Middle East Experience

A court in Tunisia has issued a travel ban on 34 people, including the head of Ennahdha party, all suspected of involvement in an alleged parallel security service reportedly put into place after the 2011 Tunisian revolution.Ennahdha party chief Rachid Ghannouchi and 33 others have been targeted in an investigation into the alleged service, dubbed the “secret apparatus,” which has been blamed by some for the still-unsolved murders of two leftist militants in 2013.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The spokeswoman for the court in Ariana, Fatma Bougottaya, claimed on Friday night that the suspects had illegally gained access to information concerning state institutions and allegedly shared it with someone with no legitimate reason to have it, which amounts to an abuse of power. She did not elaborate.The travel bans were issued on orders of Justice Minister Leila Jaffel, the court spokeswoman told Radio Mosaique.Ghannouchi, who also headed Tunisia’s parliament — which was suspended then dissolved by Tunisian President Kais Saied — said in a statement that the “so-called secret apparatus is pre-fabricated” and represents a “falsification of facts.” He denounced “a deliberate operation” by authorities “with a goal of distracting the public from true problems” like the political and economic crisis and social problems in the North African country.He denounced “continued pressure exercised by President Saied” on the judiciary, which he has ordered to hunt out corruption.Ghannouchi, an adamant adversary of the president, has denounced the exceptional and controversial measures taken by Saied last July 25 as a “coup d’etat,” claiming the goal was to restore a dictatorship in Tunisia.Saied conferred on himself sweeping powers. Besides dissolving parliament, Saied fired the prime minister and gave himself the power to rule by decree — measures the president claimed were needed to “save the country from imminent peril” and fight widespread corruption.Under pressure from Tunisia’s allies, who are concerned about democratic backsliding in Tunisia, Saied has laid out a roadmap that foresees organizing a referendum on July 25 on political reforms to amend the constitution, then holding a parliamentary election on Dec. 17.Read more:Thousands in Tunisia protest against president, demand democratic returnTunisian president Kais Saied’s backers rally to demand clampdown on oppositionTunisia denies report of former PM Jebali's arrest
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Tunisian court bans travel for Ennahda party chief, 33 others

Iran’s state maritime body said on Saturday the crew of two Greek tankers seized by the Revolutionary Guards on Friday have not been detained, were in good health and on board their vessels, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, shortly after Tehran warned it would take “punitive action” against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast.“The crew of the two Greek tankers have not been arrested, and all crew members ... are in good health and are being protected, and provided with necessary services while on board, in accordance with international law,” Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization said in a statement carried by Tasnim.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The two vessels were stopped over unspecified “maritime violations,” the body said.Greece said on Friday an Iranian navy helicopter landed on Greek-flagged vessel Delta Poseidon in international waters, and took the crew hostage. It said a similar incident took place on another Greek-flagged vessel near Iran, without naming the ship. Athens said both actions violated international law.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas off Greece due to European Union sanctions. The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard, Reuters reported on Thursday.The Pegas and its Russian crew were later released, but the seizure inflamed tensions as Iran and world powers seek to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.Separately, Nour News, affiliated to an Iranian state security body, said: “Iran will not remain passive in the face of any threat to its interests, and testing Iran’s will is a strategic error that will entail heavy costs for the United States and its entourage.”Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted: “Our ties must not be hampered by deeply shortsighted miscalculations, including highway robbery on the command of a 3rd party.”In 2019, Iran seized a British tanker near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged violations two weeks after British forces detained an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of shipping oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Both vessels were later released. Read more:Iran shows off underground drone base, but not its location: State mediaGunmen kills policeman in Iran’s southeast: MediaKurdish asylum seekers on hunger strike in Poland
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran says crew of two seized Greek tankers not detained and on board

Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace talks negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Saturday that any agreement with Russia could not be trusted, adding the only way to stop Moscow’s invasion was by force.“Any agreement with Russia isn’t worth a broken penny,” Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Is it possible to negotiate with a country that always lies cynically and propagandistically?”Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other after peace talks stalled, with the last known face-to-face negotiations on March 29.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Kremlin said earlier this month Ukraine was showing no willingness to continue peace talks, while officials in Kyiv blamed Russia for the lack of progress.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the only person worth talking to was Russian President Vladimir Putin, since he made all the decisions.“It doesn’t matter what their foreign minister says. It doesn’t matter that he sends some negotiating group to us... all these people are nobodies, unfortunately,” he told Dutch television in an interview filmed on Friday.Putin says Russian forces are on a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine and rid it of radical anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies call that a false pretext.“Russia has proved that it is a barbarian country that threatens world security,” Podolyak said. “A barbarian can only be stopped by force.”Read more:Russia’s Putin says he’s willing to discuss resuming Ukrainian grain shipmentsSpain adding missiles, troops to NATO Latvia mission: ReportUkraine receives Harpoon missiles and howitzers: Defense minister
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukraine aide says any Moscow deal not worth ‘broken penny’

