Middle East: Israel and U.A.E. agree to full diplomatic relations

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced Thursday they are establishing full diplomatic relations in a U.S.-brokered deal that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.

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Israel and U.A.E. agree to full diplomatic relations | CBC News

Middle East: Saudi Arabia and U.S. on collision course as Mohammed bin Salman's standing ebbs

Trump has pledged that he won’t whitewash the murder and that the United States will do what’s necessary regarding whoever was involved, though he hasn’t mentioned Prince Mohammed’s name. The time to cash the check has come earlier than Trump expected. 

Saudi Arabia tried last week to lighten the load for the president by announcing the arrests of 21 suspects and the indictment of 15, while the attorney general said he would demand the death penalty for five, though he didn’t provide any names. 

Earlier King Salman fired Ahmed al-Asiri, the deputy intelligence chief, and Saud al-Qahtani, Mohammed’s senior adviser. In so doing the king set a ceiling on how high the punishment could go. But now it seems there will be no choice but to examine his own son’s future. 

According to The Washington Post, Prince Mohammed’s brother Khalid, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, was the one who phoned Khashoggi and encouraged him to go to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The prince’s adviser and aide, intelligence man Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, allegedly led the ring and after the murder phoned Qahtani and asked him to tell the boss that it was mission accomplished. 

Mutrib didn’t explicitly say the boss’ name but Qahtani has only one boss and that’s Prince Mohammed. The Saudi ambassador has strongly denied having any telephone conversation with Khashoggi, and a Post reporter has written that their last meeting came in 2017; afterward they corresponded several times. The top Saudi prosecutor said Thursday that Khashoggi was murdered by a “lethal injection” and that his body was dismembered, with his organs handed to someone outside the consulate for disposal.

Read moire: Saudi Arabia and U.S. on collision course as Mohammed bin Salman's standing ebbs - Middle East News - Haaretz.com

Cuba - USA: In speech to Cubans, Obama seeks to bury Cold War rivalry

President Obama addressed the Cuban people from an iconic theater in Old Havana on Tuesday, promising a new chapter in the history of Cuba, its relations with the United States, and the Western Hemisphere.

"I am here to bury the last remnants of the Cold War in the Americas. I am here to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people," Obama said.

But Obama also made clear there were still serious issues that need to be resolved before he can convince Congress to lift the 54-year-old embargo, still a major sticking point in U.S.-Cuban relations.

"Now, I want to be clear: The differences between our governments over these many years are real, and they are important. I'm sure President Castro would say the same thing," he said, acknowledging Cuban President Raul Castro, who watched the speech from a box seat. " I know, because I've heard him address those differences at length."

 Read more: In speech to Cubans, Obama seeks to bury Cold War rivalry

Saudi Arabia: EU needs immediately review diplomatic relations wiith barbaric Saudi Arabia following mass executions

Saudi Arabia: Barbaric Behavior

The executions took place in 12 cities across Saudi Arabia. Firing squads were employed in four prisons, while the others were carried out via beheadings.

The bodies were then displayed in public places, the most severe form of punishment available under Sharia Islamic law.

The four Shi’ites, including al-Nimr, were convicted of shooting and petrol bomb attacks which killed several police officers during anti-government protests in the Qatif district of Riyadh between 2011-2013.

Thousands of militant Islamists were detained after the 2003-06 al-Qaeda attacks. Hundreds have been convicted.

Hundreds of members of the Shi’ite minority were detained after the 2011-13 protests.

This is the biggest mass execution for security reasons in Saudi Arabia since 1980, when 83 jihadist rebels were executed for taking over Mecca’s Grand Mosque in 1979.

Commentators say a secondary aim is about discouraging Saudi nationals from engaging in jihadism.

Note EU-Digest: there is no excuse possible at all for this barbaric behavior of Saudi Arabia which shows complete disrespect for basic human rights. The EU should immediately review their diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia  In addition, having Saudi Arabia head-up an Islamic group of Nations to combat ISIS is like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank. The EU can not and may not accept this barbaric behavior or participate with Saudi Arabia in any of their political schemes. Weapon deliveries from the EU to Saudi Arabia should also be halted immediately.

