Middle East Experience

Leak also found the telecoms giant had put its contractors at risk and allowed them to be kidnapped by the militants..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Revealed: leaked files show how Ericsson allegedly helped bribe Islamic State

Talks between Ukraine and Russia have started at the Belarussian border, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters via text message on Monday.Earlier the Ukrainian president’s office said Ukraine’s goal for the talks was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it would not declare its official position ahead of talks with the Ukrainian delegation as Moscow’s assault against Ukraine went into a fifth day.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“I suggest we wait for the talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “I would not declare any negotiating positions and so on.”Read more:Russian army says Ukraine civilians can ‘freely’ leave KyivUkraine says Russian troops ‘reduced pace of offensive’EU chief says bloc wants Ukraine as member
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Talks between Ukraine and Russia have started, says Ukraine presidential advisor

The State Department announced Monday that it was suspending operations at the US Embassy in Minsk, Belarus and authorizing departure for non-emergency employees and family members at the Embassy in Moscow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The latest move comes after the US Embassy in Russia called on Americans to leave “immediately” due to airlines canceling flights into and out of Russia and several countries banning Russian airlines from using their airspace.“US citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available,” the Embassy warned in a statement on Sunday.The United States already closed its embassy in Kyiv as Russia prepared the invasion and has been calling for weeks for American citizens in Ukraine to get out.A small team of US diplomats is handling embassy affairs from the western city Lviv, near the border with Poland.In mid-February the US State Department also urged Americans in Belarus to leave that country.The US embassies in the Belarus capital Minsk and Moscow were already operating at a reduced level because of tit for tit diplomat expulsions going back several years.Read more: US sanctions Russia’s Putin, Lavrov and other top officials after Ukraine invasion- With AFP
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US authorizes leave for staff at embassy in Russia, suspends operations in Minsk

Russia's defence ministry on Monday said its nuclear missile forces and Northern and Pacific fleets had been placed on enhanced combat duty, the Interfax news agency reported, in line with an order the previous day from President Vladimir Putin.Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that “shifts on duty at the command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, and the Long-Range Aviation Command began to carry out combat duty with reinforced personnel,” Interfax quoted the ministry as saying.Putin on Sunday ordered his military command to put Russia's deterrence forces - which include nuclear arms - on high alert, citing what he called aggressive statements by NATO leaders and Western economic sanctions against Moscow.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The move drew condemnation in the West, with the United States describing it as an escalation. A senior US defense official said it was “putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous.”It came as Russian forces ran into tough Ukrainian resistance after invading Ukraine last week in what Putin has described as a special military operation to demilitarise the country.Putin has justified the invasion by saying “neo-Nazis” rule Ukraine and threaten Russia's security - a charge Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.Read more:US companies, individuals banned from dealing with Russia Central Bank, othersEU plans to grant Ukrainians right to stay for up to three yearsUS authorizes leave for staff at embassy in Russia, suspends operations in Minsk
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russian strategic missile forces placed on high alert after Putin order

The Biden administration issued sweeping orders Monday, banning American companies and individuals from doing business with Russia’s Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Russian National Wealth Fund.The sanctions announced were to make sure the Russian economy “goes backward if President Putin decides to continue to go forward with invasion in Ukraine,” a senior US official told reporters early Monday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We have the tools to continue to do that,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.Asked if all assets of Russia’s sanctioned entities were frozen as a result of the latest actions, the official said: “If a US financial institution has Russian Central Bank assets, they can’t do anything with them. They are stuck in that institution.”But Russia’s assets are diversified, including in Euros, Yen, and Pound (Sterling). “And because of the work that we’ve done in coordinating [with allies], it means that those assets are also immobilized and unavailable for their use,” the official added.A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the announcement was made early Monday “because we wanted to put these actions in place before our markets open.”The official cited Russia trying to move assets before markets opened. “Russia is taking unprecedented actions to try and support their economy.”“In addition, as directed by President Biden last week, OFAC sanctioned a key Russian sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), with exposure to the United States financial system and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kirill Dmitriev – a known Putin ally,” the Treasury Department said.As the situation continues to deteriorate in Ukraine and violence escalates, the US also suspended operations at its embassy in Minsk, Belarus and authored departure for non-emergency employees and family members at the embassy in Moscow.“We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US companies, individuals banned from dealing with Russia Central Bank, others

Through the establishment of this university, Qatar aims to witness an influx of specialists and experts in the fields of science and technology..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar's Amir signs the establishment of Doha University for Science and Technology

Zwanziger was not the only high-level FIFA official that was the target of Qatar-funded spying..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar hired ex-spies to change views of German football chief's views on World Cup

Anwar Gargash said Sunday that his country's position is to encourage diplomacy and the pursuit of..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE says its priority in Ukraine crisis is diplomacy, not alignment

On 28 February 1922, Britain recognised Egypt as an independent sovereign state with the exception of four ‘reserved’ areas..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence – archive, 28 February 1922

At least 11 people were killed on Monday in rocket strikes by Russian forces on residential districts of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the head of the regional administration Oleg Synegubov said.The northeastern city, Ukraine's second largest, has become one of the major battlegrounds since Russia invaded Ukraine last week in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.Synegubov said Russian forces were firing artillery at residential areas of Kharkiv where there are no Ukrainian army positions or strategic infrastructure.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“This is happening in the daytime, when people have gone out to the pharmacy, for groceries, or for drinking water. It's a crime,” he said.Eleven people were killed on Monday and dozens wounded, he said.It was not immediately possible to independently verify the casualty figures. Earlier Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said Russian rocket strikes on Kharkiv on Monday had killed dozens of people.Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.On Sunday, Ukraine's health ministry said 352 civilians, including 14 children, had been killed since the beginning of the invasion.Read more:Russian strategic missile forces placed on high alert after Putin orderEU plans to grant Ukrainians right to stay for up to three yearsUS authorizes leave for staff at embassy in Russia, suspends operations in Minsk
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russian rocket strikes kill 11 in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, says regional official