Kickoff in the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid was delayed by 15 minutes on Saturday amid fan violence outside the Stade de France in Paris.There have been sporadic instances of soccer fans, apparently without tickets, breaking through security and attempting to get into the stadium. The Associated Press saw two fans - one was wearing Liverpool attire - wrestled to the ground by stewards and bundled out of the gates.Another fan evaded stewards and was seen sprinting through the concourse and into the bottom level of the stadium.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Footage on social media showed fans climbing over fences.There were long lines of Liverpool fans still outside the stadium when there was 40 minutes to kickoff.About 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 1900 GMT (9 p.m. local time), an announcement was made that there would be a delay because of the late arrival of fans to the stadium.Read more:UK’s Chelsea football club says final deal struck for sale to Boehly-led consortiumCanada Soccer cancels controversial game against IranNike not renewing franchise agreements in Russia, stores face closure
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Kickoff delayed in Champions League final amid fan violence outside stadium

A senior pro-Russian official in the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson told Reuters on Saturday that nearby fighting could affect the timing of its formal bid to join Russia and a decision was likely “toward next year.”Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson Military-Civilian Administration, also said in a video call that the process might involve a referendum, backtracking on previous comments that none would be needed.Asked about the timetable for joining Russia, he replied: “It won’t happen by autumn. We’re preparing an administrative system and then toward next year we will see what the situation is like.”Stremousov told Russian state media on May 11 that Kherson, just north of Crimea and the only regional capital that Russia has captured in more than three months of fighting in Ukraine, would ask President Vladimir Putin to incorporate it into Russia by the end of 2022. He said at the time: “There will be no referendums.”In his interview with Reuters, however, he said there could be a vote.“We’ll announce later when some kind of vote or plebiscite is planned, but it won’t be today and it won’t be tomorrow because our first task is to restore order in the Kherson region,” he said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies have since March predicted that Moscow would hold a referendum on incorporating Kherson into Russia, as it did after seizing Crimea in 2014.Russia has said that the fate of the Kherson region is for local residents to decide. Ukraine has pledged to expel Russian forces from all the land they have seized.A small-time local politician and anti-vaccine video blogger before the arrival of Russian troops, Stremousov, 45, has teamed up with pro-Russian former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Saldo, serving as his deputy in the region’s Russian-appointed government.Both Stremousov and Saldo are wanted for treason by Ukraine.Though Russian troops based in Crimea overran Kherson in the war’s first days, they have failed to advance further, due to a staunch defense of the nearby city of Mykolaiv, 36 miles (58 kilometers) away. The frontline in the area has been largely static since March.Speaking over a video call from his office in the Kherson administration building, a portrait of Putin behind him and flanked by a furled Russian tricolor, Stremousov blamed the failure to capture Mykolaiv for Kherson’s failure to join Russia.“As soon as we’re free of the Mykolaiv group (of Ukrainian forces), who are constantly shelling Kherson city, when we take Mykolaiv region and our colleagues and citizens in Mykolaiv and Odesa regions are liberated, it will be much easier to make some decisions.”But regardless of the military situation, Kherson’s de facto incorporation into Russia continues apace.On Wednesday, Putin signed a decree allowing for residents of Kherson and the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region to acquire fast-track Russian citizenship.Russian banks and mobile operators have announced plans to begin operations in the region, where Ukrainian television channels have been replaced by Russian state media broadcasts.On May 6, Andrei Turchak, head of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, said on a visit to Kherson that Russia would remain in the region “forever.”The local pro-Russian administration has promised that Kherson will move to the Russian ruble, after a transition period in which both the ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia will be accepted.Stremousov said: “With time, we will completely abandon the dollar, completely abandon the hryvnia’s dependence on the dollar and move to the ruble system, as they did in Crimea.” Read more:Ukraine aide says any Moscow deal not worth ‘broken penny’Putin says he is ready to deliver gas, discuss prisoner swap: AustriaUkraine’s Moscow-backed Orthodox church says cuts ties with Russia
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Pro-Moscow Kherson official sees decision ‘toward next year’ on joining Russia

The nation's manufacturing industry contributed around QR57 billion to the GDP in 2021..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar expands manufacturing sector with dozens of new factories

In December 2021, officials from Qatar and the United Kingdom met to discuss collaborative security for the FIFA World Cup 2022..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Anti-terror policing to be provided by British army at World Cup 2022

The 15 edition of Milipol Qatar is scheduled to take place on October 29, 2024..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Milipol Qatar breaks record with 3 million in deals

A new study found that blood vessels are built differently depending on which organs they supply and their roles in the system.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Lymphatic blood vessels are tailored to specific functions - study

Revelation of past secret trips by Israeli officials to Saudi Arabia comes amid reports that the US is working on normalizing relations between the countries.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israeli-Saudi relations: Top Israeli officials secretly visited Saudi Arabia