Iranâs President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday hailed the departure of âtyrantâ US counterpart Donald Trump, who is due to leave office later in the day. A âtyrantâs era came to an end and today is the final day of his ominous reign. Someone for whom all of his four years …
Read More »Zarif waylays French claims about Iran nuclear ambitions
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday dismissed a claim by France that Tehran was in the process of building up its nuclear weapons, calling it âabsurd nonsenseâ. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche published on Saturday, said Iran was building …
Read More »Iran wants ‘snapback’ sanctions clause removed from nuclear deal
Iran demands the removal of the so-called snapback mechanism in its nuclear accord, which could revive all U.N. sanctions against Tehran, in the event of new talks with world powers, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear …
Read More »Iran takes offensive on reintroducing US to nuclear deal, sanctions corona vaccine
Iranâs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday Tehran was in no rush for the United States to rejoin a 2015 nuclear deal, but that sanctions on the Islamic Republic must be lifted immediately. âWe are not insisting nor in a hurry for the U.S. to return to the …
Read More »EU desperate to salvage nuclear deal in face of Iran enrichment plans
The European Commission said on Tuesday it regretted that Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact, but believed that the accord was worth saving. âWe are highly concerned by the measures taken by Iran. This action is in breach of Iranâs …
Read More »Pakistani movie explores social media hate crimes
The creator of an animated film on blasphemy in Pakistan is hoping it will prompt discussion on tolerance at a time that rights advocates say hate speech on social media is increasingly triggering violence. The short film âSwipeâ is about a boy obsessed with a hypothetical smartphone app that allows …
Read More »Gender Benders: A Follow-Up on Mackenzie Davis and the Remakings of the Female Other â PART II
By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD I remember a time when a cabbage could sell itself by being a cabbage. Nowadays itâs no good being a cabbage â unless you have an agent and pay him a commission. Nothing is free anymore to sell itself or give itself away. …
Read More »European banks have defied Trump’s anti-Iran sanctions
Germany, France and Britain urged the Trump administration in late October to reconsider broad, new sanctions against Iranâs banks, arguing that the move would deter legitimate humanitarian trade and hurt the alliesâ common interests, diplomatic correspondence shows. Germanyâs Bundesbank also kept a multi-billion-euro deposit facility open for Iranian banks, including …
Read More »Pakistan to boycott French goods in response to protests over cartoons
An Islamist group on Tuesday called off violent protests over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad saying the Pakistani government has endorsed boycotting French products, a spokesman for the group said. Thousands of Islamists clashed with police on the main road into Pakistanâs capital Islamabad on Monday following protests over the recent …
Read More »New war of words between Azhar chief and Macron
Dr. Ahmed Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, Egyptâs top religious authority, vowed to prosecute all those who insult Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at international courts. Dr. Al Tayeb made these remarks during Sundayâs meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is visiting Egypt to help …
Read More »Egypt and France in joint naval exercise in Turkey’s East Med
Egyptian and French naval forces have carried out a joint naval training exercise in the northern Mediterranean amid growing tensions between the two countries and Turkey over Ankaraâs gas exploration ambitions in the region. Two frigates were involved in the joint exercise, which is part of the Egyptian armed forcesâ …
Read More »US quits global climate pact as second worst carbon emitter
The United States formally exited the Paris Agreement on Wednesday, fulfilling an old promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the worldâs second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change. But the outcome of the tight U.S. election contest will determine for how long. Trumpâs Democratic …
Read More »Terror attacks rock Vienna in wake of Macron racism
At least one âIslamist terroristâ was responsible for attacks across central Vienna, in which at least five people were killed and several others injured, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday. A massive search operation has been launched for other attackers, with at least 1,000 police officers fanning out …
Read More »Italy brushes off responsibility for Nice slaughter
The Italian government was in no way to blame for allowing a Tunisian migrant accused of killing three people in a church in neighbouring France to enter Europe, the interior minister said on Friday. The suspect in Thursdayâs attack in Nice, Brahim Aouissaoui, reached the Italian island of Lampedusa on …
Read More »Employee at French consulate knifed by Saudi man
A Saudi man was arrested in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after attacking and wounding a security guard with a âsharp toolâ at the French consulate on Thursday, local police said. A statement from the Mecca regionâs police said the guard suffered âminor injuriesâ and that âlegal actionâ was …
Read More »Erdogan backs growing calls for French boycott
Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan asked his compatriots to stop buying French goods on Monday in the latest expression of anger in the Muslim world over images being displayed in France of the Prophet Mohammad, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. In Bangladesh on Monday, protesters held placards with a caricature of …
Read More »Kuwait leads Arab boycott of French goods over racist cartoon
Kuwaitâs retail co-ops have pulled French products in boycott over the use of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a French school class on freedom of expression whose teacher was then beheaded by a Chechen teenager. In Saudi Arabia, the Arab worldâs largest economy, a hashtag calling for the boycott …
Read More »Pompeo joins condemnation of Turkey in Azer-Armenian conflict
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said Turkeyâs involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has increased the risk in the region, reiterating his call for the issue to be resolved through diplomacy. Several hundred people have been killed in the deadliest flare-up of the decades-old conflict …
Read More »Bashar Al-Assad accuses Turkey of inflaming Azer-Armenian dispute
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan of being the main instigator in the deadliest fighting between Armenian and Azeri forces for more than 25 years. In an interview published on Tuesday that is likely to exacerbate international frictions over the clashes in the South Caucasus region, Assad …
Read More »Macron now turns tirade on Turkey over Armenia dispute
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemned what he called Turkeyâs âreckless and dangerousâ statements backing Azerbaijan it its bid to take back the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh. Ankara said on Tuesday it was âfully readyâ to help Azerbaijan recover Nagorny Karabakh, as armed conflict escalated with neighboring Armenia …
Read More »Hezbollah decries imperialist Macron
Hezbollahâs leader said on Tuesday his Shiâite movement welcomed French efforts to help Lebanon out of crisis but that did not mean French President Emmanuel Macron could act like the countryâs ruler. In a televised address, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah remained ready for dialogue under …
Read More »Dispute breaks out between Amal and Macron
Lebanonâs Amal movement expressed surprise on Tuesday over accusations by French President Emmanuel Macron that the Shiâite party triggered the collapse of talks to form a new government. Prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib quit on Saturday after failing to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to a French plan …
Read More »French plans for Lebanon fall apart with rejection of PM designate
Lebanonâs prime minister-designate quit on Saturday after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to a French bid aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to tackle the worst crisis since the nationâs 1975-1990 civil war. Mustapha Adib, former ambassador to Berlin, was picked on …
Read More »US ignores UN and sanctions dozens of Iran trade partners
The United States on Monday will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iranâs nuclear, missile and conventional arms programs, a senior U.S. official said, putting teeth behind U.N. sanctions on Tehran that Washington argues have resumed despite the opposition of allies and adversaries. Speaking on condition …
Read More »Maronite church charges Shiites with fomenting Lebanon crisis
Lebanonâs top Christian cleric took a swipe at leaders of the Shiâite Muslim community on Sunday for making demands he said were blocking the formation of a new government and causing political paralysis in a nation in deep crisis. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, leader of the Maronite church, did not …
Read More »‘Active neutrality’ way out of Lebanon deadlock, explains Maronite patriarch
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Wednesday, the head of Lebanonâs Maronite church, Bechara Al-Rai, called for all of the many political factions in the country â which has just marked its centenary â to support his call to adopt âactive neutrality,â describing it as âpart of the …
Read More »Netflix falls afoul of its libertine tendencies with Islamophobic child sex movie
A campaign waged against Netflix over âCutiesâ and the filmâs sexualized portrayal of children produced a surge in U.S. subscription cancellations over the weekend, according to research company YipitData. Netflix subscriber churn rates began to rise Sept. 10, the day after the release of âCutiesâ on Netflix, when the hashtag …
Read More »The Unruly âTenetâ in the House: Christopher Nolan on Art after-before-after the Empire
Iâve been struggling to write a review of this little sci-fi action masterpiece Tenet (2020) for quite some time now if only because itâs such a hard movie to understand. And Iâm saying this as a sci-fi buff whose watched and read his fair share of reverse flow time travel …
Read More »NATO mediating Greece, Turkey East Med dispute
Greece and Turkey have agreed to talks to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, part of efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources in the region. Germany is also leading a diplomatic push for broader dialogue and German Chancellor Angela …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Hezbullah wants Adib as PM before Macron visit
