What if the Saudis knew exactly what they are doing in Syria ?
►http://pando.com/2013/12/19/the-war-nerd-saudis-syria-and-blowback #Syria #Jihad #blowback #Saudi_Arabia
What if the Saudis knew exactly what they are doing in Syria ?
►http://pando.com/2013/12/19/the-war-nerd-saudis-syria-and-blowback #Syria #Jihad #blowback #Saudi_Arabia
Will #Geneva_II Consolidate Western Alliance With Assad?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/will-geneva-ii-consolidate-western-alliance-assad
Syrians look at the aftermath of an airstrike on a rebel area of the war-torn northern city of Aleppo on December 15, 2013.(Photo: AFP - Mohammed Al-Khatieb). Syrians look at the aftermath of an airstrike on a rebel area of the war-torn northern city of Aleppo on December 15, 2013.(Photo: AFP - Mohammed Al-Khatieb).
International relations are not governed by emotions or ethics but rather by state interests. This was clear in the case of the Western-Iranian deal. Neither Israeli nor Gulf pressure succeeded in dissuading Washington from reaching a deal with Iran. The same principle will soon inform the West’s relationship with #syria, as recent leaks seem to indicate.
Sami Kleib (...)
#Saudi_Arabia beheads 77th man this year for smuggling pills
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-77th-man-year-smuggling-pills
A Saudi convicted of trafficking drugs was beheaded Friday at Tabuk in the northwest of the conservative desert kingdom, the interior ministry said. Anad al-Amrani had been found guilty of smuggling a large number of pills into the country, said a ministry statement cited by the official SPA news agency. Friday’s beheading takes to 77 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP count. In 2012, Saudi Arabia carried out 76 executions, according to a tally based on official figures. Rights group Amnesty International put last year’s figure at 79. read more
Complications of the Saudi Alliance With #Israel
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/complications-saudi-alliance-israel
Never before has the Saudi government felt comfortable flaunting its alliance with Israel. This alliance is not new and has long historical precedences. But the Saudi royal family, in the age of the second generation of princes, has been changing tactics: Historically cautious and duplicitous, the Saudi regime is now open about its alliance with the #united_states and Israel (closer to Israel than the US as of late).
Related Articles: Background of the Saudi-Israeli Alliance Lines of the Game: Protecting Saudi From Israel
read (...)
Le Angry Corner d’As‘ad Abukhalil.
The Saudi royal family is facing a political crisis that coincides with the crisis of succession in the kingdom. The recent uncharacteristically bold moves by the kingdom in its foreign policy are signs of indecision and conflict at the level of leadership. This could only lead to strategically wrong moves by either the government as a whole or an individual prince who is too impatient to wait for the right time to seize the throne.
Saudi #beheading brings execution toll to 76 this year
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-beheading-brings-execution-toll-76-year
Saudi authorities on Tuesday beheaded a Syrian man convicted of smuggling drugs to the medieval-styled kingdom, the interior ministry said. Syrian national Hasan Mahmud al-Bash was executed in the northern province of Jawf, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. Bash was arrested while attempting to traffic “a large amount of narcotic capsules,” the ministry added. His beheading brings to 76 the number of executions carried out in #Saudi_Arabia this year, according to an AFP count, matching the toll for 2012. (AFP, Al-Akhbar)
#Iran, #Saudi_Arabia among 30 countries to attend Syrian peace conference
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iran-saudi-arabia-among-30-countries-attend-syrian-peace-conferen
Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back opposite sides in #syria's war, are among more than 30 countries slated to attend a peace conference next month, diplomats said. The so-called #Geneva_II conference, a follow-up to a 2012 meeting, is aimed at mapping out a political transition to end nearly three years of fighting that has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced millions. But the January 22 meeting will actually be held at the lakeside Swiss city of Montreux because of a shortage of hotel rooms in Geneva, which will be hosting a luxury watch fair, a Western diplomat told AFP. read more
Saudi Prince Accuses Syrian Director of “Sexual Jihad”
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-prince-accuses-syrian-director-%E2%80%9Csexual-jihad%E2%80%
Anzour chose Damascus cinemas to show his movie, defying all lawsuits that accused him of “defaming and slandering a royal personality and a royal family.” (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Anzour chose Damascus cinemas to show his movie, defying all lawsuits that accused him of “defaming and slandering a royal personality and a royal family.” (Photo: Al-Akhbar)
As the film “King of the Sands” debuted in Syrian cinemas, Saudi Prince #Talal_bin_Abdul-Aziz_al-Saud, a half-brother of King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, requested that President Bashar al-Assad stop its screening, describing the film’s director as a promoter of “jihad al-nikah,” or sexual jihad.
