All Stories Archive

Minister of investment in the ousted Mohamed Morsi administration wrote a letter addressed to the founder of World Economic Forum, expressing "shock and dismay" at the forum's hosting of interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawy, which he held responsible for crimes against humanity. "Hosting Mr Beblawy flies in the face...

The German government has continued to give grants to Israeli high-tech and scientific companies, yet stated that those located in settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem would not be eligible for funding, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday. The newspaper, which called this step an escalation in...

On Wednesday US President Barack Obama discussed with the speaker of the Iraqi parliament Osama al-Najafi the possibility of accepting Sunni tribal militias into the official Iraqi army. A statement issued by the White House said that Obama's intervention came during the meeting between his deputy Joe Biden and...

Israel's minister of education Shai Piron has decided to reduce the hours of mandatory Arabic lessons in secondary schools. Israel's Army Radio said that Piron has approved what he described as new reforms, including limiting teaching mandatory Arabic language lessons to the time period of four years. The radio...

Egyptian professor of Political Science and International Relations at Cairo University Dr Nadia Mostafa said in an interview with Aljazeera channel that the pro-constitution campaign revealed, more than ever, the contradictions within the coup camp, including Mubarak remnants, the former January 25 supporters, the "couch party", and the military...

The Al Qaeda-linked jihadist group Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis, which translates as supporters of Jerusalem, issued a statement on Tuesday claiming responsibility for two rocket attacks against Eilat, the Dead Sea resort city in southern Israel. The Sinai-based group also criticised the Egyptian government for "working to preserve the security...

The US State Department deputy spokesperson, Marie Harf, said on Wednesday that Iran's absence from the Geneva II peace conference on Syria will not affect the talks between Tehran and the major world powers over Iran's nuclear programme. Harf told reporters that: "We have been very clear and the...

The human rights group Amnesty International has published a 50-page briefing on Egypt titled "Egypt: Roadmap to repression: No end in sight for human rights violations". The report accuses Egypt's interim government of unprecedented rights violations and repressive policies that squandered the gains of the January 25 revolution. "Egypt...

Egyptian leftist activist, Alaa Abdelfattah, has been arrested since 28 November 2013 on charges of violating the controversial protests law by organising a protest without prior permit from authorities. Abdel Fattah denied the charges, but he has been locked up in Tora Prison since then. Below is a letter...

A group of Egyptian activists have released a new video on YouTube they claim to have been recorded at a state detention facility. It shows Egyptian security guards abusing detainees, most of whom are believed to be political activists and pro-democracy demonstrators. As the detainees arrive at the centre,...

The Egyptian authorities have arrested 21,317 Egyptians since the military coup that ousted Egypt's first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, 2013. The information was published on Wiki Thawra, an independent website dedicated to documenting the deaths, arrests and casualties suffered since the Egyptian revolution in January...

Qatar's Al-Jazeera Media Network has confirmed that it has launched a new channel specialising in Turkish affairs. Called Al-Jazeera Turkey, it will follow the successful model of the station's designated Egyptian channel. The news was announced at a ceremony in Istanbul attended by the Acting Director General of Al-Jazeera...

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has denied claims that Iranian explosives experts have arrived in the Gaza Strip. In a statement issued by the movement, spokesman Dr Sami Abu Zuhri said that such claims in an Egyptian newspaper are not true. According to Al-Watan, Iranian experts have arrived in...

Thousands of Libyans are fleeing from violence in the country and crossing into neighbouring Tunisia. Reports on Tunisia's Tataouine radio station claim that the increase in armed clashes between government forces and groups loyal to the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have forced thousands of Libyans to head...

Israeli President Shimon Peres has privately said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is "unnecessary". Peres's private remarks were reported on Wednesday by the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, the same day that Peres and Netanyahu were heading to the...

The Palestinian Medical Association said on Wednesday that its members will go on strike in protest at the Ministry of Health's decision to put the association on trial in order to halt strikes in government hospitals. A lawsuit was filed by the ministry in Ramallah on Tuesday; doctors have...

