Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister, said the country will sever ties with Israel unless it receives an apology over the deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish Aid Flotilla bound for Gaza. It was the first time Ankara explicitly threatened to terminate ties with the Jewish State. The public exchange between the two once close US regional allies followed talks last week by Turkish and Israeli officials aimed at mending fences. Instead, their positions appeared to have hardened. “Is...

An Iranian official, on July 5, alleged that the country’s aircraft had been denied fuel in Germany, Britain and the United Arab Emirates as a result of tighter US sanctions, but those countries did not confirm imposing any ban. Pressure is mounting on Iran over its nuclear programme and the United States has stepped up its push to isolate Tehran economically. “Since last week, our planes have been refused fuelling at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because...

US President Barack Obama’s decision to set a deadline for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was a mistake as it sent out wrong signals to the people on the ground – both allies and enemies – an influential senator Joe Lieberman has said. Lieberman, on a trip to the war-torn country, however said Obama’s motive while announcing a timeline was to send out a message that US troops would not stay in the country forever. “On balance, I think it was a mistake, b...

Iran has submitted evidence to the Swiss embassy claiming its nuclear scientist was abducted by US intelligence agents. “The evidence related to the abduction of Shahram Amiri by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been handed over to the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanaparast was quoted as saying. The Swiss embassy manages US interests in Iran since Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic ties. “We expect that based on the US admin...

Dar Al-Hekma College, Jeddah, under the patronage of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, held its annual graduation ceremony in its auditorium on July 4. On behalf of the Crown Prince, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, and Prince Misha’l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, honoured the 217 female graduates. Dar Al-Hekma President Suhair Hassan Al-Quraishi welcomed the guests and thanked Prince K...

11 Malaysian bikers, starting from Kuala Lumpur, travelled 11 countries and reached Jeddah to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. They accomplished the mission in 45 days, travelling 17,800 km. A four-wheel support vehicle with four people followed them throughout the journey described by the expedition leader Haji Mohamed Assir as “most satisfying and fulfilling.” The expedition flagged off in Kuala Lumpur on May 15 by Malaysian Prime Ministe...

Director of the Awareness Centre for the Development of Arab-Western relations, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Adsani said that the General Secretariat of Awqaf is supportive of the centre through its quest in developing cultural awareness and bridging the gap between cultures. Al-Adsani said that since the establishment of the Centre in October 2003, it had achieved greatly through in nearing views and dialogues, and consolidating the principle of peaceful coexistence. He said that a documentary film has ...

The State of Kuwait is set to adopt key laws to promote transparency as well as strengthening its battle against corruption. The draft laws have drawn increasing levels of support from both the government and the National Assembly (parliament), said Ahmad Al-Barrak Al-Heifi, the assistant undersecretary at the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs office. Al-Heifi revealed the government’s intentions following the conclusion of an international conference on anti-corruption ...