Nadine Kanaan (...)
#Culture_&_Society #Articles #King_of_the_Sands #Najdat_Anzour #Saudi_Arabia #syria
#Saudi_Arabia beheads man for incest
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-man-incest
Saudi authorities on Tuesday beheaded a man convicted of incest in the south of the medieval kingdom, the interior ministry said. Hasan Ghazwani, a Saudi national, was executed in the city of Jizan, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency. It said Ghazwani’s affair had led to a pregnancy but did not disclose their family relationship or whether the woman had delivered. It cited a saying attributed to Prophet Mohammad that stipulates death for whose who commit incest. read more
#syria asks #UN to censure Riyadh for backing #jihadists
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-asks-un-censure-riyadh-backing-jihadists
Men make their way through the debris after an air strike by government forces on the Syrian city of Aleppo on November 28, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed al-Khatieb)
Syria’s government has called on the United Nations to make efforts to stop what it says is #Saudi_Arabia's support for extremist Islamist groups fighting to topple the regime. “We call on the UN Security Council to take the necessary measures to put an end to the unprecedented actions of the Saudi regime, which is supporting takfiri terrorism tied to al-Qaeda,” Syria’s foreign ministry said in a message. read (...)
#Saudi_Arabia beheads Pakistani man over drugs
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-pakistani-man-over-drugs
Saudi authorities beheaded a Pakistani man on Sunday after he was convicted of smuggling drugs into the medieval-styled Gulf state, the interior ministry said. Mohammed Zayer Khan Qol was arrested as he was “smuggling a large amount of heroin” into the US-backed Wahhabi kingdom, said the statement published by the official SPA news agency. His beheading in the western region of Mecca brings to 73 the number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP count. read more
#Jordan elected to #UN #Security_Council seat turned down by #Saudi_Arabia
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/jordan-elected-un-security-council-seat-turned-down-saudi-arabia
The 193-member UN General Assembly elected Jordan to the UN Security Council on Friday to replace Saudi Arabia, which rejected its two-year term in protest at the council’s failure to end the Syria war and act on other Middle East issues. Saudi Arabia was elected in October to join the 15-member council from January 1, but in an unprecedented move Riyadh declined the role a day after the vote. While unopposed as the replacement, Jordan still needed two-thirds approval by the General Assembly. It was elected with 178 votes on Friday. (Reuters)
Lines of the Game: One Civil War in #Lebanon and #syria
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lines-game-one-civil-war-lebanon-and-syria
A man runs in front of a curtain bearing text reading in Arabic: “Danger of sniper” in a street in Zahriyeh, a neighbourhood at the southern entrance of Tripoli’s Bab al-Tabbaneh area. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid). A man runs in front of a curtain bearing text reading in Arabic: “Danger of sniper” in a street in Zahriyeh, a neighbourhood at the southern entrance of Tripoli’s Bab al-Tabbaneh area. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid).
The policy of disengagement has collapsed. Lebanon and Syria are back together like never before. But this time with blood. Nothing indicates the possibility of containing the fire in North Lebanon. There is no plan that could stop the bombs in Beirut or elsewhere. A new government is not on the horizon, (...)
