Free Republic

...In the past decade, satellite data and fossil finds have suggested that the Arabian Peninsula was not always an arid desert. Periods when the region contained lakes and lush greenery might have drawn people and animals there from Africa, according to the study's authors... in 2018, Stewart and his colleagues described an 88,000-year-old finger bone from the Saudi Arabian desert2 — one of the oldest human fossils found outside of Africa. And in 2020, they described footprints on a lake shore dating back around 120,000 years...The researchers turned to caves under Harrat Khaybar, a vast basalt plain pocked with volcanic...

We could call this A Tale of Two Facilities. Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in retaliation for the targeted strike on IRGC and Hamas commanders. That attack did little damage despite a volley of well over 300 missiles and drones, thanks to the regional defenses and the several hours of lead time necessitated by Iran's launch from its own territory.That demonstrated the facility Iran has for offensive operations in the region. Israel responded by demonstrating its facility, and as the New York Times hears from officials in Iran and the West, the result shocked the Iranians:An Israeli...

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden reinstated oil and gas sanctions on Venezuela on Thursday, a recognition that lifting the sanctions did nothing to entice the socialist regime to host a free and fair election. The Biden administration lifted some of the strictest U.S. sanctions on dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime last year as part of a dialogue in which Maduro agreed to host a presidential election sometime in 2014. The deal collapsed rapidly; Maduro scrapped it in October and launched a new wave of violence against anti-socialist dissidents, likely bankrolled by new oil profits. The Biden sanctions relief lasted...

Something extraordinary happened above Israel over the weekend. It wasn’t that Israel repelled a massive Iranian rocket and drone barrage, although that was sufficiently miraculous. Nor was it that amazing that Saudi Arabia helped defend Israel against Iranian incursions because it’s been rumored for decades that Saudi Arabia occasionally lends a hand in those matters. What was truly extraordinary was that Saudi Arabia openly admitted to helping Israel fight back against Iran’s attack. It shows the truth of the ancient proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Many people are pointing to President Trump’s Abraham Accords as...

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted last August that a drop in the importance of the U.S. dollar was "irreversible"—but there appears to be no sign that the global economy is turning its back on the greenback. "The U.S. Dollar was used in 48% of international payment transactions last year, the highest level in more than a decade. But Brics...," it said next to the graph, which showed the euro making 23.2 percent of transactions and the Chinese yuan way behind at 3.47 percent. "BRICS countries would like their currencies to be used in world trade, but each has a major...

Iran did not expect: these are the countries that sided with Israel against it. The Iranian attack was widely condemned around the world, but the international response was not limited to talk - several countries participated tonight in defending against the unprecedented threat, including our neighbors. (Managing the Iranian attack from the Air Force's "pit" photo: IDF spokesman) Maariv online. 04/14/2024 07:40 A historic night passed over our country, when 331 missiles were fired at Israel from Iran, in the first ever direct confrontation between the two countries. On the one hand, not the history we would like to experience,...

Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر @emilykschrader: Saudi Arabia Jordan UK U.S. are all shooting down Islamic republic (and proxy) suicide drones and missiles aimed at Israel, according to Al Arabiya

Is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman trying to sabotage Joe Biden’s reelection bid? It’s quite possible. The Saudi leader, known as MBS, has made clear his disdain for President Biden, and his fury over insults lobbed at him by this White House. He is a powerful force behind the current surge in oil prices, which could — if sustained — contribute to Biden’s defeat. Oil prices are soaring — up 19 percent since the start of the year. Since they lag behind crude oil, gasoline prices have only jumped 14 percent so far. But, unless oil markets take a...

The long, convoluted, and somewhat disgusting history of KSA to the present day.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement about the normalization of relations with Israel on February 7. It declared that Saudi Arabia would not establish relations with Israel until the “brotherly Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights”—the creation and recognition of an independent state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement refined and affirmed comments that Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made in Davos three weeks earlier. The announcement leaves Saudi security and interests to chance. The Saudi government is making the realization of relations between two countries, Israel and Saudi Arabia,...

