After WikiLeaks release, Saudis warn against sharing 'fake' files

After WikiLeaks release, Saudis warn against sharing 'fake' files

    Thursday, October 29, 2015   No comments

Saudi Arabia has warned its citizens against spreading "faked" documents. The announcement came after WikiLeaks released thousands of the kingdom's diplomatic cables.

Officials in Saudi Arabia did not confirm nor deny the leaked documents' authenticity in a statement released Saturday. It came a day after WikiLeaks released more than 60,000 documents, including a number of classified reports from institutions such as the Kingdom's General Intelligence Services and the foreign department.

There were also emails between diplomats, and discussions of Saudi Arabia's position on important regional issues and efforts to influence the media. A multi-million dollar limousine bill racked up by a Saudi princess in Switzerland provided a rarely seen insight into the opulent lifestyles of the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Saudi Arabia set to resume flogging of Raif Badawi this Friday

Saudi Arabia set to resume flogging of Raif Badawi this Friday

    Wednesday, October 28, 2015   No comments

The Saudi Arabian authorities have an opportunity to improve their appalling human rights record by heeding the international outcry about the public flogging of Raif Badawi and halting it immediately, said Amnesty International.

The organization has learned that the imprisoned activist, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up the Saudi Arabian Liberals website, will be flogged for a second time on Friday 16 January. His flogging began last week after Friday prayers when he was lashed 50 times outside al-Jafali mosque in Jeddah.

Iran Confirms Participation in Syrian Crisis Talks in Vienna

Iran Confirms Participation in Syrian Crisis Talks in Vienna

    Wednesday, October 28, 2015   No comments

"We have reviewed the invitation, and it was decided that the foreign minister would attend the talks," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputies will attend the Syria peace talks in Vienna on Friday.

"Deputy Foreign Ministers Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi will accompany Foreign Minister on this trip," Afkham said.

According to latest reports, the top diplomats from Russia, the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey will also convene in Vienna, Austria, on Friday to discuss the Syrian crisis.

It comes after Washington reversed its opposition to Tehran's participation in talks to end the Syrian civil war.

Iran's invitation to Syria talks marks significant shift for US and allies

Iran's invitation to Syria talks marks significant shift for US and allies

    Tuesday, October 27, 2015   No comments

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Unlike the countries that support the anti-Assad rebel groups, Iran has taken an unwaveringly strategic view of the crisis, consistently backing Damascus while pursuing its own interests. It has provided billions of dollars in cash and loans, as well as advice and expertise.
Its military role in Syria has been shadowy but vital, deploying Revolutionary Guards as advisers and overseeing offensives by its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Shia fighters from as far afield as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has raised its profile slightly in recent weeks as the forces it commands have taken part in Assad’s offensive against Aleppo. It has also suffered casualties that are starting to be noticed at home.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted that the invasion of Iraq helped the rise of ISIS

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted that the invasion of Iraq helped the rise of ISIS

    Monday, October 26, 2015   No comments

Speaking to CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired on Sunday, Blair said, "Of course you can't say that those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation [in Iraq] in 2015."

"There are elements of truth" in the fact that the invasion is responsible for the rise in ISIS, he said.

Asked whether the invasion was wrong, Blair failed to give a direct apology, saying that he could "apologize for some of the mistakes in planning and certainly our mistakes in our understanding of what would happen when you remove the regime. But I find it hard to apologize for removing Saddam. I think, even from today in 2015, it is better that he's not there than that he is there."

"I can say that I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong because, even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people, against others, the program in the form that we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought," he said.

Saudi Arabia hajj disaster death toll at least 2,121

Saudi Arabia hajj disaster death toll at least 2,121

    Monday, October 19, 2015   No comments

The crush and stampede that struck the hajj last month in Saudi Arabia killed at least 2,121 pilgrims, a new Associated Press tally showed Monday, after officials in the kingdom met to discuss the tragedy.

The toll keeps rising from the Sept. 24 disaster outside Mecca as individual countries identify bodies and work to determine the whereabouts of hundreds of pilgrims still missing. The official Saudi toll of 769 people killed and 934 injured has not changed since Sept. 26, and officials have yet to address the discrepancy.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz, who is also the kingdom's interior minister, oversaw a meeting late Sunday about the disaster in Mina, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The agency's report did not mention any official response to the rising death toll.

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Iran has repeatedly blamed the disaster on the Saudi royal family, accusing it of mismanagement and of covering up the real death toll, which Tehran says exceeds 4,700, without providing evidence.

Turkey stikes ISIL for the first time; but launched dozens of strikes on Kurdish people since the first ISIL bombing attack on Turkish civilians

Turkey stikes ISIL for the first time; but launched dozens of strikes on Kurdish people since the first ISIL bombing attack on Turkish civilians

    Friday, October 16, 2015   No comments

Although ISIL was behind suicide bomb attacks that killed many Turkish citizens, including the country's deadliest attack that took place in Ankara, the Turkish government initiated airstrikes against punishing Kurdish rebels instead.

Turkish warplanes have successfully struck militants linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Syria in first Turkish air campaign as part of a global coalition built to defeat the extremist group.

For months, Washington and Ankara had been holding talks on the military coordination in the Syrian airspace and it seems Turkish jets are given the green light to join the fight in Syria. There was no confirmation of the air strike from the Turkish side.

"We have seen in the last 24 hours or so that Turkey has stepped up their activity in Syria... reports overnight that Turks for the first time successfully struck a mobile ISIL target inside of Syria," Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said during a daily press briefing on Thursday.