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A handful of coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in the US state of Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve a centuries-old cold case. The villain in this tale: a murderous English pirate who became the world’s most-wanted criminal after plundering a ship carrying Muslim pilgrims home to India from Mecca, then eluded capture by posing as a slave trader. Jim Bailey, an amateur historian and metal detectorist, found the first intact 17th-century Arabian coin in a meadow in Middletown.

Saudi Arabian Airlines reportedly is discriminating against Israeli citizens by refusing to let them fly from U.S. airports. The New York Post reported that for customers booking on online, the airline’s website has no drop-down menu options for anyone holding an Israeli passport, even though, as the Post pointed out, there is a drop-down menu option for Antarctica citizens. The airline appears to prevent passengers simply looking to transfer in Saudi Arabia to another country, as well. “No city in the world has closer ties to Israel than we do, and yet Israeli citizens are being discriminated against right here...

The New York Post reported that for customers booking on online, the airline’s website has no drop-down menu options for anyone holding an Israeli passport, even though, as the Post pointed out, there is a drop-down menu option for Antarctica citizens. The airline appears to prevent passengers simply looking to transfer in Saudi Arabia to another country, as well. -------- When a member of de Blasio called the airline --trying to book a ticket from JFK to Mumbai, India -- identifying themselves as an Israeli passport holder, the caller was told by an agent that they would not be able...

The profits that Delta Air Lines logically expects from its plans to work with Saudi Arabian Airlines on flights from New York and Washington to Jeddah are just a tip of the Shariah iceberg that is lurking for the ship of the United States, according to an expert in Islam and its influences on America. Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and author of nearly a dozen books on Islam, including, "The Truth About Muhammad," told WND today that Muslims, especially those from Saudi Arabia, are moving with their monetary muscle into the United States to create an acceptance of...

ARABIAN SEA, March 25, 2011 – U.S. naval forces disrupted a pirate attack on a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, after it reported it had been attacked by pirates yesterday. Navy Chief Petty Officer Nathan P. Rose, an assistant boarding officer, briefs the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf’s visit, board, search and seizure team before boarding the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel Falcon Trader II, which had sent out a distress call reporting it had been boarded by pirates in the Arabian Sea, March 25, 2011. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Guerra  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. All 20...

ARABIAN GULF — The Royal Navy has taken command of the Coalition Maritime Forces protecting Iraq's vital oil platforms in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Commodore Duncan Potts RN has taken over command of Combined Task Force 158 (CTF158) from Commodore Allan du Toit of the Royal Australian Navy. Command of the Task Force is rotated between the UK, US and Australia. The UK last held command of CTF158 in July 2007 and will command the Task Force until August. Combined Task Force 158's primary mission in the Northern Arabian Gulf is maintaining security in and around both the Al Basrah...

Washington: Facing nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea, the United States, Bahrain and other states will hold their first naval exercise in the Gulf this month to practise interdicting ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles, US officials said on Wednesday. The exercise is taking place as the United States and other major powers are considering sanctions including possible interdiction of ships on North Korea, following a reported nuclear test, and on Iran, which has defied a UN Security Council mandate to stop enriching uranium. The exercise, set for October 31, is the 25th to be organised under...

USS PORT ROYAL (CG 73), North Arabian Gulf – Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3, U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen, turned over command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 158 to Royal Australian Navy Commodore Peter Lockwood June 23. CTF 158 is responsible for Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf (NAG). This coalition force works with the Iraqi navy to protect key oil producing assets. MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the NAG and protect Iraq 's sea-based infrastructure which provides the Iraqi people the opportunity for self-determination. “These are some tough...

USS ENTERPRISE, At sea – The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group began conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Arabian Gulf today, June 6, as part of a routine rotation of maritime forces. USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is the flagship for Commander, Strike Group (CSG) 12 and is also home to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2. Other ships in the strike group include guided missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), guided missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47), and supply ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6). The strike group arrived in...

NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- As the rising price of oil drives up oil company profits, countries where the oil is drilled, such as Bolivia, are demanding more of a cut, a report says. Bolivia, where the president authorized a national takeover of oil and gas fields and pushed up taxes, is only the most recent example. Similar moves have taken place in Russia and Venezuela, while Britain has increased its taxes and state companies in Nigeria and Kazakhstan get better treatment than private companies, The New York Times reports. Bolivia hiked its taxes on oil companies from...

