Free Republic

When seeing America’s we’ll-fight-to-the-last-Ukrainian approach to Russian aggression, many Arabs conclude that the U.S. can’t be counted as a security guarantor, and that nuclear weapons—which Russia has, Iraq didn’t and Ukraine gave up—make all the difference. To be sure, many of my Arab interlocutors have perfected the art of expressing grievance through historical cherry-picking: highlighting America’s inadequacies while sidestepping their own governments’ follies and self-inflicted wounds. The reality is more complicated, and no critique of American policy can justify indulgence of Russia’s criminal behavior or reluctance to lend assistance to the Ukrainian people. These Arabs have a point, however. If...

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the capital and a strategic Red Sea city, officials said Saturday. At least seven people were killed. The overnight airstrikes on Sanaa and Hodeida — both held by the Houthis — came a day after the rebels attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah, their highest-profile assault yet on the kingdom. Brig. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the strikes targeted “sources of threat” to Saudi Arabia, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it “won’t bear any responsibility” for a shortage in global oil supplies after a fierce barrage of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels affected production in the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter. The unusually stark warning marked a departure from the giant oil producer’s typically cautious statements, as Saudi officials remain aware that even their smallest comments can swing the price of oil and rattle global markets. The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted the Saudi Foreign Ministry as saying that the kingdom “declares that it will not bear...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels unleashed a barrage of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia that targeted key facilities including natural gas and desalination plants early Sunday, Saudi state-run media reported, temporarily cutting oil production at one site. The pre-dawn salvo marked the latest escalation in the rebels’ attacks on the kingdom as the war in Yemen rages into its eighth year and peace talks stall. The attacks did not cause casualties, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen said, but damaged nearby civilian vehicles and homes. In a separate incident, the coalition also said...

Talks between Riyadh and Beijing have accelerated as the Saudi unhappiness grows with Washington (Rest behind paywall)

The Wall Street Journal reports active talks between Riyadh and Beijing about pricing some Saudi oil sales to China in yuan instead of dollars. Chatter about this sort of arrangement has been ongoing for several years, but recent events have brought a new urgency to talks, according to the report, which says the Saudis are questioning longstanding U.S. security commitments to the Kingdom. Among the issues is what the Saudis believe to be less-than-enthusiastic support for the war in Yemen, the White House's attempt at an Iran nuclear deal, and shock at the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. China is a...

Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in its largest mass execution MARCH 14, 2022 / 7:05 AM / CBS/AP Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history.

At least 70 people were killed and more than 130 injured when an airstrike hit a detention center in Yemen on Friday... as the Saudi-led coalition continued to ramp up its deadly offensive on rebels in the war-torn nation. Another airstrike early Friday hit a telecommunications building in the strategic port city of Hodeidah, causing a nationwide internet blackout, according to NetBlocks, an organization that tracks network disruptions... The Iran-back Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen, blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strikes. CNN has reached out to the coalition for comment. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and...

More than 40 camels have been disqualified from Saudi Arabia's beauty pageant for receiving Botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements. The contest is a highlight of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, where $66m (£45m) in prize money is at stake. Key attributes include long, droopy lips, a big nose and a shapely hump. Judges used "advanced" technology to uncover tampering with camels on a scale not seen before, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. All contestants were first led into a hall where their external appearance and movements were examined by specialists, it said. Their heads, necks and torsos...

Six Saudis, three Bangladeshi nationals and one Sudanese were injured in the first attack, Saudi state media said, citing a coalition spokesman. Some of the airport's facade windows were shattered in the attack, the spokesman said. A second explosives-laden drone was intercepted early on Saturday, the coalition said, without giving details on any injuries or damages. Air traffic in King Abdullah airport was normal, state TV said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the Houthis. The group regularly launches drone and missile attacks targeting the gulf kingdom.

A long-awaited King Salman Mosque, the largest mosque in the Maldives, is set to open soon. The mosque was funded by the custodian of the two holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who has donated approximately $25 million. It is worth noting that the acting undersecretary of the ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, Sheikh Awad Al-Enezi headed the Kingdom’s delegation in the official meeting to discuss arrangements for the opening of the mosque in the presence of a number of officials in the two countries on August 30, 2021. The mosque consists of 6 floors and...