#Opinion #Articles #Bandar_bin_Sultan #Bashar_al-Assad #Hezbollah #Iran #Michel_Suleiman #Saudi_Arabia
#Ethiopia: 100,000 repatriated from #Saudi_Arabia over migrant crackdown
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/ethiopia-100000-citizens-repatriated-saudi-arabia-over-immigratio
Ethiopia has repatriated over 100,000 citizens from Saudi Arabia, Addis Ababa’s foreign ministry said Thursday, following a violent crackdown against undocumented immigrants in the oil-rich kingdom. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said that up to 50,000 more citizens are still expected to come home. “Last night arrivals from Saudi reached 100,620,” Tedros said in a statement, adding that “all citizens that were detained in Riyadh deportation camps are back”. read more
#Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut suburbs
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hezbollah-commander-killed-beirut-suburbs
A handout picture made available by Hezbollah shows an undated photograph of one of its commanders, Hassan Hawlo al-Laqqis, who was assassinated near his house on December 4, 2013 in the suburbs of Beirut (Photo: AFP / Hezbollah)
#Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that one of its commanders was killed outside his Beirut home in an overnight attack it blamed on #Israel. A Hezbollah statement said that Hassan al-Laqqis was a leader of the resistance against Israel. According to the statement, Laqqis was shot in the head with a silenced gun while in his car around midnight in the southern Hadath district of the Lebanese capital. Footage from the scene broadcast by al-Manar television on Wednesday showed two bullet marks in a wall and muddy footprints it said (...)
Lines of the Game: Protecting Saudi From #Israel
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lines-game-protecting-saudi-israel
Israeli soldiers patrol on October 9, 2013 along the Israel-Syria border after mortar fire from inside war-torn Syria hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (Photo: AFP - Jalaa Marey) Israeli soldiers patrol on October 9, 2013 along the Israel-Syria border after mortar fire from inside war-torn Syria hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (Photo: AFP - Jalaa Marey)
Israel has recently decided to increase its number of official statements supporting closer relations with #Saudi_Arabia. As the West and #Iran struck their #nuclear deal, #israeli_media leaks on secret meetings between representatives from the two countries intensified, prompting the Arab press to treat Riyadh and Tel Aviv as allies. (...)
Assad : Our Battle With Saudi Is Open-Ended
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/assad-our-battle-saudi-open-ended
Soldiers of the Syrian government forces patrol on a tank in a devastated street on July 31, 2013 in the district of al-Khalidiyah in the central Syrian city of Homs. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid) Soldiers of the Syrian government forces patrol on a tank in a devastated street on July 31, 2013 in the district of al-Khalidiyah in the central Syrian city of Homs. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid)
Ten days ago, Syrian President #Bashar_al-Assad met with a delegation of party leaders and politicians from Arab countries. He said unequivocally: The battle will continue as long as #Saudi_Arabia continues to “back terrorism,” and the flow of extremist fighters, money, and arms into #syria continues. read (...)
#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Ahmad_al-Jarba #Articles #Geneva_II #Hezbollah
#Qatar Opens Up to #Hezbollah and Damascus After Hostage Deal
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/qatar-opens-hezbollah-and-damascus-after-hostage-deal
Qatar also asked Lebanese security officials who were involved in freeing the Lebanese hostages to relay positive messages to both Hezbollah and Damascus. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed Al-Shaikh) Qatar also asked Lebanese security officials who were involved in freeing the Lebanese hostages to relay positive messages to both Hezbollah and Damascus. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed Al-Shaikh)
After playing a central role in freeing the Lebanese hostages who were held in northern #syria, Qatar is using the same channels to mend its ties with Hezbollah and the Syrian regime.
