Middle East Experience

Analysts believe the Gulf state’s possible role in securing the release of the journalist can be a challenge, given its staunch refusal to normalise with the Bashar Al Assad regime. The mother of American journalist, Austin Tice, who has been held hostage in Syria since 2012, hopes that Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Mother of US journalist detained in Syria seeks Qatar's help

The deputy head of Sudan’s military-led Sovereign Council said on Saturday a UN envoy should be working as a “facilitator and not a mediator,” signaling an apparent tougher line towards international efforts to resolve a political crisis.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.A United Nations mission led by special envoy Volker Perthes began talks this month to help resolve the standoff which followed a coup last year. Previously, the Sovereign Council has welcomed the UN initiative, and Perthes has said the army had no objections to his presence.“The head of the United Nations’ Integrated Transition Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) should be a facilitator and not a mediator,” the Council’s deputy head, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said in a statement.The Council was not shunning the international community but “rejects interference in domestic affairs,” he said.Dagalo’s statement did not explain what had prompted his comment. Perthes and the Council could not immediately be reached for comment.A Sovereign Council committee investigating protester deaths said on Saturday it had collected testimony from witnesses in an anti-coup protest on Jan. 17 in which seven people were killed.Read more: Tear gas fired as Sudan anti-coup demonstrators keep up protestsSaudi Arabia, UAE, UK, US back UN call for Sudan talks to end post-coup crisisSudan PM’s decision to resign throws country further into the abyss
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Sudan army-led Council signals tougher line on UN mediation

Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday on the first such visit, his office said, seeking to strengthen Gulf ties at a time of heightened regional tension as world powers try to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel, dubbed the “Abraham Accords,” in 2020. The two Gulf states and Israel share common concerns about Iran and its allied forces in the region.En route to the UAE President Herzog’s plane flew over Saudi Arabia, which he said was “truly a very moving moment.” Riyadh and Israel do not have diplomatic ties, but Israel has said it would like to establish a relationship with the Kingdom which is home to Islam’s two holiest sites.The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial post. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited the UAE in December.The president was greeted on arrival in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi by Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.He was then received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan at the al-Watan presidential palace alongside UAE ministers and officials, UAE state news agency WAM said.“I wish [Sheikh Mohammed] well and I am grateful for his courage and bold leadership, carving out a peace agreement with Israel and sending a message to the entire region that peace is the only alternative for the peoples of the region,” Herzog said earlier.President Herzog will also meet Jewish communities in the UAE, which is the region’s commercial and tourism hub.Israel on Jan. 18 offered security and intelligence support to the UAE against further drone attacks after a deadly strike by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, according to a letter released on Tuesday by Israel’s leader.Read more:Israel’s president to make first-ever state visit to UAEIsrael says it hopes for ties with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, but no deals imminentUS envoy Satterfield to visit 5 countries, including UAE and Israel, for Sudan talks
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israeli President Herzog arrives in the UAE for first visit: Spokesman

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the “need to accelerate” efforts to achieve progress in the Iranian nuclear talks, during a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, aides said on Sunday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Macron’s call with Raisi on Saturday came a day after the EU mediator said the latest negotiating round in Vienna had been put on pause while calling for “political decisions” to break the deadlock.Diplomats have been meeting in the Austrian capital in the search for a breakthrough to revive the 2015 deal involving Iran, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.“The president of the republic has reiterated his conviction that a diplomatic solution is possible and imperative and stressed that any agreement will require clear and sufficient commitment from all the parties,” the French presidency declared in a statement.“Several months after negotiations resumed in Vienna, (Macron) insisted on the need to accelerate in order to quickly achieve tangible progress in this context,” the French presidency said.During a “long exchange” with his Iranian counterpart, Macron stressed “the need for Iran to show a constructive approach and return to the complete application of its obligations.”Read more: Iran says decision time for US in nuclear talksChief negotiators head home as Iran talks hit critical stageUS envoy Malley meets with Saudi diplomat to discuss Iran nuclear deal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Macron urges need to ‘accelerate’ nuclear talks, in call with Iran leader

Saudi Arabia has recorded 3,669 COVID-19 cases and three virus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The latest figures bring the Kingdom’s total death toll to 8,936, and total case count to 683,053.There were also 4,375 recoveries in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 635,191.Saudi Arabia has now administered 56,825,141 vaccine doses to its population of around 35 million.Daily case numbers reached a peak on January 19, when 5,928 were recorded.Cases soared amid global reports of the highly-transmissible omicron variant spreading, but numbers have fallen in recent weeks.Read more: Saudi Arabia reports further drop in daily COVID-19 cases with 3,913 new infectionsCOVID-19 cases plateauing in parts of India but omicron still surgesUAE reports 2,545 COVID-19 cases, two new deaths in 24 hours
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia records 3,669 COVID-19 cases, three deaths in 24 hours

