Lebanese President Michel Aoun will hold binding consultations with members of the recently-elected parliament to name a new prime minister on Thursday June 23, an official source told Reuters. Once named, the new prime minister must form a government,…
Israel hopes Biden trip will improve ties with Saudi Arabia
Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Israel is looking to US President Joe Biden’s Mideast trip next month to help normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, a country with which it does not have official ties. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke…
Saudi seizes rainbow toys in ‘homosexuality’ crackdown
Saudi officials are seizing rainbow-coloured toys and articles of clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media reported. Targeted items include rainbow-coloured bows, skirts, hats and pencil cases, most of the…
Gazans swim in clean sea for first time in years
Beachgoers in the impoverished and Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip got a chance to enjoy clean and safe seawater free of sewage for the first time in years. Once the summer vacation began, thousands of Gazan families flocked to the shores to spend their ti…
Iraq starts setting up electricity links with Saudi Arabia
Iraq’s electricity ministry has begun establishing interconnection stations with Saudi Arabia and determining transmission paths, state news agency INA said on Wednesday. Iraq suffers from an electricity shortage that worsens during the hot summer mont…
CAIR launches ‘Get Out the Jokes’ comedy voter drive
Getting people to go out and vote can be hard, especially in communities where people don’t feel like their voices are heard. Humour is one way to break the ice on serious topics, like politics. This month, the Council on American-Islamic Relations ann…
Iraq: Two dead, seven injured in Turkish air strikes on PKK
At least two people were killed and seven injured in Turkish air strikes targeting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) sites in Iraq’s northern province of Sinjar, security sources said on Wednesday. They said one strike targeted an intelligence headquarters…
Private plane arrives in Riyadh from Israel
A private Israeli jet landed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning amid speculation that the two countries could soon normalise relations. The aircraft, which has been identified as 9H-VCA, departed from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and landed in the Sau…
Politicians realising Israeli apartheid risks ‘worse crimes’
Politicians are realising that Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians risks leading to even worse crimes unless a solution is found now, Amnesty International secretary-general Agnès Callamard said on Tuesday. Callamard spoke with The New Arab in Lond…
Flagophobia: Israel’s escalating war on the Palestinian flag
With the rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinians over the past weeks, a heightened and rather narrow perception of what constitutes a threat to Israel’s national security came to light. No longer it is about the Palestinian protests, stone-…