Middle East Experience

Saudi Arabia saw a slight increase in the number of daily new COVID-19 cases after 4,838 new infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section. Two COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, raising the death toll to 8,922 as of January 24.Meanwhile, 6,296 people who had previously tested positive for the virus recovered, raising the recovery total to 606,130. A combined 657,192 infections have been reported in the Kingdom since the pandemic first started.Despite Monday's cases being higher than the 4,535 reported on Sunday, Saudi Arabia has seen a decrease in daily infections after they reached nearly 6,000 in a single twenty-four hour period earlier this month.Read more: Saudi Arabia marks further drop in daily COVID-19 infections with 4,608 new cases‘Wuhan, I Am Here’: Film follows volunteers in Chinese sealed city due to COVID-19US to suspend 44 China-bound flights in response to restriction on American carriers
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia sees slight increase with 4,838 new COVID-19 cases

Syrian and Russian military jets jointly patrolled the airspace along Syria’s borders on Monday and plan to make such flights regular, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s defense ministry as saying.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The path of the group, which includes fighter, fighter-bomber and early warning and control aircraft, included the Golan Heights, the armistice line with Israel that has seen regular Israeli air strikes against suspected Iranian and Hezbollah positions.Russian forces have been present in Syria since 2015 when they helped turn the tide in a civil war in favor of President Bashar al-Assad.This month, witnesses and rebel sources said Russian jets have bombed areas near the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, the last opposition-held bastion.Read more: UAE forces destroy Houthi launch site that targeted Abu Dhabi: Defense ministryISIS-Kurds battle after Syria prison attack kills over 120 in four days: MonitorSyrian army carries out controlled explosion in Damascus
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Syria, Russia start joint air force patrols over Syrian territory

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri is expected to announce on Monday he will not run in a May election that his movement may boycott, party members said; a potential political earthquake during a national financial collapse.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Hariri has served as prime minister three times since inheriting the political mantle of his father, Rafik al-Hariri, after his assassination in 2005. But while he remains the leading Sunni, his political fortunes have waned in recent years, with his position weakened by the loss of Saudi support.Hariri has been holding meetings with his Future Movement and senior Lebanese politicians since Thursday, and is due to make an announcement at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT).Hariri’s announcement comes as Lebanon suffers an economic meltdown, which the World Bank has described as one of the sharpest ever globally. The sectarian elite has failed to take steps to address the crisis, even as the bulk of the population has fallen into poverty.Future Movement legislator Mohamad Hajjar told Reuters: “It is most likely that Prime Minister Hariri will not participate, and the Future Movement will not participate either, but the final word is what Prime Minister Saad Hariri will say.”“If this is the decision, then the exit will be from parliament and power, and not from political life.”Lebanon is governed by a sectarian power-sharing system that distributes state positions among 18 officially recognized sects, with the post of prime minister going to a Sunni.HEZBOLLAH GAINED IN LAST VOTEHariri has not yet publicly given any reasons for a possible boycott, though political sources say he has expressed exasperation at what he has described as the obstruction of his past efforts to govern.Future Movement vice president Mustafa Allouch told Reuters it was “now common knowledge ... that he will not run himself” in the parliamentary election. “However, the rest is still under debate until now,” he said.The heavily armed, Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah and its allies won a majority in the 2018 election, which adversaries hope to overturn in the vote scheduled for May. Western states say the vote should happen on time.Some analysts say a boycott by Lebanon’s largest Sunni movement, which would leave the Sunni political scene in disarray, may lead to calls for a delay.“I expect to hear voices calling for the postponement of the election, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be postponed,” said Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Annahar newspaper.Mohanad Hage Ali, a fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said a boycott by Hariri “pulls (the) rug from under the whole process, and would increase speculation that it might not happen.”Hariri’s last spell as prime minister ended in 2019 when he resigned in response to mass protests against the ruling elite.He traded blame with other leaders over blocks to reforms that could have averted the economic crisis.The early years of Hariri’s career were defined by confrontation with Hezbollah and its allies. But in later years his critics accused him of compromising with the group.Read more: Lebanon must not be platform for hostility: Kuwaiti FMFrance says UAE to join French-Saudi fund to support LebanonIn rare instance, Lebanese government rebukes Hezbollah and its leader
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s Hariri expected to announce election boycott: Party members

Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his intent to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections and his decision to step away from the domestic political scene for the time being.Reading from a prepared statement, a tearful Hariri called on members of his Future Movement political party to follow suit and suspend its participation in politics.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Recalling his slain father, Rafik Hariri, the three-time premier said he had to objectives after entering the political life: prevent another civil war from breaking out in Lebanon and providing a better life for Lebanese.“I succeeded in the first one, but I did not have enough success in the second,” Hariri said from his Downtown Beirut residence.Hariri, who once enjoyed strong ties with the West and the Gulf, saw his image tarnished in recent years after making multiple concessions to Hezbollah and its allies.He cited reaching agreements to end the violence on May 7, 2008, after Hezbollah fighters took over Beirut. He then visited Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after the assassination of his father. Hariri also conceded and endorsed political rival Michel Aoun to become the next president of Lebanon and subsequently agreed to a new electoral law, which saw his party lose significant parliamentary representation.But Hariri defended his decisions and said he was the only one who admitted his wrongdoings.“I was the only one who responded to the October Revolution, and I submitted the resignation of my government,” he said, referring to the nationwide anti-government protests that broke out in October 2019.Hariri’s longtime political ally and Druze politician, Walid Joumblatt, lamented Hariri’s decision. “It is a very sad moment of history to lose a pillar of moderation and independence. It will give the Iranian[s] more of [a] free hand on Lebanon,” he told Al Arabiya English in a message.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s former PM Hariri declares boycotting elections, stepping away from politics

The Qatari airline is one of Airbus’ biggest customers and was even the launch customer of the A350 model..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar Airways releases video of Airbus A350 damage amid-escalating rift

Excluding key Tigrayan and Oromo leaders will undermine the legitimacy of the process and make it harder to achieve peace..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Ethiopia’s National Dialogue Needs to Include Everyone

Yair Lapid and Chinese VP Wang Qishan signed an agreement for cooperation and dialogue between government ministries for the next three years at the China-Israel joint committee meeting.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel and China celebrate 30 years of ties amid US pressure

Arab youth express their hopes and wishes for the New Year, spanning everything from civil and political rights, to education, to arts and culture. By Rafiah Al Talei..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Arab world : Arab youth: Aspirations for the New Year

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the response to the confidence-building measures would be ready before Saturday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon to respond to measures proposed by Kuwait before Saturday

The Syrian Democratic Forces said plans were underway to clear the rest of the detention complex in Hasaka city.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Syrian Kurds say Islamic State militants surrender after prison raid