Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Saudi crown prince a ‘psychopath’, says exiled intelligence officer

Posted on by

Saad Aljabri says Mohammed bin Salman boasted he could kill former ruler King Abdullah

A former senior Saudi intelligence officer has claimed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a “psychopath with no empathy” who once boasted that he could kill the kingdom’s ruler at the time, King Abdullah, and replace him with his own father.

In an interview on US television, Saad Aljabri, who fled Saudi Arabia in May 2017 and is living in exile in Canada, also said he had been warned by an associate in 2018, after the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, that a Saudi hit team was heading to Canada to kill him.

Continue reading...

New Iranian regional governor slapped in face at inauguration

Posted on by

Attack on Brig Gen Abedin Khorram in East Azerbaijan province an unusual breach of security in Islamic Republic

The new governor of a north-western Iranian province was slapped in the face by an angry man during his inauguration on Saturday in an unusual breach of security in the Islamic Republic.

A motive for the attack in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province remained unclear, though it targeted a new provincial governor who once served in the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and reportedly had been kidnapped at one point by rebel forces in Syria. One report referred to it as a personal dispute.

Continue reading...

Israel labels Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organisations

Posted on by

Defence ministry says the six groups have undercover links to militant PFLP movement

Israel has accused six prominent Palestinian human rights groups of being terrorist organisations, saying they have undercover links to a militant movement.

Most of the groups document alleged human rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Continue reading...

Protesters take to the streets demanding full civilian rule in Sudan

Posted on by

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators march in Khartoum and other cities

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other major cities demanding full civilian rule, just days after a sit-in was launched calling for a return to military government.

Images posted on social media showed vast crowds marching in different parts of the Sudanese capital in protests to reject military rule as the crisis in the country’s troubled transition from authoritarian rule deepened.

Continue reading...

Assad regime ‘siphons millions in aid’ by manipulating Syria’s currency

Posted on by

Government pocketed half of donations in 2020 as central bank forced UN agencies to use lower exchange rate


The Syrian government is siphoning off millions of dollars of foreign aid by forcing UN agencies to use a lower exchange rate, according to new research.

The Central Bank of Syria, which is sanctioned by the UK, US and EU, in effect made $60m (£44m) in 2020 by pocketing $0.51 of every aid dollar sent to Syria, making UN contracts one of the biggest money-making avenues for President Bashar al-Assad and his government, researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Operations & Policy Center thinktank and the Center for Operational Analysis and Research found.

Continue reading...

Thief broadcasts face to thousands after snatching journalist’s phone during live report – video

Posted on by

A man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a journalist’s phone straight from his hands during a live broadcast in Egypt.

Mahmoud Ragheb, a reporter for the news site Youm7, was filming the aftermath of an earthquake live from the streets of Cairo when a man on a motorbike sped past and seized his phone.

The alleged thief unknowingly broadcast his face to more than 20,000 people who were watching the livestream at the time, as he left the scene smoking a cigarette. Clips of the incident were later widely shared on social media

Continue reading...

Morocco to ban flights to and from UK over rising Covid rates

Posted on by

Suspension will take effect from 11.59pm on Wednesday and will last until further notice

Morocco is banning flights to and from the UK because of rising coronavirus case rates. Airlines cancelled several flights between the countries on Wednesday before the suspension comes into effect at 11.59pm.

Latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show the north African country’s weekly rate of reported coronavirus cases on 14 October stood at 10.4 per 100,000 people. The UK’s comparable rate is 445.5.

Continue reading...

Egypt detains artist robot Ai-Da before historic pyramid show

Posted on by

Sculpture and its futuristic creator held for 10 days, possibly in fear she is part of spying plot

She has been described as “a vision of the future” who is every bit as good as other abstract artists today, but Ai-Da – the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist – hit a temporary snag before her latest exhibition when Egyptian security forces detained her at customs.

Ai-Da is due to open and present her work at the Great Pyramid of Giza on Thursday, the first time contemporary art has been allowed next to the pyramid in thousands of years.

Continue reading...

Charred wreckage of army bus after bombing kills 14 in Damascus – video

Posted on by

A bomb attack in Damascus has killed 14 people and left three injured, Syrian state TV Sana reported, releasing video of emergency services searching the charred remains of a bus. Two bombs struck the military bus on Wednesday morning, the deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since a bombing claimed by Islamic State at the Justice Palace in March 2017 that killed at least 30.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bus bombing but soon after the attack shelling by government forces killed eight people in the Idlib region, which is controlled by groups that have claimed to have carried out such attacks in the past

Continue reading...

Lawyers to submit Yemen war crimes dossier to UK police

Posted on by

Key figures in Saudi Arabia and UAE accused of crimes against humanity include investors in Britain

A group of human rights lawyers will on Wednesday file a legal complaint in the UK accusing key figures in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of being involved in war crimes relating to the war in Yemen.

They plan to submit a dossier to British police and prosecutors alleging that about 20 members of the political and military elite of the two Gulf nations are guilty of crimes against humanity, and call for their immediate arrest should they enter the UK.

Continue reading...

IAEA chief: Aukus could set precedent for pursuit of nuclear submarines

Posted on by

Special taskforce convened by IAEA to look into Aukus deal as Iran hints at fresh pursuit of its 2018 naval nuclear propulsion program

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has said other states could follow Australia’s example and seek to build nuclear-powered submarines, raising serious proliferation and legal concerns.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said during a visit to Washington that he had sent a special team to look into the safety and legal implications of the Aukus partnership announced last month, in which the US and UK will help Australia build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Continue reading...

