France on Tuesday condemned Israelâs plan to advance construction of 800 more Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank in a move to cement the projects shortly before pro-settlement U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office. In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry urged Israeli authorities to drop the plan. …
Read More »Rouhani laments the state of Western democracy
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that the chaos unleashed on the US Capitol by US counterpart Donald Trumpâs supporters exposed the fragility of Western democracy. âWhat we saw in the United States yesterday (Wednesday) evening and today shows above all how fragile and vulnerable Western democracy is,â Rouhani said …
Read More »Pompeo visits Israeli settlements on farewell tour
Mike Pompeo on Thursday paid the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, in a parting show of solidarity with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the outgoing Trump administration. Palestinians accused Pompeo of helping Israel to cement its control over …
Read More »Hassan Nasrallah lays out Mideast agenda with Trump’s ‘humiliating downfall’
The leader of Lebanonâs Hezbollah said on Wednesday he was pleased about âthe humiliating downfallâ of U.S. President Donald Trump, but urged regional allies to be on alert for any U.S. or Israeli âfollyâ during the rest of his term in office. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a televised speech, described …
Read More »Trump request to drop rape case rejected by courts
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a U.S. government request to drop Donald Trump as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit by a writer who said the president falsely denied raping her in a Manhattan department store a quarter century ago. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan refused to …
Read More »Sudanese PM now claims normalisation will proceed as planned
Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday to take steps to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Khartoum the third Arab government to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months. U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking re-election on Nov. 3, sealed …
Read More »Despite misgivings widely assumed that Hariri will be PM again
Lebanonâs former premier Saad al-Hariri appeared on course to be nominated for a fourth term as prime minister on Thursday and try to form a new government to tackle the countryâs deepest crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Hariri needs to win the most support from parliamentarians who were holding …
Read More »Israelis brave corona ban with anti-Netanyahu rally
Wearing face masks, waving black flags and keeping two yards apart, thousands of Israelis demonstrated against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu under strict coronavirus restrictions on Sunday. Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing, is under criminal indictment in three corruption cases. He is also negotiating a power-sharing deal with his rival Benny …
Read More »Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for US President
Bernie Sanders has endorsed the Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden for president, a week after the progressive senator ended his campaign. The announcement on Monday was made in an event Mr Biden streamed live online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Appearing on a split screen and with …
Read More »Israeli supreme court in new clash with Netanyahu camp
Israelâs Supreme Court ordered the speaker of the parliament on Monday to put into motion a move in parliament, which he had rejected, that could weaken close ally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuâs hold on power. The rare court intervention in parliamentary procedure followed Yuli Edelsteinâs refusal to hold a vote …
Read More »Israel President wants Gantz as PM, not Netanyahu
Opposition leader Benny Gantz will be asked to form a new government, Israelâs president said on Sunday, boosting his chances of ousting veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was a blow to Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political life amid unprecedented political deadlock and a criminal indictment for corruption, …
Read More »Coronavirus used as excuse to postpone Netanyahu trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuâs corruption trial was delayed on Sunday for two months, until May, due to the coronavirus crisis. Israelâs Justice Ministry said the trial, due to have opened on March 17 with the reading of an indictment against Israelâs longest-serving leader in three graft cases, would begin …
Read More »Coronavirus used as excuse to ban Algeria protests
Algeriaâs government has canceled political gatherings because of the coronavirus, it said on Tuesday, though it was not immediately clear if this would entail a ban on the mass protests that have convulsed the state for more than a year. Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said in comments broadcast on state …
Read More »Election-2019. Transparency and openness
Preparations in our country for a major political event – the upcoming December 22, 2019 elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, regional, district and city councils are in progress. This yearâs elections will be held on the basis of the newly adopted …
Read More »Elections – A Responsible Campaign
By Nurbek Olloyor The important event, elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, for regional, district and city councilsâ deputies will be held in our country at the beginning of the third decade of December of this year. From the history of any government, it can be …
Read More »Federal elections in preperation in UAE
The Abu Dhabi Committee for the fourth cycle of the Federal National Council, FNC, elections has opened its headquarters in the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Saif Ali Al Qubaisi, Executive Director of the Department of Citizens’ Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of …
Read More »Algerian authorites balk at July 4 presidential polls
Algeriaâs constitutional council has concluded it will not be possible to hold presidential elections on July 4 as planned, state TV reported on Sunday, prolonging the countryâs transition after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned two months ago. The constitutional council cited a lack of valid candidates, saying it had received only …
Read More »Legal deadlock forces Netanyahu back to the polls
Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a new election after veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government before a midnight deadline. Netanyahu preferred a new ballot, set for Sept. 17, to the alternative, under which Israeli President Reuven Rivlin could …
Read More »Bahrain bars opposition from parliamentary elections
Bahrainis vote on Saturday in a parliamentary election from which opposition groups have been barred, in a crackdown on dissent in the small Sunni-led, Western-allied kingdom. Activists have called for a boycott of the vote, which they say is a âfarceâ. The government says the election is democratic. The Sunni …
Read More »A Hardest Slap ever to the American Administration and the Israeli Government as the Jerusalemites Boycott the Municipal Elections in Jerusalem
Member of the PLO Executive Committee, and the DFLP’s Political Bureau, Tayseer Khaled saluted the Palestinian Jerusalemites, as they have boycotted the municipal elections in the occupied East Jerusalem, which emphasizes their solid position on the city despite all the maneuvers exerted by the Israel Government and the occupation Municipality …
Read More »Dark Money: Palestine, Mega Donors, and the 2018 Midterm Elections
by Osamah Khalil The 2018 mid-term elections are expected to be the most expensive in American history. Four years ago, the 2014 mid-term elections had fewer donors than in previous elections but spending still surpassed previous elections. To fill their campaign coffers, Democrats and Republicans are again expected to rely …
Read More »Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khanâs visit to Saudi Arabia and UAE will start a new era
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is being widely praised for his drastic steps, including the austerity measures he took within one month of coming into power. His first official visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is even more commendable for it will largely be focused on the …
Read More »Pakistan ElectionsâMaybe Good News for Pakistan, But Not for U.S.