A spokesperson from the flag carrier told Doha News that it is working to put “the most rigorous fatigue risk management programme in place.” Some pilots at Qatar Airways have complained of long working hours and exhaustion due to staff shortages according to a recent report by Reuters. The pilots say that airline management have ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: 'Overworked and fatigued,' Qatar Airways pilots complain of long working hours

Lebanon’s foreign minister headed to Kuwait Saturday to deliver answers to a list of policy suggestions made to the country by Arab Gulf nations in an attempt to a crisis in relations between both sides..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanese FM's remarks spark scepticism as he heads to Kuwait to discuss crisis

Qatari officials had raised concerns over the official’s behaviour last year and asked the football agency to stop sending him to the country. FIFA has come under fire after a former woman employee revealed to the New York Times (NYT) that she had been sexually harassed by Miguel Macedo, Portuguese head of the FIFA Legends ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Woman breaks silence on harassment by FIFA official

Nearly 1,500 children recruited by Houthi rebels died in fighting against the government in 2020..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hundreds of Houthi rebel child soldiers dead in Yemen war – UN

US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, whipped up a storm of criticism on social media after he welcomed news that some Iranian women were allowed to attend a football match in Iran, with users accusing him of “parroting Iranian propaganda.”Iran, whose theocratic rulers have long been opposed to women attending men’s football matches, allocated 2,000 out of 10,000 tickets to women for Thursday’s match, according to state media.Iranian women have been banned from stadiums hosting men’s football matches since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Iran became the first Asian team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Thursday after defeating Iraq 1-0 in Tehran.Malley congratulated the Iranian team for their qualification on Twitter on Friday. “It’s good to see women were allowed to attend the match,” he added in the same tweet, prompting an outcry on social media, mostly from Iranians.Critics argued that the matter did not warrant a positive response from Malley given that Iran had only allowed a select number of women to attend the match under pressure from world football’s governing body FIFA. Rather than signifying a positive shift in Iran’s policy on the issue, permitting a limited number of women to attend the match was merely a propagandist effort to “appease” FIFA, they argued. They further argued that Malley’s tweet played into the supposed Iranian propaganda. Women spectators at the match were hand-picked and “most of them were from the families of officials or women football and futsal players,” Radio Farda, the Persian-language broadcaster at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported. FIFA ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women access to stadiums without any restrictions. The FIFA directive came after a young Iranian woman named Sahar Khodayari – dubbed “Blue Girl” for the colours of her favourite team, Esteghlal FC – died after setting herself on fire outside a court where she feared being jailed for trying to attend a match disguised as a man. Malley’s tweet drew condemnation from scores of Iranians – including activists and journalists – on Twitter. “Please don’t parrot Islamic Republic propaganda @USEnvoyIran,” Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinjead wrote in response to Malley. “To fool/appease FIFA, [the] regime selected a tiny group of women - 2% of the stadium - & took photos/videos to deceive the international media. Don’t praise gender apartheid. The stadium was not open to all women.” Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, described Malley’s tweet as “problematic.”“While I appreciate the outreach, this is a problematic tweet. Iran only allowed a certain number of women to “freely” enter the stadium—and that was only to appease FIFA,” she wrote on Twitter. Malley told Al Arabiya English in a statement: “Iranian women, like all women, should have every right to cheer their national team. I am glad that FIFA has taken a strong stand on the issue and that this qualifying match marked some movement in the right direction.”“I remember the tragic death of Sahar Khodayari a few years ago,” Malley said, referring to “Blue Girl.” “The government should give every fan an opportunity to attend these events. This isn’t about soccer or even politics, but about basic equality.” Iranian dissidents and activists accuse Malley of being overly lenient with the Iranian regime and inattentive to its human rights abuses. When Malley was appointed as the Biden administration’s Iran envoy in January 2021, they expressed concern that he would overlook domestic repression in Iran in order to reive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Malley was a key member of former President Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping sanctions on Tehran.A US delegation headed by Malley has been participating in indirect talks with Iran in Vienna aimed at restoring the 2015 deal since last April. Three members of the US negotiating team – including Richard Nephew, who served as Malley’s deputy – have left the team after calling for a tougher approach in the talks with Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the negotiations. Silence from Iran Iran, for its part, did not react to Malley’s tweet, and its media overlooked the gesture entirely. “It doesn’t surprise me that [Iranian] official media has been muted in its reaction to the tweet. Rapprochement between Washington and Tehran is just not on the menu for the current Iranian establishment,” Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Al Arabiya English.“In general, it would be more helpful for the US State Department to be consistently speaking out against human rights abuses inside Iran rather than occasional tweets coupled with attempts at engagement with a regime that is just not interested in the overtures,” said Brodsky.Read more:Iran nuclear talks paused, ‘political decisions’ neededQatar diplomat visits Iran as Tehran and Washington consider direct nuclear talksIran nuclear agreement unlikely without release of US prisoners: Malley
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US Iran envoy criticized for ‘parroting Iranian propaganda’ about women in stadiums