More than 22,000 Iraqi families are displaced and the United Nations is warning of an increase in numbers. The actual number, the UN said, is likely to be higher as not all those who fled their homes have registered with the UN. Most of those who fled their homes...

The Palestinian Authority Cabinet condemned on Tuesday Israel's daily threats against the Gaza Strip, warning that Israel's racist violations will undermine the peace process. The cabinet, led by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, welcomed during its weekly meeting in Ramallah the Jerusalem Committee's decisions during its 20th meeting...

Illegal Jewish settlers have uprooted more than 800 olive saplings on land belonging to the village of Sinjel near Ramallah. Mayor Ayoub Swedan told Palestine's official Wafa news agency that villagers woke on Wednesday morning and discovered the destruction. All of the saplings were stolen by the Israeli settlers....

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad would have no place in any transitional government, as he had lost his legitimacy to lead after an "appalling assault" against his people. Kerry was speaking to representatives from about 40 countries who were gathered...

Turkey's foreign minister has said that it is now "inevitable" that Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad will face trial at the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Ahmet Davutoglu pointed out that if criminals are not held accountable by the international community for their wrongdoings, there would be no need...

The Tunisian Constituent Assembly (parliament) continued on Tuesday to vote on the final chapters of the new draft constitution. Some disagreement over the formulation of some chapters still exists, including those that deal with running for president and freedom of belief. On Monday, the House of Representatives ratified chapters...

Israeli drones killed on Wednesday at dawn two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, claiming that they had been behind the latest rocket attacks against Israeli settlements and cities in southern Israel. A spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ashraf Al'Qedra, confirmed the killing of cousins Ahmed and Mohamed...

The 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition called on Wednesday for all Egyptians to commemorate the third anniversary of the revolution by organising peaceful protests and sit-ins across the country. The protests, says the coalition, should fill Egypt's squares until the revolution's objectives are achieved. The coalition has issued a...

Israel hopes to exploit the World Economic Forum in Davos to boost its public relations and economy amidst fears of increasing international boycotts in protest of its illegal settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni are all going to attend this year's annual...

Jordanian imports from Israel have decreased by 11 per cent during the first ten months of 2013 reaching JOD 53.3 million compared with JOD 60.1 million in the same period of the previous year, Jordan's Statistics Bureau said. On a monthly basis, the imports in October 2013 decreased to...

The United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court sentenced 30 people on Tuesday to prison terms ranging from three months to five years on charges of being affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood. The court also ruled to dissolve the organisation, close its offices and confiscate its properties. Ten of the...

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on its website on Monday that the Israeli Military Industries, a government-owned weapons manufacturer, sold Morocco drones over the past year through a French company. Maariv attributed the information to Moroccan media outlets that report on the military in the North African country. The...

The Islamic Action Front (IAF) in Jordan condemned on Monday the increasing Israeli aggressions against the Gaza Strip, as well as the Egyptian media propaganda campaign against the Islamic movement Hamas, which controls the Strip. In a statement, the IAF warned that the Israelis are preparing to "set the...

The European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton has said that the EU is pleased with the results of last week's constitutional referendum in Egypt. In an interview with Al-Jazeera English, Ashton suggested that the referendum was an important step towards returning to the path of democracy....

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry summoned on Monday the Australian Representative to the Palestinian Authority, Thomas Wilson, to express its surprise and dismay at the statements made by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, in which she questioned the illegality of Israeli settlements. In her remarks Bishop criticised the pressure exerted...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has been accused of committing "genocide" against the Sunni Muslim population under the pretext of his "war on terror". Struan Stevenson MEP, who made the accusation, is the president of the European parliament's delegation for relations with Iraq. He said that Al-Maliki is carrying...

Arab members of Knesset heckled on Monday Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during his speech to the Knesset after he failed to mention anything about the occupation and the settlements, instead only criticising the critics of Israel's occupation. Harper insisted that his country is a strong ally of Israel...

