Middle East Experience

Erdogan's African tour, from February 20 to 23, will move on to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau after his DRC trip..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Erdogan starts African tour with Congo visit

Shimon Hayut – more widely known under the alias of Simon Leviev – insisted that he is not a fraud or a fake in an interview with Inside Edition television show after the viral Netflix documentary ‘The Tinder Swindler’ exposed him for defrauding multiple women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.Leviev, the subject of the documentary, told Inside Edition, that he was “just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder,” denying the fact that he posed as the son of Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“I want to clear my name. I want to say to the world: this is not true,” he said in the interview that aired in the US on Monday. “I’m not this monster that everybody has created.”According to the documentary, he had scammed various women using the same tactic, by developing an emotional connection with them and then asking them to establish lines of credit and loans in their names to ensure that he does not get caught and to carry on living an ultra-luxurious life without the responsibility to pay it back to the banks.When asked about how he still manages to afford a lavish lifestyle, he said that he was a “legit businessman” who made his fortune when he “bought Bitcoin in 2011 when it was nothing. I don’t need to say how much it’s worth now.”Online news media The Times of Israel estimates that Leviev is believed to have stolen around $10 million over the years from scamming numerous women across Europe in a Ponzi scheme.The documentary debuted on Netflix on February 2 and quickly rose to the top 10 most-watched movies of the week on the streaming service in several countries.Leviev was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud in Finland in 2015. In 2019, he was also sentenced to 15 months in prison in Israel and is wanted in several countries for fraud.According to online news media Variety, Leviev also spent five months of a 15-month sentence in an Israeli prison in 2019.He was also charged with theft, forgery and fraud for cashing stolen checks in 2011. It was reported in the documentary that he stole checkbooks belonging to a family which he was babysitting for and while working as a handyman in other peoples’ homes while in Israel. He never showed up to court; instead, he fled the country.Read more:Explainer: Everything you need to know about ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev‘Psychological tactics’ being used to con people out of cash as scams rise globallyModeling agent close to Epstein found dead in French jail
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev denies fraud claims in TV interview

Many Western leaders are shying away from saying Vladimir Putin’s move to recognize two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine amounts to the invasion they’d been warning would likely come, even as the Russian president orders his forces to start deploying to the breakaway areas. In a televised address to the nation early on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Putin’s actions merely “legalized troops” he said were already present in the self-proclaimed republics since a conflict began with breakaway forces in 2014.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Russia has long backed the separatists while refuting claims it arms them or has its own soldiers in the area. It’s unclear how quickly its troops might now go in, and in what number.US President Joe Biden so far has not come out in public to make a statement as he huddled with advisers and consulted allies on the next steps. That’s even as his Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told CNN on Tuesday that “an invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.”At issue is the uncertainty that still surrounds Putin’s intentions from here. He has repeatedly denied his ultimate plan is a full-scale invasion of his neighbor, even as the US and other allies said their intelligence showed a buildup of around 150,000 soldiers and equipment that could enable one, including possible attacks on multiple cities aside from the capital, Kyiv. If troops do now enter the breakaway areas, the unknown is whether they could then push on past the line of contact between the separatists and Ukrainian forces.So while the West has warned that any intervention in Ukraine would prompt severe economic sanctions against Russia, actions so far have centered around limited penalties that would target those who trade and invest in the breakaway areas. Economic activity there has already plummeted since 2014. One notable marker was the decision by the German government on Tuesday to halt the already-delayed certification process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. President Emmanuel Macron asked his government to implement “appropriate and targeted sanctions against Russian interests, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Tuesday, without offering details.In the UK, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News that “you could conclude the invasion of Ukraine has begun with Putin’s actions on Monday.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially seemed more cautious, then later told parliament “the House should be in no doubt that the deployment of these forces in sovereign Ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion of that country.”But while officials in European Union member states were united in their condemnation of Putin’s latest actions, they largely refrained from using the word “invasion so far.” Even the leaders of Baltic states, who have been among Russia’s fiercest critics, are holding off on such language.“It’s not yet the invasion our partners have been talking about,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters on Tuesday. “But it’s a very steep escalation.”In the US, the response varied across the ideological spectrum with some of the more moderate Republican lawmakers immediately drawing the conclusion that what Putin did was an invasion.Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who was a consistent critic of former President Donald Trump, was the most direct and tweeted right out the of the gates: “Russia has invaded Ukraine.” US Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said in a statement “Russia invading Ukraine violates every international norm.”Democrats were careful in their choice of words. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came out to say “President Putin in a rambling, grievance-fueled speech today has made clear he intends to further invade Ukraine in a blatant effort to redraw the borders of Eastern Europe according to the whims of Moscow. Indeed, the term “further” seems to be the key, the idea being that Russia has simply made official what Ukraine has long called the reality on the ground.”Read more:Russia has posted up to 190,000 personnel ‘in and near Ukraine’: US diplomatPutin says he does not plan to ‘restore empire’US welcomes Germany’s response to Russia, suspension of Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Is it a Russian ‘invasion’? Ukraine, West say not yet but warn invasion is likely

