Gaza truce talks in Cairo as heavy fighting rages
An Israeli siege on Gaza has sparked UN warnings of famine, and France's foreign ministry said Israel is "clearly responsible"...Geostrategy
Trump wins vote in 3 states, edging toward nomination
The voting Saturday in Missouri, Michigan and Idaho were hybrid internal elections with differing rules, in some cases reflecting rifts...Geostrategy
UAE leader chats with Syrian President to improve relations
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan reviewed developments in Syria and the Middle East in a phone...the two leaders spoke about the relations between ‘the two fraternal nations’ and prospects of advancing cooperation across various fields
Many countries from the Middle East have stepped up economic and diplomatic ties with Assad
Lebanon hikes fuel prices in de facto end to subsidies
The end to subsidies pushes the cost of filling a vehicle's tank to more than the monthly minimum wage in...The price increases have mostly erased massive queues at gas pumps that clogged streets across the country.
The energy ministry on Wednesday also raised the price of diesel and cooking gas following a drop in Lebanese pound.
Tehran film fest opens as Oscar-qualifying event
The designation as Oscar-qualifying event came despite high tensions between Washington and Tehran, which have had no diplomatic relations since...This year's festival competition received more than 6,400 entries from 128 countries -- 2,000 more than last year.
The festival, now in its 38th edition, has jury members from the Islamic republic as well as Italy, Japan, France and Austria.
‘Torture, abuse’ await returning Syrian refugees: HRW
Refugees in Lebanon and Jordan in particular have faced mounting direct and indirect pressure to return to Syria, in violation...The UN estimates that over 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
Refugees in Lebanon and Jordan in particular have faced mounting direct and indirect pressure to return to Syria.
Iraq’s Hashed supporters protest vote ‘fraud’
The Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the multi-party Hashed, won around 15 of 329 seats.The Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the multi-party Hashed, won around 15 of 329 seats
The big winner this time, with more than 70 seats according to the initial count, was the movement of Moqtada Sadr
4,000 West Bank Palestinians to get residency rights
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967 and exercises full administrative control across much of...The new approvals will make thousands of people newly eligible to get Palestinian Authority identification documents and change their residential address.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, some 475,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the West Bank considered illegal under international law.
Fear of sanctions a risk for Iran health rights: UN
Many banks and businesses, including pharmaceutical and medical companies around the world, over-comply with sanctions out of fear of potential...In one case, this had resulted in a Swedish company halting the sale of bandages to its Iranian partner.
A UN expert has reached out to the Swedish company and government to address 'shortfalls' in due diligence processes.
Deficit to surplus: GCC economies on growth track
The combined current account balance of oil exporters in the GCC region is likely to shift from a deficit of...UAE economy is expected to grow by 2.2 percent in 2021 and by 4.9 percent in 2022, supported by tourism, oil prices recovery and Expo 2020 activities.
Saudi Arabia's real GDP growth fell 4.1 in 2020 and is expected to increase to 1.9 percent this year and 4.8 percent in 2022.
Social unrest may spoil Mideast recovery: IMF
The fund also warned that the longer-term risk of the uneven recovery could permanently widen wealth, income, and social gaps.Unemployment rates increased in MENA last year by 1.4 percent to reach 11.6 percent.
Nearly 80 percent of the Lebanese population lives below the poverty line and the new government struggles with falling value of currency.
UAE, Bahrain, Qatar among top 10 expat destinations in the world
Overall, the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) was the highest-ranking region for the quality of life, with 71...Switzerland, New Zealand and Spain top three destinations followed by Australia, Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland, France and Netherland.
65 percent of expats feel optimistic about the year ahead and 75 percent were optimistic 'normality' will return.
