preventing Tehran from obtaining military nuclear capabilities. Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi’s remarks came the same day as Iran said it had foiled a sabotage attack on an atomic energy agency …

Iranian state media said on Wednesday a sabotage attempt against a building of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization had been foiled, adding that it caused no “loss of life or property damage”. There was no confirmation of the report from the Iranian authorities. “Investigations are ongoing to identify the perpetrators …

Four Saudis who participated in the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi received paramilitary training in the United States the previous year under a contract approved by the State Department, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The training was provided by Tier 1 Group, which is …

Israel’s Defence Ministry and defence contractor Elbit Systems Ltd ESLT.TA are developing an airborne laser weapon to shoot down drones and other flying targets, officials said on Monday, predicting a prototype would be ready by 2025. They said the as-yet unnamed laser weapon could be incorporated in Israel’s multi-tier air defences, which …

Turkey’s Constitutional Court accepted an indictment on Monday seeking a ban on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged ties to militants, CNN Turk said, opening the way for a case to close parliament’s third-largest party. The case is the culmination of a years-long crackdown on the HDP, in which thousands of …

Dozens of tribal chiefs have been arrested across Afghanistan on charges of encouraging government soldiers to surrender to the Taliban, officials and lawmakers said on Friday, as the insurgents have stepped up attacks against Kabul forces. Fighting in Afghanistan has intensified in the past weeks as the US is set …

Moscow is closely monitoring developments around a potential Turkish military base in Azerbaijan, a move that could require Russia to take steps to ensure its own security and interests, the Kremlin said on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was in close contact with Turkey, a NATO member, on stabilising the …

U.S. authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect some 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the United States as refugees, and they are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters.   More than 500 Iraqis already admitted as refugees …

Lebanese army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun on Thursday expressed confidence that the military will overcome what he described as a “crucial and delicate period” facing Lebanon. The military chief warned of an increasingly untenable situation, but said that the institution remains strong. “We believe that we will overcome this crucial …

President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a meeting this week that Turkey would take a lead role in securing Kabul airport as the United States withdraws troops from Afghanistan, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. However, the two leaders were not able to …

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan sounded upbeat after their first face-to-face talks on Monday, although they did not announce major breakthroughs in the relationship between the two allies, at odds over Russian weapons, Syria, Libya and other issues. “We had a positive and productive meeting, much …