A human rights group has criticized Saudi Arabia for blocking its website inside the conservative Persian Gulf Arab kingdom. The [Persian] Gulf Center for Human Rights posted a message on its website (http://gc4hr.org) on Tuesday deploring the move “as a form of repression that is part of intimidation patterns that are being used persistently in the Kingdom these days.” Attempts inside the... 

Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave their flooded houses during heavy rain in Gaza City on November 27, 2014. Thousands of Palestinians have been evacuated from their homes and moved to safer places in the Gaza Strip after heavy flooding struck the besieged coastal sliver earlier this week. Among those affected on Saturday were families who had lost their homes during Israel’s 50-day... 

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan leaves an official ceremony to mark Republic Day at the new Presidential Palace in Ankara October 29, 2014. A Turkish court has officially banned media coverage of a parliamentary investigation against four former ministers over corruption allegations. On Tuesday the Turkish court ruled that the ban was issued to “prevent damage to the individual rights”... 

Turkey’s president says men and women cannot be equal, and that feminists don’t understand motherhood. Recep Tayyip Erdogan caused widespread offence with his comments at a conference on women’s rights in Ankara. “You cannot make women and men equal; this is against nature,” Erdogan stated on Monday. “You cannot subject a pregnant woman to the same working conditions as a man. You cannot... 

A car is carried away by flood waters in the southern region of Ouarzazate in Morocco, November 22, 2014. At least 35 people have been killed in a flooding in Morocco while 214 others have been rescued, the country’s Interior Ministry says. The southern province of Guelmim which was worst affected by the floods, accounted for 24 of the fatalities, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The... 

Iran produces crocin from saffron Iranian scientists have developed a novel method that could provide extraction of crocin from saffron for the first time. The researchers produced crocin by cell culture method at the laboratory level at Iran’s National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute (NNFTRI). Crocin, which is a natural carotenoid chemical compound, is responsible for the color... 

Four people have been killed and at least 8 wounded when two assailants attacked worshipers with knives, axes and a pistol in a synagogue in North Jerusalem in the morning. Three of the victims were dual nationality US citizens and one was from the UK. Israeli police say both attackers were shot dead on the spot by officers. Spokeswoman Luba Samri described the incident as a “terrorist attack,”... 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Muslim faith was “widespread” in America before the arrival of Columbus in the 15th century, and insists that a massive mosque should be erected in Havana, despite the city’s refusal to grant a building permit. “The religion of Islam was widespread before Columbus,” the longtime Turkish leader told the audience at the first ever... 

The amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce The US Navy has deployed its first ever combat laser. The futuristic weapon has boosted the arsenal of the Fifth Fleet’s command vessel in the Persian Gulf. The laser is said to be effective against numerous small targets, such as Iran’s gunboats. A 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System has been equipped on the USS Ponce amphibious transport ship since... 

Israeli settlers have overnight set on fire a mosque near the West Bank town of Ramallah, according to Palestinian security officials. “The settlers set fire to the whole of the first floor of the mosque” in the village of Al-Mughayir, near the Shilo Jewish settlement, the officials said, as cited by AFP. A group of Palestinian worshippers who came to the mosque for their morning prayer... 

A bill that would extend all Israel’s new laws onto the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank has been approved by the Israeli ministerial committee. Some ministers however criticized this attempt to annex another part of Palestinian territory. According to the new bill approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, the Israeli laws would be applied through a military decree... 

Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz has announced his resignation after sharply criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his extremist policies. Peretz formally submitted his resignation to Israeli Justice Minister and Hatnuah party leader Tzipi Livnion Sunday. His resignation will go into affect on Tuesday, November 11. The announcement comes shortly after Peretz accused... 

The top US Army official says the United States is learning from Israel’s tactics on how to limit civilian casualties in a war, despite the international outcry over the regime’s brutality in Gaza. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the Pentagon has sent a team to see what lessons could be learned from the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza on how... 

The European Union’s new foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has slammed the Israeli regime for its new plans to continue illegal settlement expansion on the occupied Palestinian lands. Mogherini made the remarks on Friday in a joint press conference with Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman in al-Quds (Jerusalem) during her first visit to the occupied region as the EU’s... 

A new shocking video has emerged online showing the ISIL Takfiri terrorists negotiating about the price of captured girls from Iraq’s minority Izadi community at a “slave market.” “Today is the slave market day,” an ISIL terrorist tells the audience during the video clip, adding that each militant will get “his share.” The footage also shows Takfiri terrorists, who are believed to be...