Lawmakers in the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiâite group Hezbollah nominated Mustapha Adib as the next prime minister on Monday, the head of its parliamentary bloc said after a meeting with President Michel Aoun. The bloc âinformed President Aoun of its agreement to the nomination of Mustapha Adib and we expressed our …
Read More »EU threatens sanctions for Turkey East Med drilling
The EU on Friday urged Turkey to halt its drilling activities in contested waters in the Mediterranean and ordered EU officials to speed up work aimed at blacklisting some Turkish officials linked to the energy exploration. Tensions are mounting to breaking point between Turkey and Greece over Turkeyâs drilling work …
Read More »NATO to keep Greece, Turkey dispute spinning out of control
NATO is looking at ways to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean while supporting German diplomatic efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources there, the allianceâs chief said on Thursday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval …
Read More »Majority vote against renewed Iran sanctons, Pompeo snubbed at UN
The United States was further isolated on Friday over its bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran with 13 countries on the 15-member U.N. Security Council expressing their opposition, arguing that Washingtonâs move is void given it is using a process agreed under a nuclear deal that it quit two …
Read More »Europeans, Israelis fight over restoring sanctions on Iran
The United Kingdom, France and Germany on Thursday said they cannot support the U.S. move to restore United Nations sanctions on Iran, saying the action is incompatible with efforts to support the Iran nuclear deal. âIn order to preserve the agreement, we urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with …
Read More »Turkish, Greek warships face off as international players take sides – UPDATED
President Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece on Friday that Turkey will retaliate against any attack on its survey vessel Oruc Reis in the eastern Mediterranean in an escalating row between the NATO allies over gas and oil exploration in the region. Turkey and Greece are vehemently at odds over overlapping claims …
Read More »Macron warns Trump on Hezbullah sanctions as protests erupt in Beurit – UPDATE
French President Emmanuel Macron has told President Donald Trump that U.S. sanctions that have targeted Iran-backed Shiâite group Hezbollah are playing into the hands of those they are meant to weaken, an Elysee official said on Saturday. The official, speaking ahead of a donors conference on aid to Lebanon co-hosted …
Read More »Mixed responses as Lebanon weighs economic consequenses of blast
An Iraqi delegation headed by the Iraqi oil minister met the Lebanese prime minister, Hassan Diab, on Wednesday and informed him that Baghdad will provide fuel aid to Beirut after the blast on Aug. 4, according to a statement by the Lebanese government. Lebanese local media also said that an …
Read More »International Aid heading to Beirut after Tuesday’s catastrophic explosions (update)
Russia’s emergency officials said the country will send five planeloads of aid to Beirut after an explosion in the Lebanese capital’s port killed at least 100 people and injured thousands Tuesday late afternoon. Aid from France, Jordan, Qatar already arrived Wednesday morning at Beirut airport. By Arthur Blok International aid …
Read More »Lebanon on knife edge as Rafik Hariri verdict looms
Fifteen years after a truck bomb killed Lebanonâs former Sunni leader Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut, triggering regional upheaval, a U.N.-backed court trying four suspects from Shiâite Hezbollah delivers a verdict on Friday that could shake the country again. The defendants, members of the powerful Iran-backed group, have been tried in …
Read More »Russia fails to block UN Syria aid plan via Turkey
A Russian bid to halve access for humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey to just one border crossing failed at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, garnering just four votes in favor from the 15-member body. Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the council from …
Read More »Incident with Turkey prompts France to withdraw from naval exercise
France has informed NATO that it is suspending its involvement in a naval operation in the Mediterranean after the results of a probe into an incident between French and Turkish warships, an official at the Armed Forces ministry said on Wednesday. The official said in a letter to NATOâs Secretary-General …
Read More »UAE Targets Turkey and Qatar in the Mediterranean
By James M. Dorsey Europe is progressively being sucked into the Middle East and North Africaâs myriad conflicts. As if wars on its doorstep in Libya and Syria were not enough, UAE support for an Eastern Mediterranean pipeline that could hurt Qatar economically â combined with Greek, Cypriot …
Read More »Oil war still persists between Russia, Saudi
Behind a Saudi-Russian truce to stabilise oil markets with a record output cut, market players are seeing the two production heavyweights still trading blows in the physical market. The rivals said last week they were ready to take measures if necessary to balance the market by cutting combined output with …
Read More »Trump has faith in French coronavirus expert
President Trump has turned to a French virologist with a history of criticizing climate science to offer the world hope amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Trump tweeted that the combination of two medicines could dramatically alter the often deadly course of COVID-19. “HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have …
Read More »