Free Republic

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have captured the airport at Hodeidah and have started preparations for the more complex task of capturing the city and its port nine miles (15km) to the north. The port is critical to the supply of aid to the rest of the famine-struck country.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Goes After the Bin Ladens The kingdom’s business leaders apparently realize they’d better work with Mohammed bin Salman lest they lose the rest of their whittled-down holdings Zvi Bar'el Jun 05, 2018 12:31 PM Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman isn’t about to rest on his laurels. First he reached accords with several dozen of Saudi Arabia’s richest men, including ministers and family members. They were arrested in November and held until they agreed to part with significant chunks of their wealth, which freed them from their luxurious captivity in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. And now the...

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the 32-year-old media-savvy leader of the oil kingdom, has been unnaturally quiet recently, so much so that some in the Middle East media couldn’t help but wonder if he is dead. Bin Salman hasn’t been seen in the public eye since his meeting with the Spanish royal family in on April 12. On April 21, heavy gunfire was heard near a royal palace in Riyadh, the kingdom’s capital. ...

Wildly conflicting social media reports tonight claim bullets were either fired as part of an attempted coup - or to shoot down a toy drone. A police spokesman said forces at a checkpoint in the Khozama district, where the palace is based, identified the drone and "dealt with it according to their orders", local media said. The explanation came after wildly conflicting reports on social media speculating on the cause of the shooting. Senior Saudi officials said King Salman was not in the palace at the time despite repeated Twitter reports he was moved to a military bunker in the...

The ‘moderate reformist’ Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed as justice minister Alireza Avayi, who participated in mass executions against political opponents. Who is Iran’s Alireza Avayi? Now Iran’s justice minister, he is also among those involved in imprisoning, torturing, and executing Iranians in the past 39 years.It appears the “moderate reformist” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed Avayi to replace the defamed Mostafa Pourmohammadi and continue his crackdown policy in the face of an uprising nation. Avayi’s recent speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council disgraced this world body and resulted in numerous protests. His appointment calls for a deep look...

In an interview with the Atlantic, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed that Saudi Arabia has financed terrorism. Most people will ignore this. The U.S. left has successfully colluded with jihad against national security. That is also part of Robert Mueller's mission: to cover up and protect jihadist infiltration, espionage, and sabotage during the Clinton-Obama years. See the Awan espionage cell placed in the House Intelligence Committee, with the plausible collusion of Mueller, Comey, Brennan, and Clapper. It was much too obvious not to be noticed, and the House Democrats, including Debbie Wasserman Schultz, literally ignored the need for...

While President Trump has talked about gaps in our immigration system with regard to the border wall, the refugee program, the diversity visa lottery and chain migration, he has yet to say anything about what may be the most dangerous open gate of all for Islamic radicals. The "R" class of visas for so-called religious workers apparently flies completely under the radar of the Trump administration. Shockingly, the number of such visas issued grew during Trump's first year in office and was 3.7 percent higher than under President Obama's final year.

The Syrian army has uncovered a clandestine plant in Eastern Ghouta that was used by the terrorists to produce military-grade agents, with equipment of Saudi origin and materials presumably made in Western countries having been found at the building, local media reported on Tuesday. The plant is located in al-Shefounieh town in the area of Duma. Among other toxic chemicals, chlorine was found at the site, the SANA news agency reported, adding that the papers of the Jaysh al-Islam militant group were also discovered. A Syrian field commander said that high-tech equipment was found at the plant, which indicates that...

Saudi Arabia's crown prince affirmed Israel's right to exist...pointedly bucking other leaders in the Arab world and signaling support for President Trump's Middle East agenda...the crown prince told The Atlantic. "Hitler tried to conquer Europe. This is bad. But the supreme leader is trying to conquer the world...He is the Hitler of the Middle East. In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened."

Saudi Arabia's capital just came under ballistic missile attack, during which Patriot missile interceptors were launched to intercept. Although it looks like at least one Patriot hit one missile, a missile fragment, or even another missile itself, came careened into the ground, resulting in this amazing video: The trajectory of the projectile as it approaches the ground is a bit puzzling, it almost looks like it is turning while under control, but it could just be the result of the intercept. Then there is this amazing video of the Patriot missile launches, and it looks like one missile either intercepted...

