Middle East Experience

President Joe Biden will transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris during the “brief” time Friday he is under anesthesia for a colonoscopy as part of a regular health check, the White House said.“President Biden will transfer power to the vice president for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia. The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Biden will undergo his first annual physical exam as head of state Friday, the eve of his 79th birthday.“Later this morning, the president will travel to Walter Reed Medical Center for his routine annual physical,” Psaki said.Any details on Biden’s health are sure to be closely watched, given speculation on whether he will stand by his stated intention to seek a second term in 2024.The oldest US president in history, Biden pledged before his election a year ago to be “totally transparent” with voters about all aspects of his health.The White House also said earlier this year that the results of Biden’s eventual checkup would be made public.In a letter released by his election campaign in December 2019, Biden’s physician had described him as “a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”Biden does not smoke or drink, and prior to his election worked out at least five days per week, according to the letter.He was vaccinated early on against COVID-19, and received a booster shot in September.Read more: US President Biden ‘doing fine’ after stumbling up Air Force One: White HouseBiden says he will receive COVID-19 vaccine booster shot: ReportsUS VP Kamala Harris gets COVID-19 booster shot
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Biden to transfer power to VP Harris while under anesthesia for colonoscopy

It is imperative that Colombia's Congress makes the issue of defenders a permanent part of its agenda..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Only a robust and coordinated state response in Colombia will resolve the situation of grave risk faced by human rights defenders

The top US defense official will make “very clear” that Washington remains committed to the Middle East and its strategic partnership with countries in the region, the Pentagon said.Speaking ahead of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s trip to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, a senior defense official told reporters that ties with Middle East countries were more than a US force presence.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“This is a strategic partnership, and it is more than a US force presence… US commitment is more than posture,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.Austin will highlight that the US still has “tens of thousands” of forces on many bases across the region, including Bahrain.“More broadly, he will talk about our efforts to keep US forces in Iraq and Syria where ISIS no longer holds territory but is not defeated. Our resolve to maintain forces there is part of our mission to help them fight ISIS,” the official said.The US defense secretary is also planning to lay out the different threats that the US and regional countries share in common.IranThis includes the use of drones by Iran and Tehran’s malign activities at sea. “He [Austin] will call for more cooperation, more sharing of defense, more engagement on a multilateral level to challenge and address… the challenges of the 21st century,” the official said.There will not be any new agreements on specific mechanisms to deal with Iran or confront its malign activity, but confronting Iran is more than pushing back on Iranian force, the official said.“It requires whole of government partnerships in the Middle East.”Citing multiple US officials currently in the region to consult on Iran, the senior defense official said “there is an intense desire to discuss Iran and other issues.”IraqWashington has no plans to leave Iraq, and its commitment to remain in the country was based on an agreement that troops would advise and assist Iraqi troops.The combat troops would no longer be present in Iraq by the end of the year, and “we are on track being faithful to that commitment and will adhere to it.”However, the official said, Iraqis still require support from the US and advice on how to counter ISIS and no changes or requests have been made.“Now, I think there are certain spoilers and adversaries who are going to exploit this and attempt to make it something different,” the official said about Iran-backed militias.“The US forces are there to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces; they will not be there for a combat role. It means that US forces are still going to be there next year. This is an evolution in mission,” the official said.LebanonThe official praised the Lebanese Armed Forces for continuing to carry out their duties “despite the unbelievable pressure of the situation there.”“They are under extreme distress, unable to provide for families, yet still going to work and providing humanity response,” the official said, adding that what the LAF commander Gen. Joseph Aoun heard during his recent trip to Washington was that the US would continue to support him and the LAF.Asked if the US was considering helping pay the salaries of Lebanese soldiers, the official said: “I cannot answer that; he asked for support.”UAE: F-35s and SyriaEchoing recent comments by another senior US official, the senior defense official said there was no timeframe for the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE. “It’s a mutual decision for the timeframe. That’s just how it works.”Adding that the UAE must make certain decisions to advance the sale, the official noted that the UAE had heard “from us both publicly and privately … that we are committed to the sale.“The US is committed to going forward with the F-35 sale.”As for UAE efforts to normalize ties with Syria and the Assad regime, the official said the US had no plans for rapprochement.“The Assad regime has been able to regain territory with the help of Russia and Iran. When our strategic partners reengage, they will need to consider who is benefiting from that engagement,” the official told reporters.Asked if the US would relay its position, the official said the UAE already knew Washington’s position.“We think our partners should share a vision with us in a stable, sovereign, secure Syria with a regime that doesn’t drop chemical weapons or torture its citizens to death.”Read more: Air Force official says US to maintain presence in Mideast
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Top US defense official to make ‘very clear’ Washington’s commitment to Middle East

Nearly 15,000 Yemeni Houthi militiamen have been killed near the strategic city of Marib since June, sources close to the Houthis said Thursday, in a rare admission of their casualties during the seven-year war..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Yemen Houthi militias acknowledge thousands killed in push to seize Marib

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday he would not sign any authorisation for legislative elections to take place in March, adding to doubts about when the vote can be held amid economic and political meltdown..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Aoun rejects early date for Lebanon’s legislative elections

Qatar is not adequately investigating and reporting worker deaths including unexplained fatalities among seemingly healthy labourers, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said on Friday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: A year from World Cup, Qatar faces renewed scrutiny over worker conditions

The US envoy for Iran warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before talks resume this month.Robert Malley said Iran risked making it “impossible” to gain any benefit from resuming the agreement, which has been on hold since then President Donald Trump walked away in 2018.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.“The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, (it) will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was the agreement struck in 2015 under which Iran agreed to clear limits on its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions.“Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region... that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said.On Wednesday, the US and its Gulf Arab allies accused Iran of causing a nuclear crisis and destabilizing the region with its ballistic missile program and support for armed militias.Malley said the US shared a “commonality of purpose” with rivals Russia and China “because we want to avoid that crisis, all of us, the crisis that would be sparked if Iran continues on its current path”.“And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program.”The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country.“If they stick to their public pronouncements, unfortunately we’re not headed in the right direction... but let’s wait to see what happens,” he said, pledging that President Joe Biden would honor a revived deal.“Our intent, our clear intent in coming back into the deal is to stick with the deal because we don’t want to see a nuclear crisis,” Malley said.Iran had reacted angrily to a US pledge to take its Gulf Arab allies’ interests into account in any revived nuclear deal with their archrival.“The US government, which is responsible for the current situation after withdrawing from the nuclear deal, is once again trying to provoke a crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh charged.Read more: Unspoken US aim at Iran nuclear talks may be winning Chinese, Russian support
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Time shrinking for Iran nuclear deal, US envoy warns

Populist Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Friday he was dissolving the Promised Day Brigade, an armed faction loyal to him, and closing its headquarters, according to a statement published on his Twitter page.On Thursday, al-Sadr urged paramilitary groups to purge what he called undisciplined members, and said non-state armed groups should hand in their weapons.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Iranian-backed Shia Muslim militias have been accused of an attempt to kill outgoing Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi with an armed drone on Nov. 7.Read more:Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urges militias to purge ‘undisciplined’ membersStrike on Kadhimi shows Iran losing control over Shia militias in Iraq: US officialsSupporters of pro-Iran groups in Iraq protest against vote ‘fraud’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says he is dissolving armed faction loyal to him

Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which took office in September, has rolled back subsidies on basic goods including fuel and now medication, but has failed to provide an increasingly impoverished population with a social safety net..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lives at risk as Lebanon cuts medicine subsidies

A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Pakistan to Poland..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Migrant caravan and Qatar’s tarnished World Cup: human rights this fortnight – in pictures