Read more: Europe Saudi Arabia’s biggest mass execution in 35 years | euronews, world news

Cuba: EU’s foreign policy chief to visit Cuba as ties with West warm

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, is to visit Cuba this month in the latest sign of warming relations between the Communist-ruled island and the West. 

Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister, will visit Havana on March 23 to 24 to discuss developments in the country and prospects for EU-Cuba cooperation, the EU said in a statement on Saturday. 

She will be the most senior EU official to visit Cuba in recent years, and the trip comes as both the 28-nation EU and the United States have made diplomatic overtures to the island.

“Cuba is facing a very interesting period and the European Union is keen to see how we can take the relationship forward with strong momentum,” Mogherini said in a statement.

Read more: Americas - EU’s foreign policy chief to visit Cuba as ties with West warm - France 24

Netherlands Saudi Relations:: Saudi Arabia may curb trade ties over Wilders' anti-Islam slogans

Saudi Arabia is considering trade sanctions against the Netherlands because of stickers printed by far-right politician Geert Wilders which display anti-Islam slogans in the colors of the Saudi flag, a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said.

Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Dutch Freedom Party, is tied in first place with the Democrats in national opinion polls before European Parliament elections that will be held in the Netherlands on Thursday.

His virulent anti-Islam statements have angered many and Wilders has lived under round-the-clock armed guard since he received death threats in 2004.

"We have indications that Saudi Arabia is considering measures because of the insults to its flag and religion by Geert Wilders," Foreign Ministry spokesman Friso Wijnen said.

Wijnen could not say what these indications are, but that the Dutch government is seeking contact with Riyadh. The stickers were first printed in December.

"The Cabinet strongly distanced itself from the insults Wilders first made to the Saudi flag and the religion in December," Wijnen said. "It still does now."

Note EU-Digest: Even though many people do not agree with Mr. Wilders' viewpoints, the disrespectful statements made by Wilders against Saudi Arabia and Islam are his own and not those of the Dutch Government. The Saudi Royal family, however, does not seem to be aware of the fact that in Democratic societies like the Netherlands , where human rights laws are respected, all citizens, including politicians, are allowed to speak out freely on any subject, without fear of retaliation by anyone.

Read more: Netherlands: Saudi Arabia may curb trade ties over Wilders' anti-Islam slogans | Reuters

Russia rages at US fraud charges against diplomats

Russia and the United States were on Friday embroiled in a new diplomatic dispute after Moscow reacted furiously to charges launched in the United States against 49 current and former Russian diplomats and their wives over a $1.5 million fraud.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement to Russian news agencies that Moscow had many claims against the behaviour of US diplomats in Moscow but had preferred not to bring them into the public sphere.

“We categorically reject the charges against the staff of Russian diplomatic institutions in the United States,” he was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency, saying it was “illegal” for diplomats to have been watched by the authorities in this way.

“If the American authorities have claims against our citizens... they should have been made first through diplomatic channels. This is no more than cheap PR and an attempt to fulfil an order by Russophobes in the US,” he added.

Mr Ryabkov hinted that Russia had many allegations it could lay against American diplomatic staff if it so desired but said Moscow had preferred to stay quiet.

“We have many claims against how American embassy staff work and act. But we do not want to go down the path of a rhetorical war of mutual accusations,” he said.

Read more: Russia rages at US fraud charges against diplomats - DAWN.COM

Egypt cuts relations with Syria, shuts embassy

Egypt's Islamist president announced Saturday that he was cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria and closing Damascus' embassy in Cairo, decisions made amid growing calls from hard-line Sunni clerics in Egypt and elsewhere to launch a "holy war" against Syria's embattled regime.

Mohammed Morsi told thousands of supporters at a rally in Cairo that his government was also withdrawing the Egyptian charge d'affaires from Damascus. He called on Lebanon's Hezbollah to leave Syria, where the Iranian-backed Shia militant group has been fighting alongside troops loyal to embattled President Bashar Assad against the mostly Sunni rebels.