London, May 05 – A prominent Arab daily accused Iran of trying to establish a “strategic position” in the Gulf region by dominating Iraq with the support of Iraqi political parties which it backs. Tehran’s rulers were working relentlessly to take advantage of the political situation in Iraq by making sure that groups they support and fund come to power, the daily al-Hayat wrote in its Thursday edition. The daily said that Iran was hoping to dominate “the region which is known in the Western world as the Eastern Gate”. By signalling its willingness to hold bilateral talks with representatives...

ARABIAN SEA (NNS) -- USS Reuben James (FFG 57) rendered medical assistance to a Sri Lankan fisherman while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) as part of a Dutch-led task force in the Arabian Sea, April 21. During a routine visit to a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, the Deuedu Pietro, Sailors from Reuben James discovered that one of the vessel’s crew members had sustained a knee injury five days earlier that had become infected. The Sailors radioed back for medical assistance from Reuben James’s independent duty corpsman, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF/PJ) Matthew Breske. Breske joined the boarding team aboard the...

ABOARD HMS BULWARK -- HMS Bulwark (L15), the Royal Navy's most modern and versatile warship, assumed duties Feb. 28 from USS Cape St. George (CG 71) as the flagship for the Royal Navy staff which leads Combined Task Force 58 (CTF 58), a multinational coalition that conducts maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf (NAG). Maritime security operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny the illegal use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to...

AT SEA ABOARD USS PEARL HARBOR IN THE ARABIAN GULF— The amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) conducted maritime security operations (MSO) in the Arabian Gulf Nov. 20 - Dec. 26. Pearl Harbor, assigned to Expeditionary Strike Group One (ESG-1), is on a regularly scheduled deployment to the 5th Fleet area of operations conducting MSO. MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as deny international terrorists use of the oceans as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. A key component of 5 th Fleet...

ABOARD USS CLEVELAND, Arabian Sea (NNS) -- Members of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1 are currently leading a group of six coalition ships conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. The strike group’s flagship, USS Tarawa (LHA 1) and the amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland (LPD 7) are joined by the guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79). The French ships Var (FS 608) and Lafayette (FS 710), and the Pakistani frigate Badr (PNS 181) round out the coalition task group. MSO are part of ESG-1’s regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th...

Al Muhajiroun (Khavarej) is referred to a clandestine group of four who cooperated to assassinate four leaders at promptly the same time: Imam Ali who was a religious leader (the fourth Suni's Khalif and the first Shiite's Imam), Moavieh who was the leader of the land, Amro Aas who was a canning politician and a senior advisor to Moavieh, and - Of the four only one, namely Ibn Moljam, successfully carried out his assassination by wounding Imam Ali with a poisonous sword, during the Imam's pray. Imam Ali died of his wound on the third night, the 21st, of Ramadan....

Muhammad Al-Sheikh put things in proper perspective when he wrote a column in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah entitled ‘Thank you America’ in which he reminded the Saudis of a history with the United States that spans six decades. It was the late King Abdul Aziz (founder of modern Saudi Arabia) who chose to allow Americans to come to the Saudi Kingdom in search of oil. Aziz was also responsible for choosing capitalism over communism after WWII, allowing a country with nothing to grow enormously wealthy and powerful. Muhammad Al-Sheikh writes, “We must admit that our relations with America were the...

<p>Few Islamic countries have taken steps to tackle the pandemic as the death toll continues to mount.</p> <p>''I just pray that God ends my life before more symptoms show. I don't want to create problems for my family.''</p> <p>Before his HIV-positive diagnosis in 2001, the Egyptian engineer who spoke these words thought that AIDS was a faraway disease that afflicted only foreigners. He had no idea that the global AIDS pandemic had reached his country. Now he says he would rather kill himself than be rejected along with his family by neighbors and friends, who regard HIV as synonymous with sin and shame.</p>

A Saudi woman has defied the country's ban on female drivers to save her husband after he collapsed at the wheel, a Saudi newspaper has reported. The couple were driving from the city of Dammam to Riyadh when the man suffered breathing problems and passed out, the al-Watan newspaper said. His wife grabbed the wheel and drove 15km (10 miles) to a petrol station where he was treated and recovered. The man had reportedly taught his wife to drive during trips to the desert. The kingdom imposes severe restrictions on women, including barring them from voting or going out in...

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