Lucid said on Monday it is raising $1 billion in capital from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), sending the shares of the luxury electric carmaker up about 8%. The latest investment by the sovereign wealth fund underscores a key advantage Lucid has in the race for survival among struggling EV startups. The Saudi government, which has a 60% stake, has invested billions in Lucid’s success as part of a strategy to diversify the Kingdom’s economy beyond oil. Ayar Third Investment Company, a PIF affiliate, will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock and will be able...

Moscow has been on a drive to replace the use of the US dollar in international trade, but there are barrels of Russian oil stuck at sea due to issues with paying in alternative currencies. Shipments of Russian Sokol grade crude oil to state-owned Indian Oil Corp, or IOC, have been delayed by payment issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The seller is the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft. The problem arose because Rosneft unit selling the oil hasn't been able to open a bank account in the United Arab Emirates to receive payments...

(JTA)-A U.S. government delegation tasked with monitoring religious freedom around the world cut a visit to Saudi Arabia short after Saudi officials demanded that a prominent rabbi on the trip remove his kippah. Saudi officials told Rabbi Abraham Cooper, co-chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, to remove his kippah while in public, the commission said in a statement on Monday. Cooper, an Orthodox rabbi and the director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center advocacy group, "politely" refused the request with the backing of US embassy staff, the statement said. Saudi officials then escorted...

Late tonight US Central Command saying...six missiles were fired at merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea from Yemen. One of the missiles causing damage... Ronna Romney McDaniel leaving... A bill to provide support for Israel alone without sending money to Ukraine (17.6 billion dollars) got a majority of votes in the US House but failed to pass... The Republican US House members joined Democrats to prevent impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas... Israeli air strikes tonight in the Homs, Syria region... In Michigan Jennifer Crumbley convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of four high...

DUBAI — An estimated 1.7 million Internet users in the UAE have been affected by the recent undersea cable damage, an expert said yesterday, quoting recent figures published by TeleGeography, an international research Web site. Internet data was majorly affected as it is the biggest capacity carried by the undersea cables. However, all voice calls, corporate data and video traffic were also affected. Two du experts yesterday briefed the media on the current methods being undertaken by the telecom provider to re-route the Internet traffic to provide normalcy to the users. Quoting TeleGeography and describing the effect the cuts had...

Kash Patel an Indian-American whose parents trace their roots to Gujarat and migrated to the US from East Africa during Idi Amin’s rule in Uganda Washington: Kash Patel is a senior advisor to former US President Donald J Trump, the most likely nominee for the Republican ticket for presidential elections this year. Patel served in senior positions in the National Security Council and other government agencies and eventually became the chief of staff to the Department of Defence during the Trump presidency. He also travelled with Trump to India in 2020. An Indian-American whose parents trace their roots to Gujarat...

Five of the six countries invited to join the BRICS bloc of developing nations from Jan. 1 have confirmed they are joining, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Egypt, South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.

The Biden White House intends to pursue a policy of recognizing a Palestinian state at the end of the Israel-Hamas War without the participation of the Israeli government. Along with bilateral recognition, the Biden White House contemplates urging other states to do the same and permitting that Palestinian state to join the United Nations. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says the United Kingdom will do the same to bring about "irreversible progress to a two-state solution."Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on January 21, "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan...

CAPE TOWN — Presidents Putin and XI and other leaders from the Brics bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with Secretary General Guterres also participating. The leaders of fellow Brics members Brazil, India, and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of President Ramaphosa of South Africa. Mr. Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of Brics,...

LONDON: Strategic deals launched by powers including Saudi Arabia could reshape a region simmering with tensions, an Israeli journalist on a panel at the World Economic Forum said on Friday. In the panel titled “Anticipating the Middle East in 2024,” experts and government officials discussed the turbulent regional situation, with the Gaza conflict, Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and potential Saudi normalization with Israel high on the agenda. “If the US wants to manage the (Gaza) conflict … it needs to embrace a pathway to two states,” said Jane Harman, chair of the US Commission on the National Defense Strategy. “I...