Ibrahim al-Amin
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Saudi grand mufti: women’s driving ban “protects society from evil”
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-grand-mufti-womens-driving-ban-protects-society-evil
The grand mufti of #Saudi_Arabia said a ban on #women_driving in the conservative Gulf state protects society from “evil,” in remarks published in the press on Thursday. Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, in a speech delivered Wednesday in the western city of Medina, said the issue of giving women the right to drive should not be “one of society’s major concerns.” The kingdom’s most senior cleric called for “the matter to be considered from the perspective of protecting society from evil” which, according to him, included letting women drive. read more
More than 50,000 Ethiopians leave #Saudi_Arabia in migrant crackdown
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/more-50000-ethiopians-leave-saudi-arabia-over-migrant-worker-crac
Ethiopia has flown home over 50,000 citizens in Saudi Arabia after a crackdown against undocumented immigrants in the oil-rich state, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. “We projected the initial number to be 10,000 but it is increasing,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told AFP, adding that the final total once the mass airlift ends is now expected to be around 80,000. read more
Saudi King Tells Suleiman Army Must Fight Hezbollah
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-king-tells-suleiman-army-must-fight-hezbollah
A handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi’s King Abdullah (R) meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman during an official visit on November 11, 2013 in Riyadh, #Saudi_Arabia. (Photo: AFP - SPA) A handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi’s King Abdullah (R) meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman during an official visit on November 11, 2013 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: AFP - SPA)
Lebanese President #Michel_Suleiman’s trip to Saudi Arabia in mid-November did not go so well on many levels – the worst moment being when the Saudi king told him that the army must stop Hezbollah from fighting in Syria. read (...)
#Saudi_Arabia says it is “reconsidering” ban on women drivers
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-says-it-reconsidering-ban-women-drivers
Former rally driver Ari Vatanen, second left, and Tunisian driver Hend Chaouch, left, take part in a demonstration to call for the pose to support Saudi woman’s right to drive, on November 27, 2013 in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris.(Photo: AFP - Bertrand Guay)
Saudi authorities are reassessing a controversial ban on the right for women to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, activists said on Wednesday, citing the interior minister. “Rest assured that the issue is being discussed, and expect a good outcome,” Prince Mohammed bin Nayef said, according to Aziza al-Yusef who met him along with fellow activist Hala al-Dosari. Yusef said the meeting took place at the minister’s office, but through a video conference, in compliance with strict rules of (...)
#Lebanon: #Future_Party Wants to Extend President’s Term
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-future-party-wants-extend-president%E2%80%99s-term
No doubt the Lebanese president’s delayed visit to #Saudi_Arabia was part of this effort. (Photo: AFP - Patrick Baz) No doubt the Lebanese president’s delayed visit to Saudi Arabia was part of this effort. (Photo: AFP - Patrick Baz)
It seems that the Future Party is seriously considering extending Lebanese President #Michel_Suleiman’s term in office, particularly if efforts to turn the tables on the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria fail.
Ibrahim al-Amin
read more
Saudi beheads Pakistani man for smuggling heroin
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-beheads-pakistani-man-smuggling-heroin
Saudi authorities beheaded on Tuesday a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling drugs into the medieval-styled kingdom, the interior ministry said. The man was found guilty of attempting to smuggle an undisclosed amount of heroin that he had swallowed, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency. His #beheading in the eastern city of Dammam brings to 72 the number of executions carried out in #Saudi_Arabia this year, according to an AFP count. In 2012, the kingdom carried out 76 executions, according to a tally based on official figures. read more
#Yemen releases runaway Saudi woman to UN
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/yemen-releases-runaway-saudi-woman-un
A Yemeni court on Tuesday released into UN custody a Saudi woman who had crossed the border illegally to elope with a Yemeni man. Huda al-Niran, 22, defied her family and crossed the border to be with her Yemeni beloved Arafat Mohammed Tahar, 25. Niran was arrested in Yemen for illegal entry and placed on trial, amid mounting pressure from her family and Saudi authorities for her to return home. But she stuck her ground, pleading in court to be able to stay and marry Tahar, and applied for asylum through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). read more
Runaway Saudi urges Yemen to let her stay
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/runaway-saudi-urges-yemen-let-her-stay
A Yemeni girl takes part in a gathering in support with Saudi young woman Huda al-Niran outside the courthouse during her trial on November 24, 2013 in the capital Sanaa. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed Huwais)
A young Saudi woman on Sunday urged a Yemeni court to let her stay and marry the man she says she loves, defying norms in both deeply conservative countries. Huda al-Niran, 22, defied her family and crossed the border illegally to be with her beloved. As she pleaded her case to be able to stay and marry Arafat Mohammed Tahar, 25, her supporters demonstrated outside the Sanaa courthouse, sporting headbands proclaiming “We are all Huda.” She not only went against the wishes of her family, who said she could not marry Tahar, but also dared to flee the country and (...)