Saudi Arabia appointed the full younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as its deputy defense minister on Saturday and named a princess as the kingdom’s first woman ambassador to the United States. The appointments follow Riyadh’s efforts to overcome an international outcry over last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, […]
Israel: New polls put Gantz-Lapid ahead of Netanyahu
New polls released Thursday evening showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party trailing well behind the new joint Blue and White list of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, with 47 days until the April 9 Knesset elections, Israeli website Ynet news reported on Friday According to Channel 13, the Blue White list would win 36 seats in […]
Saudi Arabia crown prince strikes oil deal in China
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continued a charm offensive in a two-day visit to China, signing off on a $10 billion oil deal, and pledged assistance in the “de-radicalization of extremist thinking.” Saudi Arabia on Friday signed the next multi-billion oil refinery investment deal during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s tour of Asia, this time in […]
My Venezuela nightmare: A 30-day hunt for food in a starving land
The diary of a desperate mother trying to put food on the kitchen table. By Fabiola Zerpa | July 18, 2016 Editor’s note: The looting, the blackouts, the mob lynchings, the hospitals with no supplies. Venezuela’s collapse into disarray is of a scale unseen in the Western Hemisphere in decades. In an effort to illustrate […]
Battle of the Bands: Venezuela’s Power Struggle Turns Into Music Showdown
Venezuela’s power struggle is set to become a battle of the bands Friday (Feb. 22) when musicians demanding President Nicolas Maduro allow in humanitarian aid and those supporting his refusal sing in rival concerts being held at both sides of a border bridge where tons of donated food and medicine are stored. The dueling concerts […]
‘An historic turning point’: Vatican holds summit on child sex abuse
Bishops from across the world meet at the Vatican Thursday for a landmark summit on combating child sex abuse within the Catholic church — a potentially historical turning point for an institution plagued by scandal in recent years. Convened by Pope Francis, the summit, which will run for four days, will bring together heads of […]
Putin threatens U.S. again, says he is ready for another Cuban Missile-style Crisis
Moscow — President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the US is foolish enough to want one and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike. The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a US […]
Chinese jet shows off U.S. technology
China’s internet for many years provided a wealth of information on the People’s Liberation Army, often showing off new weapons and arms technologies before they were made officially public by the secretive PLA. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, the amount and quality of disclosures on unofficial military enthusiast websites have declined sharply as China […]
Venezuela’s Guaido to lead convoy to Colombia border to receive aid
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido plans to head to the Colombian border in a convoy of vehicles on Thursday to receive humanitarian aid for his crisis-stricken nation, despite the objection of increasingly isolated President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido, recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, said the opposition plans to bring in […]
Rival Venezuela concerts to take place 300-meters apart
A music concert called by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro will take place just 300-meters ( about 1000-ft) from a rival gig organized by billionaire Richard Branson in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido, an official said on Wednesday. Maduro’s concert was initially expected to take place some 15-kilometers away on the pedestrian Simon Bolivar international […]