Independent U.N. sanctions monitors accused Yemenâs government, in a report seen by Reuters on Tuesday, of money-laundering and corruption âthat adversely affected access to adequate food suppliesâ and said the Houthi group collected at least $1.8 billion in state revenue in 2019 to help fund its war effort. The annual …
Read More »US vacillation over Houthis as terrorists in responce to aid outcry
The United States on Monday approved all transactions involving Yemenâs Houthi movement for the next month as Washington reviews a Trump administration designation of the Iran-aligned group as a foreign terrorist organization. The move appeared designed to allay fears of companies and banks involved in commercial trade to Yemen, which …
Read More »Constitutional committee for Syria reconvenes in Geneva
Delegations from Syriaâs government, opposition and civil society began a new round of meetings in Geneva on Monday aimed at revising the constitution of the war-torn country. The fifth round of the so-called Constitutional Committee came days after UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council …
Read More »YouTube bans Houthis after US designates organisation as terrorist
YouTube permanently deleted seven Houthi accounts on Sunday due to a breach of its policy, less than a week after the US designated the militia as a foreign terrorist organization. It deleted accounts that the group had been using to share its agenda, such as its main channel âFerqat Ansar …
Read More »Egyptian parliament condemns UN human rights report
Rhe human rights committee of Egyptâs House of Representatives, headed by Tarek Radwan, condemned, on Sunday, recent accusations made by the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur for human rights. The UN rapporteur, Mary Lawlor, had made the accusations on Egyptâs human rights record, describing it as ânarrowâ and âsegmentedâ. The …
Read More »State Department backtracking over Houthis terror label
The U.S. State Department has initiated a review of the terrorist designation of Yemenâs Houthi movement and is working as fast as it can to conclude the process and make a determination, a State Department spokesperson said on Friday. President Joe Bidenâs nominee for Secretary of State Antony Blinken said …
Read More »Rape in Tigray with encroachment of Ethiopian forces
The UN says it has received âdisturbingâ reports of sexual violence and abuse in Ethiopiaâs conflict-hit Tigray region, including of individuals forced to rape members of their own family. Pramila Patten, the UNâs special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said she was greatly concerned by serious allegations from the …
Read More »Biden wants to strengthen nuclear deal as Iran mocks Trump, vows revenge
The United States seeks to lengthen and strengthen the nuclear constraints on Iran through diplomacy and the issue will be part of President Joe Bidenâs early talks with foreign counterparts and allies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Biden has said that if Tehran resumed strict compliance with the …
Read More »Twitter censorship now reaches US embassy in China
Twitter has locked the account of Chinaâs U.S. embassy for a tweet that defended Chinaâs policy towards Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, which the U.S. social media platform said violated its stand against âdehumanizingâ people. Chinaâs Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was confused by the move and that it …
Read More »Biden administration promises new Iran nuclear deal
A new nuclear deal could address Iranâs aggressive policies in the Middle East, Americaâs next top diplomat Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. The secretary of state-designate told his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the administration of President-elect Joe Biden would seek a âlonger and stronger deal.â …
Read More »Tribal conflict leaves 130 dead in Darfur
The death toll in a new tribal conflict in Sudan rose to 130 on Monday as clashes in West Darfur spread south. At least 47 people were killed in South Darfur after 83 died and tens of thousands were displaced in West Darfur in the previous two days. It was …
Read More »New violence erupts between Arabs, non-Arabs in Darfur
Clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudanâs West Darfur have killed at least 32 people, according to a local medical official, as Sudanese authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew on the province. Darfur remains scarred by war after a rebellion in the early 2000s was brutally suppressed. The most recent violence …
Read More »Jan Kubis to new UN-appointed Libya monitor
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to appoint veteran diplomat Jan Kubis as his envoy in Libya nearly a year after the last mediator stepped down, according to a letter to the U.N. Security Council seen by Reuters on Thursday. If there are no objections by any of the 15-member council …
Read More »Repercussions of Houthi blacklisting felt from Yemen to UN
Yemenis fear a U.S. decision to blacklist the Houthi movement could further isolate them from the global financial system, depriving the war-battered country of vital remittances and hampering the flow of imports. Yemenâs war and the ensuing economic collapse has left 80% of the population reliant on aid. On Thursday, …
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 »Libya wants foreign forces out, asks UN Security Council