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that "recognising Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and non-negotiable". The right-wing politician's comments came during his speech at the Israeli Knesset on Monday during a special parliamentary session held in his honour. Harper said that he rejects...

Former prosecutors at high-profile criminal tribunals have said that new evidence has been smuggled out of Syria which reveals that the Damascus regime has implemented the systematic torture and execution of nearly 11,000 detainees since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. According to The Guardian in London, the...

Members of US Secretary of State John Kerry's team have started communicating with the Palestinian and Israeli sides to check on the possibility of extending the ongoing negotiations until the end of the year should Kerry's efforts to get a framework agreement fail. London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported on...

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to rescind Iran's invitation to attend the Geneva II peace conference on Syria is "a mistake", but "not a catastrophe". Lavrov remarked that: "Certainly, this is a mistake. We have always stressed that all...

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rescinded on Monday evening his last-minute invitation to Iran to participate in the Geneva II conference slated to start on Wednesday in Switzerland. Ki-moon announced the withdrawal of the invitation after Iranian officials firmly stated that they would not accept a conditional invitation and the...

Egyptian political activist and founder of "Christians against the Coup" movement Ramy Jan described the current military-backed government as a "terrorist" authority "manipulating Coptic Christians" for its gains. In a facebook post, he warned the minister of defense General Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi saying, "Leave Sisi! 25 January is approaching. It's...

Thousands of anti-coup protesters and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi took part in three marches on Monday evening in the coastal city of Alexandria. The marches started off from Borg Al-Arab and Al-Wardeyan neighbourhoods in western Alexandria, and the eastern Al-Nozha neighbourhood. During the marches protesters mobilised citizens...

The Israeli occupation army is living in a state of anxiety due to the potential for a military escalation with the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Monday. Radio Israel described the situation as worrying, claiming that this state of fear is a response to the increase of Palestinians...

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon has criticised US and EU policies in the Middle East and accused both of "not understanding" the region. According to Maariv newspaper on Sunday, Ya'alon – who launched a personal attack on US Secretary of State John Kerry last week – also criticised the...

Former head of Lebanese government Saad Al-Hariri reiterated his accusation that Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad had ordered the assassination of his father Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut in 2005. "It is the first time the court sets limits to escaping from publishment. I felt that this is the end of...

According to a report in The Financial Times today, three major European pension funds with a combined total of almost €500 billion of assets are "reviewing their holdings in Israeli banks over concerns that the banks finance illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian-occupied territories." The three investors are Dutch ABP,...

US President Barack Obama has said that the odds of reaching a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians are less than fifty-fifty, without giving reasons for his pessimism. He added that there is a correlation between the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the Syrian and Iranian files. During an extensive...

A youth initiative in the Gaza Strip called "I am with them" organised on Sunday a sit-in in solidarity with the starving Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk camp in Syria. A number of Palestinian families who returned from Syria took part in the sit-in, raising posters reading: "Stop the...

The Syrian opposition threatened on Monday to boycott the Geneva II conference if the UN's invitation for Iran to attend was not withdrawn. "The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) will not participate in the Geneva II conference as long as the UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon has not cancelled Iran's...

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have welcomed the Syrian National Coalition's decision, announced on Saturday, to participate in the Geneva II conference later this week. The two countries stressed that the aim of the conference "is to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian...

Egypt's ousted president Mohammed Morsi along with 25 defendants will face trial on charges of "insulting the judiciary", a judicial source told Reuters on Sunday. The defendants include secular politicians, including former Ministers of Parliament Mostafa Al-Naggar and Amr Hamzawy. Morsi stands trial on a number of other charges,...

A powerful alliance of Syria's armed rebel groups announced on Sunday its rejection of the peace talks set to begin in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, which means that any agreement that might be reached at the Geneva II conference would be difficult to implement on the ground. Syria's main...