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Thursday it would be ‘‘really insane’’ for him to trade classified information with presidential son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, or try to use Kushner to promote Saudi aims within the Trump administration. Having that kind of relationship ‘‘will not help us’’ and does not exist, he said. Speaking in a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters, Mohammed denied U.S. media reports that he had claimed Kushner was ‘‘in his pocket,’’ or that he had sought or received a green light from Kushner, when the two met in Riyadh in October,...

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away on Monday, March 12, the Royal Court announced in a statement. His funeral prayers will be performed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah following Asr (afternoon) regular prayer on Tuesday, March 13, the official Saudi News Agency (SPA) reported.UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Prince Bandar bin Khalid’s death, official news agency WAM reported. Similar cables were also dispatched by the UAE’s Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed...

Palestinian Authority officials did not attend the meeting, which focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. WASHINGTON – Israeli national security officials sat around the same table on Tuesday morning with their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, discussing a dire humanitarian situation unfolding in the Gaza Strip. The summit on Gaza, called by Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law and senior adviser on Middle East peace, as well as Jason Greenblatt, his special representative for international negotiations, marks an unprecedented moment for Israeli diplomacy, as their dialogue with officials from Arab states is...

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his Egypt visit. (SPA) Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, visited on Monday Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbasiya neighborhood. Prince Mohammed met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral This marks the first visit of its kind by a senior Saudi official to the seat of the Coptic Orthodox patriarchate

Senior Saudi, Emirati and Qatari leaders will meet with US President Donald Trump in the next couple of months, Reuters reports US officials as saying, amid efforts by Washington to try to resolve a dispute between the Gulf neighbors. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani are all planning to have bilateral visits with Trump in March and April, a senior US official said. The agenda will include setting up a Gulf Cooperation Council summit, the official said, which...

We need to thank District Court Judge Richard Scotti, who has ruled that videos and documents from October 1, 2017 be released by the Vegas Metro Police. We are talking here about surveillance video, evidence logs, body camera footage, dispatch logs, 911 calls, search warrant returns, and information on weapons obtained. Surely Judge Scotti is one of the good guys! However, anything involving ammunition dealer, Douglas Haig will be withheld due to his right to a fair trial. That is as it should be. We The People are fair-minded, and we only ask for what is right. UPDATE: A judge...

The stigma following women in Saudi Arabia whose marriages have ended has been, for the most part, eradicated. Many believed it has stemmed from the injustice endured for the duration of the marriage (Photo: AFP) Many believed it has stemmed from the injustice endured for the duration of the marriage (Photo: AFP) Jeddah: Cultures across the globe have a tradition of celebrating a marriage as it marks a new beginning for people. But while the beginning of marital life is special for most, there are those who celebrate the end of it. Saudi Arabia has seen a lot of changes...

Saudi Arabia's Google talks prove Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is the most powerful leader in the Middle East Google and Amazon are reportedly in advanced talks with Saudi Arabia to build a tech hub in that country. This is the result of seven months of swift reforms in Saudi Arabia that began under Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. It's not only proof that bin Salman's reforms have worked, but also that he is now the most powerful man in the entire Middle East. Jake Novak | @jakejakeny Published 4:09 PM ET Thu, 1 Feb 2018 Updated 5:14 PM ET...

Saudi Arabia seizes more than $100bn in settlements 30 Jan 2018 - 18:00 Saudi Arabia's Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said that the kingdom has seized more than $100bn in anti-corruption settlements. The amount - SAR400bn ($106.7bn) - represented various types of assets, including real estate, commercial entities, cash and more, Mojeb said in a statement released by the government's information office on Tuesday. He added that the total number of individuals summoned for questioning reached 381, while 65 remained in custody as part of a nationwide "anti-corruption purge". The statement came as Saudi authorities released all remaining detainees after...

Fighting between southern separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), against forces loyal to Saudi-based president Hadi, risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen’s north. The UAE is a major component of a Saudi-led military coalition of Arab states that has supported Hadi’s government since the Houthis seized much of the country, including the capital Sanaa, three years ago. Hadi’s government operates out of Aden, while he lives in Saudi Arabia. Residents said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), formed last year to push for the revival of the former independent...