"Hezbollah must leave Syria. This is serious talk: There is no business or place for Hezbollah in Syria," said Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. Morsi's address, particularly his call on Hezbollah to leave Syria, and the fiery rhetoric used by well-known Muslim clerics this weekend point to the increasing perception of the Syrian conflict as sectarian. At least 93,000 people have been killed since turmoil there began more than two years ago.

Read more: Egypt cuts relations with Syria, shuts embassy - World - CBC News

Germany expels Syrian embassy staff

Germany expelled four Syrian embassy employees on Monday, according to the country's foreign minister, as ties between Berlin and Damascus continued to deteriorate.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said it was a “clear sign that we are reducing relations with the Assad regime to an absolute minimum.”

"We are counting on the [opposition] national coalition growing more stable and developing as soon as possible functioning institutions for the political transition," he added.

Read more: Germany expels Syrian embassy staff | News | DW.DE | 10.12.2012

Norway: Russian relations ‘not the same’

After years of political pride and satisfaction over Norway’s close relations with its large neighbor to the east, concerns are now rising in the Norwegian foreign ministry. “Russia has changed” during the second term of President Vladimir Putin, according to Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

“We must acknowledge that the role of civilian society in Russia, the part of society that’s not directly under state jurisdiction, is being restricted,” Eide told newspaper Aftenposten on Friday. “This is unfortunate, both for the residents of Russia but also for the state itself. Every state is best off when it has a free, civilian society. And then (state officials) must remember that democracy is a lot more than just arranging elections.”

Eide’s unusually frank criticism of Russian authorities in Norway’s largest newspaper illustrates the level of Norwegian concern over Russian authoritarian interference in the lives of its citizens and civilian organizations. Norwegian human rights organizations and those that have had close cooperation with Russian counterparts in recent years have noticed an emerging pattern of oppression, from the detention of members of the Pussy Riot band to crackdowns on the opposition and, most recently, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North

Read more: Russian relations ‘not the same’ : Views and News from Norway

France, Germany, Britain expel Syrian envoys

France, Germany and Britain moved Tuesday to expel Syria's diplomatic envoys in protest at the weekend massacre in the town of Houla, as other EU nations considered following suit.

Diplomatic sources said several EU nations were weighing a joint expulsion of Syria's ambassadors in response to the massacre in the central town, in which at least 108 people, including 49 children, were killed.

"That idea is on the table," said an EU diplomat ahead of talks Tuesday and Wednesday between ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc.

In Paris, President Francois Hollande told journalists that France's decision to expel Ambassador Lamia Shakkur, which would be formally communicated to her on Tuesday or Wednesday, was "not a unilateral decision by France, but a decision agreed upon with (our) partners."


Read more: France, Germany, Britain expel Syrian envoys | Bangkok Post: news

Finland embassy staff also leaves Syria, following the closing of several other foreign embassies

 Following the closing down of several other foreign embassies the Finnish embassy staff in Syrian capital Damascus has also left Syria due to the "weakened security situation", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The embassy in Syria was also responsible for Finland's affairs in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. All duties will be temporarily managed from Helsinki.

The foreign ministry urged all Finnish people to avoid traveling to Syria, and also asked Finnish citizens still in Syria to leave the country.

EU-Digest

Syria unrest: Turkish nationals urged to return home

Turkey has urged its citizens to leave Syria, saying developments there have led to "serious security risks".

The foreign ministry said in a statement that some consular services would be halted on 22 March.

Meanwhile PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested a safe zone along the border, where refugee numbers have risen sharply in recent days. 

More than 14,000 Syrian refugees have now crossed into Turkey

For more: BBC News - Syria unrest: Turkish nationals urged to return home

Libyan Embassy Reopened in US

Ali Oujali Libya's Ambassador to the United States has reopened the Libyan Embassy in the United States on behalf of the Libyan Transitional National Council.

The embassy which is located outside the Watergate building in Washington was closed in March after all diplomats loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi by the State department.

The ambassador resigned from his post in February after serving for the Qaddafi regime and has represented the TNC since in Washington. On August 15, Mr. Aujali was re-accredited by as Libya's Ambassador by the United States.

For more: Libyan Embassy Reopened in US