Tunisian Jewish pilgrimage sees low turnout amid security fears
Djerba, Tunisia - Only a dozen pilgrims turned up Friday at this year's Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia's island of Djerba...
India publishes election donation data after court order
The BJP had received slightly less than 48 percent of all election bonds cashed by parties up to March 2023,...
Women gain power without parity in Iraqi Kurdish city
Mayor, university dean, director of the veterinary department, and health spokesperson are some of the senior posts held by women...
- Mayor, university dean, director of the veterinary department, and health spokesperson are some of the senior posts held by women in Halabja
- It marks something of a departure for Iraqi Kurdistan, where public affairs have long been dominated by a handful of men
Geostrategy
Sadrists claim largest bloc after record-low Iraq voter turnout
Security measures meant to ensure a smooth and safe voting remained largely successful, as only 75 complaints during public voting...
- The movement wins around 73 of the parliament's 329 seats in Sunday's election
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hails the 'largely peaceful conduct' of the vote
Geostrategy
In Iraq vote, big blocs lurk behind ‘independents’
A new electoral law in Iraq will mean that when Iraqis go to the polls on Sunday, they will vote...
- The elections will have voters choose individuals running as independents rather than members of political blocs.
- Those disillusioned with the political class fear these individuals will spend no time supporting blocs when elected.
Geostrategy
Israel foreign minister opens embassy in Bahrain
Yair Lapid began a landmark visit Thursday to Bahrain where he opened the Israeli embassy one year after the US-brokered...
- The Bahrain flight and Israel's first bilateral ministerial visit to the Gulf country are part of a thaw in regional relations
- Bahrain reaffirms its commitment to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Analysis
‘Apathy and despair’ as Iraq looks to October election
The polls were initially scheduled for 2022, but moved forward to June this year, then postponed to October.
- Respondents have said only the candidates’ faces are newer while the political ideals are unchanged
- Issues like constant power cuts and non-upgradation of infrastructure are also weighing on voters’ minds
Economy in focus as Lebanon’s new cabinet holds first meeting
The meeting, during which a ministerial statement is to be drafted to be submitted to a confidence vote in parliament,...
- Talks with the IMF on financial assistance are key to rescuing Lebanon
- More than three out of four Lebanese are now considered to be under the poverty line
Lebanon gets new govt amidst economic turmoil
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati signed Friday the decree to form the new government, bringing to...
- Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was the third man to take on the mantle after his predecessors Moustapha Adib and Saad Hariri failed to come to terms with the President
- Eddy Maalouf, a parliamentarian in President Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement bloc told the media that the government would be formed of 24 ministers
Business
UAE forms new law to punish erring ministers and officials
Any minister or senior official found guilty of corruption could be relieved of their job.
- People can submit complaints directly to the public prosecution
- Those accused may see their travel permits revoked, and even assets frozen
Geostrategy
Drying Euphrates threatens disaster in Syria
Reputed to have once flown through the biblical Garden of Eden, the Euphrates runs for almost 2,800 km (1,700 miles)...
- Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of choking the river’s flow but Ankara says it releases the agreed upon amount of water.
- Among five million people depending on the Euphrates for drinking water, more and more families are ingesting liquid that is unsafe.
Geostrategy
Tunisia: US envoys want democracy back
Jon Finer, the deputy national security advisor, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Joey Hood, traveled to...
- Jon Finer, the deputy national security advisor, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Joey Hood, traveled to Tunis and met both Saied and civil society leaders
- Finer delivered a message from President Joe Biden "urging a swift return to the path of Tunisia's parliamentary democracy."
Tunisian Jewish pilgrimage sees low turnout amid security fears
Djerba, Tunisia - Only a dozen pilgrims turned up Friday at this year's Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia's island of Djerba...
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Migrants suffer between life and death in Tunisia-Libya desert
In the midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on...
Geostrategy
Quran set alight at protest outside Sweden parliament
Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked...
Geostrategy
Morocco king appeals for normalcy in ties with Algeria
RABAT, MOROCCO - Morocco's King Mohammed VI has expressed hope for a return to normality and reopening of borders with North...
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Geostrategy
Both sides in Sudan must be made accountable, says UN official
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Sudan's warring sides must face "accountability" for the "crimes" committed in their conflict, which risks spiraling into a...
- The fighting, which began in mid-April, risks morphing into a tribalized and ideologized conflict, head of UN mission in Sudan said.
- Around 3,000 people have been killed, and the UN has warned of possible crimes against humanity in the western region of Darfur.
Geostrategy
Syria cancels BBC’s accreditation over ‘misleading reports’
In a rare move against an international media organization, the Syrian government has cancelled the BBC's accreditation over what it...
- The information ministry said that accreditation of the BBC Radio correspondent in Syria was also revoked
- In a terse statement BBC responded that its Arabic news provides impartial independent journalism
Geostrategy
EU support for Ukraine’s membership unequivocal, says Spanish PM
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his visit to Kyiv on the first day of Spain's EU presidency showed...
- Ukraine applied for EU membership just five days after Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022.
- It is hoping to begin formal negotiations this year on what it needs to do to firm up its membership bid.