The FBI has released its first declassified 9/11 document exactly 20 years after the deadly terror attack which claimed the lives of 2,996 people. The document was published Saturday evening, a week after President Biden signed an executive order directing the agency to make the secret files available to the public for the first time. The order came amid significant pressure from the families of 9/11 victims, who are eager to probe potential Saudi government links to the attack.

US President Joe Biden has directed the declassification of certain documents related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a supportive gesture to victims' families who have long sought the records in hopes of implicating the Saudi government. The order, coming little more than a week before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, is a significant moment in a years-long tussle between the government and the families over what classified information about the run-up to the attacks could be made public. That conflict was on display last month when many relatives, survivors and emergency workers came out against Mr Biden's...

Palestinian Salafists protest against the Egyptian and Syrian regimes, in Rafah Refugee Camp, southern Gaza Strip, Islamic State-inspired actors threatened venue, and attacked it after threats went unheeded A luxurious seaside resort in the Gaza Strip was attacked with an explosive device, reportedly due to it holding events with male and female guests. The Bianco Resort was accused by hardline Muslims of failing to maintain gender segregation, and on Thursday was targeted in an explosion that caused no casualties but damaged a surrounding wall, The Jerusalem Post reported. Salafist groups active in the Gaza Strip were accused by Palestinians of...

Female journalists and activists say they had their private photos shared on social media by governments seeking to intimidate and silence them. Ghada Oueiss, a Lebanese broadcast journalist at Al-Jazeera, was eating dinner at home with her husband last June when she received a message from a colleague telling her to check Twitter. Oueiss opened up the account and was horrified: A private photo taken when she was wearing a bikini in a jacuzzi was being circulated by a network of accounts, accompanied by false claims that the photos were taken at her boss’s house. Over the next few days...

An attack on an oil terminal on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast set one fuel tank ablaze, the country’s petroleum ministry said, after several Houthi drones reportedly targeted two cities not far from the border with Yemen. A projectile struck an oil terminal in Jizan, a port on the Red Sea north of the Saudi-Yemen border, on Friday, igniting a fire but resulting in no casualties, according to a statement from the Saudi Oil Ministry. “The kingdom condemns this cowardly attack directed against vital installations, which does not target the kingdom only, but also targets the security of petroleum exports,...

The raids on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, targeted military camps, as well as Houthi rebel facilities near the city’s airport and in its suburbs, residents and rebel-run Al-Masirah TV said. A separate strike hit a rebel target in the port province of Hodeidah. The Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Riyadh on Friday with six bomb-laden drones. The assault caused a fire that was later controlled with no impact on oil supplies or derivatives, state-run media said. No casualties were reported.

Washington (CNN)When the Biden administration announced a ban on dozens of Saudis from traveling to the US in response to intelligence that the kingdom's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it was rolling out a plan that had been spiked by the Trump administration and brought back to life once President Joe Biden took office. Dubbed the "Khashoggi Ban" by the State Department, the measure issued visa restrictions on 76 Saudis and their families. The plan had initially been drafted by the Trump administration, which shelved it over fears of alienating the...

In a televised statement, a spokesman for the rebel group, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sarea, said ballistic missiles and drones hit the oil giant’s facilities in Ras Tanura, a major port on Saudi Arabia’s Persian Gulf coast and one of its largest refineries, and military positions in nearby Dammam. Saudi state media later confirmed the Ras Tanura attack, quoting an unnamed Energy Ministry official saying that one petroleum tank farm was attacked Sunday morning. The official said shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near Aramco’s residential area in Dhahran, which hosts thousands of employees and their families, but there were no...

Qatari terror broadcast network Al Jazeera clearly is celebrating declassifying of a four-page bogus intelligence report centering the murder of Muslim Brotherhood man and an aide of Osama Bin Laden – Jamal Khashoggi. On March 2, 2021, Al Jazeera released a report stating Somali-American member of the US Congress, Ilhan Omar has introduced a bill to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman by falsely accusing him of his “role in the murder of” Khashoggi. It may be mentioned here that, Ilhan Omar is a scandalous woman with numerous allegations centering immigration fraud and marrying her own brother. According to...