by Graham E. Fuller 8 August 2018 A bold new political face has come to power in the recent Pakistani elections, possibly offering the US a new opportunity in that country. Sadly the opportunity will likely be squanderedâagain. Thereâs something about Pakistani and US interests that seem doomed to …
Read More »Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabweâs ruling party declared winner of first post-Mugabe elections
Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabweâs ruling party was declared the winner early Friday morning of the countryâs first elections since the fall of authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe. But the opposition, which has accused the ruling party of vote rigging, has vowed to protest the result. According to the election commission, Mnangagwa …
Read More »Pakistan’s opposition rejects election results, urges new poll
Pakistanâs opposition parties have rejected the general election results, calling for what they described as a transparent, and free and fair re-election. Cricket star Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) won 115 seats in Wednesday’s vote, but fell short of the 137 needed to secure an outright majority. The latest …
Read More »Algeria at crossroads as transition looms
Come April 2019, Algerians will head to the polls to elect a new president. However, a year before the election, a political impasse has been created in the country. There has been mounting speculation that President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika, who first came to power in 1999, will seek a fifth …
Read More »Blast as Zimbabwe president campaigns, Mnangagwa not hurt
An explosion rocked a stadium where Zimbabwe’s president was addressing a campaign rally on Saturday, state media reported, saying he was not injured and had been evacuated from the scene. President Emmerson Mnangagwa was safely at a state house in the city of Bulawayo, where he had been speaking ahead …
Read More »Stacey Abrams wins Georgia ‘Battle of the Staceys’ in bid to become first black female governor in U.S.
WASHINGTON â Stacey Abrams easily defeated Stacey Evans in the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday that attracted national attention. Now, Abrams will attempt to make history by becoming the nation’s first black female governor â and Georgia’s first woman governor â by winning the general election in November in a …
Read More »Iraq holds first parliamentary election since Daesh defeat
Iraq began voting Saturday in its first parliamentary election since declaring victory over Daesh, with the country hoping to shore up a fragile peace and rebuild. Polling stations opened around the conflict-scarred nation under tight security as fighters still pose a major security threat despite a sharp fall in violence. …
Read More »Malaysia king agrees to pardon Anwar after opposition election win
Malaysia’s king has agreed to pardon Anwar Ebrahim, the country’s newly installed prime minister said on Friday, paving the way for the jailed opposition leader to return to politics and potentially become premier. It was the latest dramatic development after Mahathir Mohamad’s opposition alliance inflicted a shock defeat on the …
Read More »Hezbollah, allies set for gains in Lebanon parliament: unofficial results
The Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah and its political allies looked set to win more than half the seats in Lebanon’s first parliamentary election in nine years, according to preliminary results cited by politicians and Lebanese media. The result, if confirmed by the final count, would boost Hezbollah politically, with parties …
Read More »Sayyed Nasrallah: Your Votes Protect the Resistance, Preserve Achievements
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced from Bekaa that votes in the upcoming parliamentary elections shall preserve the achievements and sacrifices of resistance martyrs in face of regional and international conspiracies. âThe victories and achievements for which a very high cost was paid should be protected with your votes,â …
Read More »Lebanese expats cast votes in historic elections outside Lebanon
The voter turnout in the UAE for the Lebanese elections â held overseas for the first time on Friday â was the highest in six Arab countries where they were held, a media statement said. Lebanese expatriates flocked to their missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on Friday and made …
Read More »Turkish president calls snap polls in June
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called early presidential and parliamentary elections for June, a move that will usher in a new political system increasing the powers of the president earlier than scheduled. Erdogan announced, following a meeting with Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkeyâs main nationalist party, that elections originally scheduled for November 2019 will now …
Read More »Iraq vice president says elections alone will not solve the countryâs problems
Iraq will not solve the crises it faces unless it maintains an inclusive political process, overcomes sectarian divisions and rids itself of foreign interference, the Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi told The National during a visit to Dubai. On the 12th of May Iraqis will cast their votes in the …
Read More »Can Turkey Survive ErdoÄan?
by Graham E. Fuller Source: grahamefuller.com– On 7 June Turkeyâs democratic system will be deeply tested in a fateful parliamentary election; at stake is preservation of rule of law and liberal democracy against an increasingly authoritarian-minded President. Bottom line: if President ErdoÄanâs AKP party is able to win big, the …
Read More »International Observers: No Serious Violations in Ukrainian Elections
THE LEVANT EXCUSIVE – By Julia Lugovska  from Kiev â Ukraine – Canadian, US, EU and OSCE mission observing early parliamentary elections held in Ukraine on Sunday, 26 October, stated that the voting process was clear, legal and transparent, and there were no serious violations during the elections. Thus, Canadian …
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