Middle East Experience

The German government, working to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, discussed energy supplies with Qatar this week, the federal chancellery’s state secretary said on Saturday.“We discussed bilateral cooperation particularly in energy and corporate investments,” Joerg Kukies said on Twitter, adding he talked to Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who also heads the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, on Wednesday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Germany is to close its last nuclear power plants this year and plans to build its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal within two years.Qatar is one of the countries that recently have been approached by the United States to reroute gas supplies to Europe. The country has said it could divert probably 10 to 15 percent of its LNG shipping volumes. It plans to raise LNG production capacity to 126 million ton a year by 2027 from 77 million ton at present.The European Commission is working on plans to phase out the EU’s dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal in five years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its head Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung he planned to make Germany independent of Russian coal and oil in less than a year.“Every day, in fact every hour, we say goodbye to Russian imports to a certain extent,” Habeck told the weekly. “If it works, we will be independent of Russian coal in the autumn and almost independent of oil from Russia by the end of the year.”He said gas was more complicated as Germany does not yet have capacity to import LNG and reiterated an immediate embargo on supplies could cause bottlenecks next winter, an economic slump and high inflation.Read more:US seizing tankers has failed to stop Iran’s oil exports: Oil ministerAramco boosts oil ties with China as world frets over supplyRussian gas flows on key pipelines to Europe remain steady
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Germany discussed energy cooperation with Qatar to reduce Russian dependence

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry announced on Saturday the execution of 81 convicts on charges of working with ISIS and al-Qaeda and committing crimes such as murder and rape, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.The death penalty was handed down to Saudi nationals and foreigners, mostly Yemenis, who have been convicted of crimes such as targeting places of worship and governmental institutions, murder of security officers, planting mines, abduction, torture, rape and armed robberies.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The crimes also include smuggling weapons into the Kingdom for the purpose of destabilizing the country and inciting strife and chaos as well as implementing the schemes of the “terrorist” ISIS, al-Qaeda and the Iran-backed Houthi groups and other terrorist organizations that are hostile to the Kingdom.The criminals were convicted after trials at the relevant court, the ministry said, adding that the death sentence verdicts have been approved by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court and a royal order was issued to carry them out accordingly.The executions were carried out on Saturday.Among those convicted are a Yemeni man who worked with ISIS and killed a security officer and two Saudi men who also worked with ISIS and killed two security officers and planned to target citizens and foreigners in the Kingdom.Three Yemenis were convicted of murdering two security officers, forming a “terrorist” group affiliated with the Houthis, planting landmines and smuggling weapons.A Saudi man was convicted of several crimes which include kidnapping, torturing and killing a security officer and forming “terrorist” cells which receive orders from “terror” groups outside the Kingdom.Two Saudi men were found guilty of murdering their mother and of the attempted murder of their father and brother.Several other Saudi men and a Syrian man were convicted of various crimes such as forming “terrorist cells,” having ties to ISIS and other “terrorist” groups and shooting at security officers and police stations.Three Yemeni men and a Saudi man were found guilty of communicating with a foreign party that’s hostile to the Kingdom for the purpose of supplying it with coordinates of governmental buildings in order to target them and of smuggling weapons and hand grenades.Read more:US condemns Iran-backed Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airportIsraeli leader talks to Biden about ISIS, IranUAE intercepts, destroys three drones targeting the country: Defense Ministry
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi interior ministry announces number of executions of ISIS, al-Qaeda members 

Red Cross urges continued aid for the Middle East’s poorest nation as the war in Ukraine grabs the world’s attention..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: War in Ukraine risks to overshadow dire situation in Yemen

Moscow has denied targeting civilian areas in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Around 1,300 Ukrainian troops killed since start of Russian invasion

The Arab Coalition has conducted 21 targeted strikes in Yemen’s Hajjah and Marib to deter the Iran-backed Houthi militia, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.The targeted strikes resulted in the destruction of 15 “military vehicles,” according to SPA, and caused casualties among the Houthis.No fatalities were reported by SPA.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Saudi Arabia has been regularly targeted by the Iran-backed Houthis who have launched several drones and booby-trapped boats toward the Kingdom.In January, the Houthis launched unprecedented attacks on the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Arab Coalition fighting the militia in Yemen.The drone attacks targeted oil facilities and Abu Dhabi’s airport, killing three expatriate workers and injuring several more.More recently, Saudi Arabia’s defense forces intercepted a drone launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia towards the southern city of Jizan, according to a SPA report.Shrapnel from the destroyed drone fell onto civilian areas, but did not cause damage.The Arab Coalition has been carrying out attacks against legitimate military Houthi targets in Yemen in recent months, warning civilians to not approach or gather around the targeted sites beforehand.The coalition also stressed that the operations will be conducted in line with international humanitarian law.Read more:Fire under control at Riyadh oil refinery struck by drone, no deaths reportedSaudi defenses intercept Houthi drone aimed at JizanDoctors Without Borders workers kidnapped in Yemen: Sources
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab Coalition conducts 21 targeted strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis

Local TV stations said the move was precautionary as auditors look into transfers by the banks worth $5 billion..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon bans directors of five largest banks from travel

It seems Putin does not believe in his own army and resorts to using "execution squads" to prevent Russian soldiers from deserting.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Russia may be using Commissar 'execution squads' again - report

The commission’s goal is to “emphasize the unity of the Palestinian people in all their political, national and geographical locations,” according to the committee.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Gaza factions form body to ‘support’ Israeli Arabs

The long-awaited “Athar of the penal and correctional institution inmates” exhibition has opened in Katara Cultural Village in cooperation with Seashore Group..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Made in prison: Katara exhibition features artwork by inmates in Qatar

The State Department says it’s paying more than $2 million per month to provide 24-hour security to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a former top aide, both of whom face “serious and credible” threats from Iran.The department told Congress in a report that the cost of protecting Pompeo and former Iran envoy Brian Hook between August 2021 and February 2022 amounted to $13.1 million. The report, dated February 14 and marked “sensitive but unclassified,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.Pompeo and Hook led the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and the report says US intelligence assesses that the threats to them have remained constant since they left government and could intensify. The threats have persisted even as President Joe Biden’s administration has been engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran over a US return to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.As a former secretary of state, Pompeo was automatically given 180 days of protection by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security after leaving office. But that protection has been repeatedly extended in 60-day increments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department,” the report said.Hook, who along with Pompeo was often the public face of the Trump administration’s imposition of crippling sanctions against Iran, was granted the special protection by Blinken for the same reason as Pompeo immediately after he left government service. That has also been repeatedly renewed in 60-day increments.The latest 60-day extensions will expire soon and the State Department, in conjunction with the Director of National Intelligence, must determine by March 16 if the protection should be extended again, according to the report.The report was prepared because the special protection budget will run out in June and require a new infusion of money if extensions are deemed necessary.Current US officials say the threats have been discusses in the nuclear talks in Vienna, where Iran is demanding the removal of all Trump-era sanctions. Those sanctions include a “foreign terrorist organization” designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Pompeo and Hook were instrumental in approving.The Vienna talks had been expected to produce an agreement soon to salvage the nuclear agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew the US from in 2018.But the talks have been thrown into doubt because of new demands made by Russia and a small number of unresolved US-Iran issues, including the terrorism designation, according to US officials.Read more:Arab Coalition conducts 21 targeted strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed HouthisUS seizing tankers has failed to stop Iran’s oil exports: Oil ministerRussia promised to respond in few days on Iran guarantees: EU senior official
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US pays million every month to protect Pompeo, aide from Iran threat