Arab Spring finally comes to Saudi Arabia: Cinemas will be opened?
News Analysis | The Saudi Gazette has reported that the Kingdom will soon be opening cinema and theatres before the end of this year. Former Minister...
Saudi women now allowed to issue Fatwas
News Analysis | In a historic decision passed by the Shura Council, Saudi cleric women are now authorized to issue Fatwas alongside their male counterparts. This extension...
Will Russian S-400 missile defense system save Erdoğan from  another Western backed military coup?
Stana Dubajic | By buying Russian S-400 air-defense missile system Turkey, erstwhile Western ally, second largest NATO member, and a bulwark against Soviet expansion in...
Vision 2030 vs Saudi ultra-conservatives
James M. Dorsey | Saudi Arabia’s lifting of a ban on women’s driving raises a host of questions that transcend the issue of women’s rights...
Syrian government urges citizens to return to the country after victory in Aleppo & Deir ez-Zorr
Sophie Mangal | Speaking at a press conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan, a deputy of the Syrian parliament, Zhirayr Reisyan, said recently that the...
92 % Kurds vote for independence in referendum: How will the regional countries react to this?
News Analysis | Masoud Barzani, Iraq’s Kurdish leader has claimed victory in a referendum on independence held on Monday amid threats from Baghdad to take over the...
Saudi Arabia Eases restrictions on messaging apps, but WhatsApp and Viber Are Still Blocked
Afef Abrougui | After more than four years of heavy censorship, Saudi Arabia has eased restrictions on the use of internet-based call and messaging (VoIP) applications. In...
Saudi Arabia Lifts Driving Ban on Women: Is Prince Salman’s Vision 2030 already materializing?
James M. Dorsey | Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited lifting of a ban on women’s driving, widely viewed as a symbol of Saudi misogyny, will likely serve...
Saudi King to visit Moscow: Expects Russia’s help to bring the war in Yemen to an end
M K Bhadrakumar | The forthcoming visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Russia (October 4-7) carries great symbolism. Such poignancy is for several reasons –...
Is Kurdistan a US-Israeli conspiracy to balkanize Middle East?
M K Bhadrakumar | The result of the Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq will be known in the next 48 hours or so, but no surprises...
Green light to women in Saudi Arabia: Is this the victory they were looking for?
News Analysis | The King of Saudi Arabia has issued a decree allowing women to drive. The order – issued by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud –...
Kurds in Iraq vote in Independence Referendum: regional tensions will stoke up
News Analysis | Amid rising tensions and intense international opposition, Kurds in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq in an independence referendum. The...