China’s Premier Wen Jiabao on Jan. 18 said that Arab countries should be left to determine their political futures for themselves, but that popular will should be heeded in that process. The comments came as Wen toured Gulf Arab states whose regional rival Iran is the target of tighter economic sanctions Washington wants to see enacted over its nuclear programme. They echoed an earlier, cautious acknowledgment of mass political upheaval that has swept the Middle East, and where the thre...

A Syrian rebel army chief on Jan. 17 urged the world to protect civilians in Syria, saying Arab peace monitors had failed to curb President Bashar Assad’s violent response to a 10-month-old revolt against his rule. Big powers have also proved unable to stop the bloodshed in Syria, where UN officials say more than 5,000 people have been killed and Damascus says its security forces have lost 2,000 dead.

Riad Al-Asaad, Turkish-based commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army, called f...

Britain on Jan. 16 condemned Israeli settlements as “deliberate vandalism” of efforts to establish a Palestinian state, and warned that time was running out for the peace process in the Middle East. The comments on Jewish settlements by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and on the peace process by Prime Minister David Cameron, bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as negotiators attempt to revive moribund peace talks.

Clegg’s comments were some of Britain&rsquo...

Bihar Anjuman’s Dammam-Khobar Chapter in Saudi Arabia organised a ‘Dine to Educate’, a benefit dinner for the poor children and awareness programme on Jan. 12, to launch its upcoming project AMBITION 2020 aimed at educating children belonging to the poorer sections.

A  number 550 Guests & Delegates gathered at Dunes International School, Al-Khobar were welcomed by Syed Tahseen Ahmad, who presented the details of the project, AMBITION 2020. The pres...

In Jan. 15 issue of The Washington Post, Law Professor Jonathan Turley has an Op-Ed in which he identifies 10 major, ongoing assaults on core civil liberties in the U.S. Many of these abuses were accelerated during the Bush administration in the wake of 9/11, but all have been vigorously continued and/or expanded by President Obama.

Turley points out that these powers have long been deemed (by the U.S.) as the hallmark of tyranny, and argues that their seizure by the U.S. Gov...

Iraq’s Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi in his new role as president of OPEC said he would visit Iran on Jan. 20 to discuss oil market stability and seek Tehran’s assurances on the protection of waterways and oil supplies. His comments follow recent threats from Tehran that it would stop oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are imposed on Iran’s oil exports. 

“I will go to Iran to encourage our brothers to express real and important assuran...

As many as 34 service and security sectors in Makkah region are benefiting from a training programme that focuses on advanced strategies in crisis and disaster management. A team of world-renowned crisis management experts from the Netherlands is conducting the five-week programme, organised by the Crisis Management Centre at the Makkah governorate. Ahmad Al-Sulaim, Director General of the project for tackling rainwater and flashfloods at the centre, said the programme was organised in line w...