Diver uncovers ancient crusader sword from Israeli seabed – video

Posted on by

A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed thanks to a sharp-eyed amateur diver. Though encrusted with marine organisms, the metre-long blade, hilt and handle became noticeable after undercurrents apparently shifted sands that had concealed it. The location, a natural cove near the port city of Haifa, suggested it had served as a shelter for seafarers, said Yaakov Sharvit, director of the authority's marine archaeology unit. The sword, believed to be about 900 years old, will be put on display after it is cleaned and restored

Continue reading...

‘The court of God will be waiting for him’: Iraqis react to Colin Powell’s death

Posted on by

A country still struggling with the aftermath of a disastrous occupation has a mixed opinion of the former general

For many Iraqis, Colin Powell was the face of the US invasion which caused an estimated 200,000 deaths, unleashing nearly two decades of domestic chaos and precipitating turmoil throughout the region.

His death, at the age of 84, was unlamented by many in a country still grappling with the aftermath of a disastrous occupation and an Islamist insurgency that followed the 2003 war – a conflict that Powell himself was later to acknowledge as a stain on his legacy.

Continue reading...

Sharp-eyed diver finds crusader’s ancient sword on Israeli seabed

Posted on by

Metre-long relic, encrusted with marine organisms, is believed to be about 900 years old

A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed thanks to an eagle-eyed amateur diver, the Israel Antiquities Authority has said.

Though encrusted with marine organisms, the metre-long blade, hilt and handle were distinctive enough to notice after undercurrents apparently shifted sands that had concealed it.

Continue reading...

Has Interpol become the long arm of oppressive regimes?

Posted on by

Once used in the hunt for fugitive criminals, the global police agency’s most-wanted ‘red notice’ list now includes political refugees and dissidents

Flicking through the news one day in early 2015, Alexey Kharis, a California-based businessman and father of two, came across a startling announcement: Russia would request a global call for his arrest through the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol.

“Oh, wow,” Kharis thought, shocked. All the 46-year-old knew about Interpol and its pursuit of the world’s most-wanted criminals was from novels and films. He tried to reassure himself that things would be OK and it was just an intimidatory tactic of the Russian authorities. Surely, he reasoned, the world’s largest police organisation had no reason to launch a hunt for him.

Continue reading...

Hawks on all sides ready to swoop if Iran drags feet on nuclear talks

Posted on by

The regime in Tehran says discussions will resume ‘soon’, but Israel has already ‘greatly accelerated’ plans for military action

Coordinated warnings last week from the US, Israel and the EU that “time is short” to revive an agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear activities raise a disturbing question: what will opposing governments do if, as seems likely, Tehran’s hardline regime continues to drag its feet while accumulating the wherewithal to build a nuclear weapon?

Israel’s leaders, as usual, are not mincing words. “Every day that passes, every delay in the negotiations, brings Iran closer to a nuclear bomb. If a terror regime is going to acquire a nuclear weapon, we must act. We must make clear that the civilised world won’t allow it,” said foreign minister Yair Lapid.

Continue reading...

Revealed: Newcastle chairman’s links to Saudi ‘anti-corruption’ drive

Posted on by

Court documents shed new light on Yasir al-Rumayyan’s relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Yasir al-Rumayyan, the new non-executive chairman of Newcastle United, was involved in a controversial “anti-corruption” campaign in Saudi Arabia that included the transfer of assets on behalf of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Details of Rumayyan’s role – including the transfer of a charter jet company to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), where he serves as governor – are contained in court documents that shed light on his relationship with Prince Mohammed.

Continue reading...

Fraught calm follows Beirut’s worst day of sectarian violence in decade

Posted on by

World leaders appeal for peace in Lebanese capital as militia groups prepare to bury dead

A day after the worst sectarian violence in Beirut in more than a decade, a fraught calm hung over the city on Friday with streets largely empty and government offices closed as militia groups started to bury their dead.

Gunfire briefly resounded through areas that on Thursday were the scenes of intense fighting, but armed men were shooting into the air – a defiant precursor to funerals that were due to start.

Continue reading...

‘I wanted this film to be 100% Somali’: the fight to make The Gravedigger’s Wife

Posted on by

Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, who directed the acclaimed drama, reveals the struggle to portray his community ‘with dignity and compassion’

“I am Somali and I made this film for Somali people to watch a film in their mother tongue without needing subtitles,” says film director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed. Ahmed made his feature debut with The Gravedigger’s Wife, and after premiering in May at the Cannes film festival’s Critics’ Week, it made headlines as the first film from Somalia to be put forward for the Oscars.

“As a film-maker, I felt a sense of responsibility to tell the story of how I view my Somali community and to tell this story with dignity, tenderness and compassion – all the qualities I’ve been raised with,” says Ahmed, who was born in Somalia before moving to Finland as a teenager.

Continue reading...

Cambridge University halts £400m deal with UAE over Pegasus spyware claims

Posted on by

Exclusive: UK institution was in line for huge donation but has paused talks due to concerns Gulf state used hacking software

The University of Cambridge has broken off talks with the United Arab Emirates over a record £400m collaboration after claims about the Gulf state’s use of controversial Pegasus hacking software, the university’s vice-chancellor has said.

The proposed deal, hailed by the university in July as a “potential strategic partnership … helping to solve some of the greatest challenges facing our planet” – would have included the largest donation of its kind in the university’s history, spanning a decade and involving direct investment from the UAE of more than £310m.

Continue reading...