Displaced Iraqi girls stuck in camps are getting a taste of independence by running, hiking and kickboxing, thanks to a programme teaching them about sport and confidence..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: ‘I feel free when I run’: the young women enjoying a sense of freedom in Iraq

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz voiced pride in the Kingdom’s history as the country celebrated its first ever ‘Founding Day’ on Tuesday.King Salman said that the “blessed state” of Saudi Arabia has laid the pillars of peace, stability and justice ever since it was founded in 1727.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Celebrating [Founding Day] is a celebration of the history of the state, the unity of its people, the steadfastness against challenges and [aspiration] to the future,” the King said on Twitter.Announced on January 27, ‘Founding Day’ marks three centuries since the first Saudi state was established by Imam Muhammed bin Saud in 1727 in the city of Diriyah, to the northwest of Riyadh.Around 200 years later, his descendant King Abdulaziz unified the kingdom of Najd, cantered around Diriyah, and the eastern kingdom of Hejaz, to form the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.This unification was made into a holiday by King Abdullah in 2005 and is now recognized as Saudi National Day on September 23.Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed congratulated King Salman and the Saudis on the occasion.“It is a rich and honourable history. May God perpetuate the Kingdom’s prosperity,” Sheikh Mohamed said on Twitter.Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan also congratulated the King, state news agency (SPA) reported.Read more:Saudi Arabia announces first baby born on first anniversary of ‘Founding Day’Laying the foundation for Founding DayFrench couple travel through Saudi Arabia as part of world hitchhiking tour
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman voices pride in Kingdom’s history on ‘Founding Day’

Bahaa Hariri described the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, calling it part of the country’s “failed past.”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Bahaa Hariri joins political fray ahead of upcoming Lebanon elections

Russia’s parliament approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to use military force outside the country, formalizing the deployment of Russian troops to separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.Deputy defence minister Nikolay Pankov told a session of the Upper House chamber: “Negotiations have stalled. The Ukrainian leadership has taken the path of violence and bloodshed.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The number of troops, their area of operation, tasks and periods of stay outside Russia are to be determined by Putin, TASS reported.This comes a day after he recognized their independence, in a move that further heightened international fears that Russia will invade Ukraine at any moment and provoked the US and the European Union to start implementing sanctions against Moscow.European leaders said Russian troops began moving into eastern Ukraine and Washington labelled Moscow’s actions as an “invasion.”“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser. He said “latest” was important. “An invasion is an invasion and that is what is under way.”Currently, over 150,000 Russian troops have surrounded Ukraine from three sides.Read more:White House calls Russian moves on Ukraine an invasionUS announces sanctions as Russia’s Putin recognizes Moscow-backed regions in UkrainePutin orders Russian military to ‘maintain peace’ in Ukraine separatist regions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Parliament grants Putin request to use Russia’s military to back Ukraine separatists

The latest military drills aim “to exchange martial and field experience as well as prepare for any joint operations.”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Egypt, France kick off joint naval, air drills in Mediterranean

The decision by Germany to temporarily suspend the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Europe is a “pretty big deal,” and it will be a permanent move, according to a US official.“This [pipeline] has been killed for good; this is a pretty big deal,” the official, not speaking for attribution, told Al Arabiya English.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin had taken steps to halt the gas pipeline, which is still not operable. These steps include a needed approval that says Nord Stream 2 is in compliance with European regulations for fair competition.The move comes after the West slammed Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for unilaterally recognizing two Moscow-backed rebel regions in Ukraine on Monday.US President Joe Biden announced sanctions that prohibit any new investment, trade, and financing by Americans to these areas and more sanctions are expected later Tuesday.The underwater pipeline from Russia to Germany would provide gas to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.It’s an invasionShortly after Russian troops, so-called peacekeepers, entered eastern Ukraine on Monday, US officials were hesitant about dubbing it an invasion.Asked about reports of Russian forces entering the Donbass and the possibility of this triggering more sanctions, a senior Biden administration official said that would not be “a new step.”“I want to take a step back and point out something that may be lost on people who have not been paying attention to this conflict throughout most of the last eight years, which is that Russia has occupied these regions since 2014,” the official said.But on Tuesday, Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, said it was an invasion. “We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” he said in televised remarks. “An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is under way.”Read more: US welcomes Germany’s response to Russia, suspension of Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been killed ‘for good’: US official

The combined collection of records will number at 5.8 million, expanding the database of Jewish geneology.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: JewishGen to add millions of Jewish records to MyHeritage