Members of the Libyan Dialogue Forum called on the United Nations Security Council to prevent all forms of foreign armed presence and expel mercenaries and foreign bases from Libya. In a statement published by Africa News, 36 out of 74 members called on all Libyan political elites to work together …
Read More »Turkey extends law keeping Turkish troops in Libya
Turkeyâs parliament extended for 18 months a law that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. The bill renewed a one-year mandate that came into force in January following a security and military agreement with the UN-backed administration in Tripoli, in western Libya. The Turkish decision Tuesday comes in …
Read More »New coalition government forms in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen announced on Friday a new power-sharing cabinet that would include southern separatists in the internationally-recognised government, part of a deal to end a power struggle between the nominal allies. The government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in the southern port of Aden, and …
Read More »Algeria categorically refuses Trump’s Morocco deal on Western Sahara
Algeria on Saturday rejected a decision by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying the step would undermine efforts to end the decades-long conflict over the desert territory. Trumpâs administration said it was recognising Moroccan claims to Western Sahara as part of a deal …
Read More »US position on Palestine complicates re-entry into UNESCO for Biden
Four years after the United States quit UNESCO, the United Nationsâ cultural agency, over accusations of anti-Israel bias, diplomats say the Paris-based body has managed to put its house in order, potentially easing the way for Washingtonâs return. The agency, founded in the ashes of World War Two to protect …
Read More »Iran edging towards nuclear confrontation with IAEA
Iranâs Guardian Council watchdog body approved a law on Wednesday that obliges the government to halt U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites and step up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under Tehranâs 2015 nuclear deal if sanctions are not eased in two months. In retaliation for the killing last …
Read More »Macron wants Lebanese consensus in exchange for aid
President Emmanuel Macron will seek to revive a French initiative on Lebanon when he hosts an international aid conference on Wednesday, but with the countryâs fractious political class bickering, hopes of a breakthrough appear slim. Four months after a massive explosion that killed more than 200 people and destroyed swathes …
Read More »India goes to Security Council, charges Pakistan with subversive activities
India on Monday handed a dossier to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council about a major attack that it said militants from Pakistan had attempted in the Indian part of Kashmir last week, government officials said. The four militants, belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, infiltrated into Indian …
Read More »Saudis want buffer zone in exchange for peace with Yemen
Saudi Arabia has told Yemenâs Houthis in high-level back channel talks it would sign a UN proposal for a nationwide ceasefire if the Iran-aligned group agrees to a buffer zone along the kingdomâs borders, three sources familiar with the matter said. If a deal is struck, it would mark the …
Read More »Slum areas, shanty towns targeted by Egyptain housing reforms
In her village in Egyptâs Nile Delta, 35-year-old Shaimaa Saleh has spent sleepless nights worrying how to raise almost $1,000 to save her unfinished three-storey home. Like hundreds of thousands of others, and many dependents, she faces a deadline at the end of October by which residents of buildings without …
Read More »US mediating Lebanon-Israeli maritime dispute
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute along the border between the two nations that have fought several conflicts. Still in a formal state of war, Lebanon and Israel have contested their land and maritime borders for decades, namely over …
Read More »Netanyahu wants Lebanese to protest Hezbollah stockpiles
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Lebanonâs Hezbollah of storing weapons near a gas company in a residential Beirut neighborhood, but the Iran-backed movement denied it. Speaking in a video to the United Nations General Assembly, pre-recorded due to the coronavirus pandemic, Netanyahu warned the depot in the …
Read More »Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations
âToday, the Central Asian states face an important strategic task. This is to ensure deep integration of our region into the global economic, transport and transit corridors,â Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. According to the President of Uzbekistan, the countries of the region have managed to create an atmosphere of good neighborliness, …
Read More »US uses human rights as excuse for new Iran sanctions
The United States on Thursday blacklisted several Iranian officials and entities over alleged gross violations of human rights, including slapping sanctions on a judge it said was involved in the case of an Iranian wrestler sentenced to death. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement said the United States …
Read More »Saudis agitate for reforms admist detentions
