Middle East

Facebook has recently come under renewed criticism over inadequate content moderation policies in languages other than English. Whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked internal Facebook research documents to The Wall Street Journal and appeared before a US Senate committee, has revealed that while only 9 percent of the social networking giant’s …

Cyprus and Egypt signed an accord on Saturday to pursue links between the electricity transmission networks of the two countries. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the energy ministers of Cyprus and Egypt, setting out a framework of cooperation from planning to implementation. “For Cyprus, this electricity interconnection with …

An Iranian warship on Saturday prevented an attack by pirates against two oil tankers that it was escorting in the Gulf of Aden, the country’s naval chief said. “Navy commandos were successful in repulsing this morning the attack by pirates against an Iranian commercial convoy in the Gulf of Aden,” …

Facebook has removed two networks linked to military organizations in Sudan and Iran for violating its policies. The company shared details about the accounts in its September 2021 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report. The report comes on the heels of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before the US Senate Committee. Haugen …

The League of Arab Committee of Renewable Energy will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday to develop a strategy on green hydrogen, according to the Saudi Press Agency. “The meeting will discuss the mechanism of implementing the Arab strategy for sustainable energy, which aims to convert waste into energy and to produce …

For a platform with at least 2.91 billion “friends,” Facebook has been creating a lot of enemies of late, even among its own ranks. Just this week, former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before members of the US Senate, delivering a scathing overview of how the world’s largest …

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s economic losses will amount to almost $200 billion by the end of 2021 as a result of the pandemic, the World Bank estimated. The region’s GDP contracted by 3.8 percent in 2020 and is forecast to grow by 2.8 percent in 2021, …

Jordan says it has discussed ways to expedite Egyptian natural gas shipments via its territory and Syria to Lebanon, which is dealing with a grueling energy-crisis. Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh arrived in Beirut late Thursday, the first foreign official to visit Lebanon’s new prime minister who took office earlier this …

Egypt is finalising arrangements to start supplying gas to Lebanon soon under a plan to help ease Lebanon’s power crisis, the two countries’ energy ministers said after meeting on Tuesday. Under an agreement announced last month, Egypt will supply natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline that passes through Jordan …

King Abdullah of Jordan said on Monday (Oct 4) he had nothing to hide following leaks of financial documents that showed he used offshore accounts to buy expensive properties abroad. Earlier, a palace statement reacting to the leak of what major news outlets called a secret trove of documents about …

Voters chose none of the 26 women who stood for election in Qatar’s first legislative elections on Saturday, disappointing candidates who had wanted to lend a voice for women and other Qataris in the Gulf monarchy’s political process. The vote was for 30 members of the 45-seat advisory Shura Council …

Egypt proposed to host the COP 27 in November last year despite the coronavirus challenges, as it is Africa’s turn to host the conference. Earlier this month, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt is looking forward to hosting the COP 27 on behalf of Africa in a pre-recorded message before the …

Qataris began voting on Saturday in the Gulf Arab state’s first legislative elections for two-thirds of the advisory Shura Council in a vote that has stirred domestic debate about electoral inclusion and citizenship. Voters trickled into polling stations, where men and women entered separate sections to elect 30 members of …

Several political factions including ex-rebel groups announced Saturday the formation of an alliance separate from Sudan’s main civilian bloc, in the latest sign of splits marring the country’s transition. The announcement at a ceremony in Khartoum came as Sudan reels from fragmentation within the Forces of Freedom and Change, an …

It has been more than two months since Tunisian President Kais Saied took over all executive powers in the country. Wednesday he surprised friend and foe by suddenly appointing Najla Bouden Romdhane as the first female prime minister in Tunisia and the Arab world. A smart cosmetic move: how much …

Iran said on Friday that a visit by Israel’s foreign minister to Bahrain this week to mark the establishment of relations left a stain on the Gulf Arab state’s rulers that “will not be erased”. Iran said on Friday that a visit by Israel’s foreign minister to Bahrain this week …

Bahrain hosted the Israeli foreign minister on Thursday for the highest-level visit since the countries established ties last year and which included a tour of a U.S. naval headquarters to signal common cause against Iran. Landing in Manama on a plane daubed with an olive branch painting, Foreign Minister Yair …

The US Treasury Department Wednesday announced sanctions on a Hezbollah financial network based in the Arabian Peninsula, with support from Qatar. In the release, the US government noted that it designated these individuals and entities in “coordinated actions” with Qatar. Among the designations were Ali Reda Hassan al-Banai (Ali al-Banai), Ali Reda …

Unlike neighboring countries, discussing corruption-related offences in Lebanon has rarely been a taboo. Those leading oppressive and extravagant regimes fail to realize they carry the seeds of their own failure. What is not always understood is how corruption bred from oppression affects the country’s social stability and security systems. By …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD … There are problems with costumes too and makeup and hairdos. The Harkonnens here are all bald, in emulation of the Baron. But in the original novel they are bronze blonds and have big lips, and in the old movie they are redish blond and …

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is heading to Cairo on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian government officials about rising tensions between Israel and Hamas. The Biden administration is leaning heavily on Egypt, which has long played a role as mediator between Israel and Hamas, for help in …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD A number of factors worked against me enjoying this movie. I’m a fan of both Frank Herbert and the 1984 David Lynch movie, am hypersensitive about Hollywood politics and I’d recently watched two stunning movies that upped my expectations to breaking point. A wonderful fanedit[1] …

Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein has contracted coronavirus and his parents King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who tested negative, will protectively self-isolate for five days, the palace said on Monday. “His Highness Prince Hussein, who had received the vaccine against the coronavirus, showed mild symptoms and is in very good health,” …

Low rainfall, limited freshwater from rivers and lakes, and dwindling non-renewable groundwater reserves make the Middle East the most water-stressed region on earth. Meanwhile, demand is soaring — and likely to rise even further given population growth and economic development — leading to some of the highest per-capita water consumption …

The prime minister of Kuwait has called on Iran to take serious steps to build trust and start a serious dialogue in the Gulf region based on respect for the sovereignty of neighboring nations and non-interference. He said nations in the region must seek to protect maritime commerce and the …

The Palestinian Authority urged Sudan’s government on Saturday to hand over assets it has seized as part of a crackdown targeting Sudan-based operations to fund the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Sudan was long an ally of Hamas under former President Omar al-Bashir, but since he was overthrown in 2019, Sudanese …

Sudanese military leaders said on Wednesday the civilian politicians they share power with had opened the door to a coup attempt by neglecting public welfare while they were consumed by internal squabbles. A body known as the Sovereign Council has ruled Sudan under a fragile power-sharing deal between the military …

Field Marshal Hussein, the former head of the military council that ruled Egypt after longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak was ousted during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, died on Tuesday, Egypt’s presidency said. He was 85. After his stint as Egypt‘s de facto leader, he was soon sacked by the country’s first …

Syria’s defense minister met Sunday with Jordan’s army chief in Amman after after Syrian troops captured several rebel-held areas near Jordan’s border, state media reported. The Hala Akhbar news site, which is linked to Jordan’s military, reported that the meeting between Jordanian Gen. Yousef Huneiti and Syrian Gen. Ali Ayoub …

The United States said on Friday it was imposing sanctions on Lebanon and Kuwait-based financial conduits that fund the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah as well as financial facilitators and front companies that support the group and Iran. Among individuals designated and sanctioned, the US Treasury said the measures apply to …

Former Obama CIA Director Michael Morell said Sunday that President Biden’s chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and subsequent Taliban takeover “absolutely inspired” jihadists and emboldened terrorists across the globe. Morell, who twice served as acting director of the CIA under the Obama-Biden administration and was considered a frontrunner to then-President-elect Joe Biden’s for …

Bahrain has strongly condemned the failed Houthi drone attack which targeted Abha International airport south of Saudi Arabia. The bomb-laden drone launched by the Iran-backed group was intercepted and destroyed by Arab Coalition forces.“The launch of a drone by the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia towards Abha International Airport in the …

The Biden administration will withhold $130 million worth of military aid to Egypt until Cairo takes specific steps related to human rights, a State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s move is a break with his predecessors’ policy of overriding a congressional check on military aid …

Hopes rose on Monday of progress in the Palestinian peace process after landmark new talks between the leaders of Egypt and Israel. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for discussions that focused on Palestinian-Israeli relations. It …

Israel’s Naftali Bennett met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Monday, on the first visit to the North African country by a prime minister of the Jewish state in over a decade. El-Sisi was hosting Bennett in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss “efforts to revive the …

The United Nations will begin on Monday to distribute cash aid to thousands of poor families in Hamas-run Gaza under a programme funded by Qatar, the U.N. Middle East envoy said. Qatar has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza since the 2014 war between the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist …

Iraqi investors and industrialists want to establish integrated industrial complexes with their Egyptian counterparts, taking a first step to enhance trade relations between the two countries. During a meeting with a delegation of the Federation of Iraqi Industries headed by its vice president Alaa Al-Agaili, Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Nevin Gamea said both countries are working on strengthening trade …

Friends and family initially mocked one Jordanian family’s new venture making soap from donkey milk. But now, a year on, the company is cleaning up as customers bray for more. Atan Donkey Milk Soaps produces 100 percent natural soaps from its farm in Madaba, 35 km southwest of Amman, where …

A Sudanese military plane crashed in the White Nile south of the capital, Khartoum, killing all onboard, authorities said on Friday. Authorities retrieved three bodies of officers, including a lieutenant colonel, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. Search efforts were still ongoing for others who were onboard when …

Iran’s foreign minister met his visiting counterpart from U.S.-allied Qatar on Thursday, state media reported, as Tehran and Washington appear to be at an impasse over the fate of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Iran on Wednesday warned Western states against rebuking it at the International Atomic Energy …

Shahid VIP will air the Arab World’s first Arabic language sci-fi drama series on Sept. 12 as the film and media industry in the Arab World looks to broaden its scope. Entitled ‘Hell’s Gate’, the sci-fi production features a stellar cast from the Middle East and beyond. Set in Beirut …

It will take no longer than four weeks to develop a clear roadmap to restart exports of natural gas from Egypt to Lebanon, Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati said following a meeting with his counterparts from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. The readiness of the physical infrastructure …

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt called for a “rapid and comprehensive inspection” of all Iranian nuclear sites on Thursday. Gathering on the sidelines of an Arab League session in Cairo, ministers from the four countries also discussed stopping Tehran’s destabilizing policies that threaten global security and stability. The …

Egypt is still discussing some technical issues to make its domestic debt “Euroclearable”, a goal it expects to achieve within a few months but not by an earlier target of November, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Wednesday. Egypt signed an agreement to create a cross-border link with Euroclear, Europe’s …