Turks to vote in local polls as Erdogan seeks to avenge defeat
Erdogan has entrusted his former environment minister Murat Kurum to run for mayor of Istanbul in the March 31 polls...Geostrategy
Gaza health ministry says Israel kills 9 people waiting for aid
Palestinian Territories - The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli fire on Saturday killed nine people and wounded dozens...Geostrategy
UN warns Internet shutdowns can have deadly consequences
Many governments refuse to acknowledge that they ordered any interference in communications, and sometimes put pressure on telecommunications companies to...The UN said "the dramatic real-life effects of shutdowns on the lives and human rights of millions of people are vastly underappreciated".
The #KeepItOn coalition, which monitors shutdown episodes across the world, documented 931 internet shutdowns between 2016 and 2021.
UAE keen to create sustainable food systems in GCC: Minister
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, has said UAE is keen to enhance efforts...Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri was speaking at the 32nd Meeting of the GCC Agricultural Cooperation Committee.
Participants at the meeting also discussed nontariff barriers and the GCC’s cooperation with Jordan and Morocco.
Najib Mikati picked to form new Lebanon government
The 66-year-old billionaire, who had been widely expected to keep his job, secured 54 votes during parliamentary consultations, giving him...President Michel Aoun asked him to form a new government, a task analysts fear could take weeks, if not months, despite the economic emergency facing the country.
His nearest rival for the post of prime minister-designate was former ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam, who only received 25 votes.
Tunisia trade unions chief rejects IMF conditions for bailout loan
The head of Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union confederation on Thursday rejected conditions set by the International Monetary Fund for...IMF's regional chief Jihad Azour has said Tunisia "needs to urgently tackle its fiscal imbalances", replace generalized subsidies with transfers targeting the poor.
But Noureddine Taboubi, head of powerful UGTT trade union confederation, rejected "the painful options they're talking about".
Kuwait dissolves parliament and heads to elect new government
Kuwait's crown prince announced Wednesday the dissolution of parliament and called for new elections amid escalating disputes between the legislative...The cabinet, the fourth to be formed in two years, resigned in April, three months after it was sworn in, but continued to act in a caretaker capacity
Oil-rich Kuwait has been shaken by disputes between lawmakers and successive governments dominated by the ruling Al-Sabah family for more than a decade
G7 summit to inflict more pain on Russia over Ukraine invasion
Leaders at the upcoming G7 summit in Germany will announce new measures aimed at pressuring Russia over its invasion of...The club of wealthy democracies is at the heart of a fierce economic and diplomatic campaign to punish Russia
After attending the G7 summit, Biden will fly to Madrid for a summit of the NATO military alliance
US president faces historic leadership task in Europe
Leader of the free world sounds like a superhero character, but the Joe Biden heading this week to twin European...Biden will tout the success of a monumental effort to rally the West and breathe new life into NATO
Biden refers to his presidency as an inflection point in a battle for the survival of Western democracy against the likes of Russian President Putin
Earthquake destroys more than 2,000 homes in Afghanistan
An estimated 2,000 homes have been destroyed by the deadly earthquake in Afghanistan, and a lack of machinery is hampering..."We believe that nearly 2,000 homes are destroyed," the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov told reporters
Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's emergency response teams were stretched to deal with the natural disasters that frequently struck the country
Israel to reinstate increase in entry permits for Gaza workers
Israel on Wednesday said it was reinstating an increase in entry permits for Palestinian workers from the blockaded Gaza Strip,...COGAT said decision regarding entry through Gaza Strip would take effect in coming days "provided that the security situation in the area remains quiet"
Earlier, Israel suspended entry permits for Palestinian workers from Gaza in response of the rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave to Jewish state
Biden trip: ‘More Arab nations to improve ties with Israel’
Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, said that the Biden administration was encouraging greater cooperation between...Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, said that the Biden administration was encouraging greater cooperation between Israel and the Arab nations
The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 became the first Arab states in decades to normalize relations with Israel as part of the so-called Abraham Accords