A group of Saudi dissidents, most of them in exile, on Wednesday announced the formation of a party to push for political reform in Saudi Arabia in defiance of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has moved to crush any dissent. The worldâs top oil exporter and …
Read More »UNRWA in dire straights as COVID and deal of century take their toll
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, is experiencing a financial crisis that could force it to halt some services to an already impoverished population of more than 5 million people, the head of the agency said on Wednesday. Philippe Lazzarini also warned in an interview with The Associated …
Read More »EU trying to force Poland to adopt gay, transexual rights
The European Unionâs chief executive said on Wednesday there was no place in the bloc for so-called âLGBT-free zonesâ, a pointed criticism of Polandâs nationalist government pushing to curb the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. âLGBTQI-free zones are humanity free zones. And they have no place in …
Read More »West wants justice for Khashoggi, Saudi women activists
Dozens of Western countries voiced concern on Tuesday at Saudi Arabiaâs continued detention of women activists and called for those behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to be brought to justice. At least a dozen prominent womenâs rights activists were arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2018 as it lifted …
Read More »Houthis put an end to all UN activities in Sanaa
The Houthi administration in Yemen has suspended all United Nations and humanitarian flights to the capital Sanaa as its Saudi-led coalition foe blocks commercial vessels in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The Iran-aligned Houthis took over Sanaa and most cities in 2014 after ousting the Saudi-backed government of Abd-Rabbu …
Read More »Putin, King Salman to coordinate oil prices, COVID vaccine
Saudi King Salman told President Vladimir Putin of Russia of his keenness to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, with special emphasis on their partnership within the OPEC+ alliance of oil producing countries. In a phone call between the new mega-development of NEOM and Moscow, the two leaders also …
Read More »Macron threatens sanctions or reforms as violence breaks out
Gunfire broke out on Tuesday in a town south of Beirut, where clashes last week killed two people and raised the risk of sectarian strife in Lebanon, the state news agency NNA said. NNA said an army patrol had deployed to the Khaldeh area to calm the situation, but gave …
Read More »Iran up in arms over latest US sanctions-assets seizure
Iranâs central bank said on Saturday it was taking legal steps to counter a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by creditors seeking to seize $1.7 billion of its assets held by Deutsche Boerseâs (DB1Gn.DE) Clearstream unit. The German stock exchange operator said earlier the creditors had filed the suit …
Read More »Turkey-NATO in talks as Macron sets red lines over East Med
President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about developments in the eastern Mediterranean and told him Turkey will continue to protect its rights and interests everywhere, Erdoganâs office said on Friday. Earlier, the EUâs top diplomat said the European Union is preparing sanctions against Turkey that could be …
Read More »UN Security Council speaks out against US sanctions move on Iran
The president of the U.N. Security Council, Indonesia, said on Tuesday it was ânot in the position to take further actionâ on a U.S. bid to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran because there is no consensus in the 15-member body. Thirteen council members expressed their opposition …
Read More »Libya ceasefire celebrated by all, UAE and Gulf states
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has welcomed a ceasefire announcement in Libya, the UAE news agency WAM reported on Saturday. GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Mubarak al-Hajraf called on all parties âto adhere to (this) constructive step, to urgently engage in political dialogue, and to work through mediation of …
Read More »UPDATES – US calls for investigation of Beirut blast, wants aid conditional on reforms
The United States called on Saturday for a transparent and credible investigation into the massive port blast in Beirut that killed 172 people and said Lebanon could never go back to the days âin which anything goesâ at its ports and borders. The Aug. 4 blast, which the authorities say …
Read More »US stokes flames in Lebanon as government braces for new elections
The U.S. government supports Lebanese demonstratorsâ right to peaceful protest and urges all involved to refrain from violence, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said on Saturday. The embassy also said in a tweet that the Lebanese people âdeserved leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular …
Read More »White House not keen on foreign intervention in Libya
The United States on Tuesday condemned all foreign military involvement in Libya, including the use of mercenaries and private military contractors, and said Libyans themselves must rebuild a unified country. U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with several world leaders about Libya in past weeks, and it was clear there …
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 »