middleeast

The Qatar-Gulf crisis is now affecting Africa after Saudi Arabia called on a number of countries, including Somalia, to join its boycott of Qatar. However, not every country is prepared to obey orders from Riyadh. Somalia has maintained good relations with Qatar despite Saudi Arabia, the...

Qatar welcomes decision, but says move should include a full lifting of the blockade imposed by the Saudi-led group. Saudi Arabia will open its land border with Qatar to allow Hajj pilgrims to pass through, its official press agency said. A statement on the official Saudi...

By SAEED AL-BATATI and ERIC SCHMITT AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Thousands of Yemeni troops are conducting a clearing operation aimed at driving Qaeda militants from one of their major strongholds in southern Yemen, according to Arab and American security officials. The offensive in Shabwa Province started...

Israel plans to revoke media credentials of Al Jazeera journalists and close the network's office in Jerusalem, the country's communication minister has announced. Ayoub Kara made the announcement on Sunday during a press conference in Jerusalem, where Al Jazeera was barred from attending. "We have based...

JEDDAH: A Somali was arrested in Riyadh for forging Saudi currency and official documents. He was apprehended carrying forged banknotes of different denominations and official documents. Riyadh police received a tip that a Somali national was involved in forging Saudi currency and official documents and...

Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis updated the press here today on U.S. operations with local partners in Yemen against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and in Somalia against al-Shabab. In Yemen’s Shabwah Governorate yesterday, according to the United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to the United...

The Gulf crisis and the scramble for military outposts in the Horn of Africa are exacerbating regional tensions that risk triggering a conflict. In this Q&A, Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa Project Director Rashid Abdi untangles the complex web of relations that tie the...

By Kareem Fahim, Missy Ryan DUBAI — As a vicious civil war erupted in Yemen two years ago and triggered international alarm, the United States warned the combatants to step back. But its efforts were quietly undermined by one of the most trusted U.S. regional...

The diplomatic crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has interfered with Qatar's political and economic activities since it erupted in late May. But now it's threatening to interfere with the country's religious practices as well. As Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's most important...

RIYADH/JEDDAH: Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Salih Bentin on Thursday received Somali Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Iman Abdullah Ali and his accompanying delegation in Jeddah. Bentin discussed strong bilateral relations and topics related to Somali pilgrims, briefing Ali on Saudi efforts to...