Middle East Experience

The Taliban government has sent an envoy to run the Afghan embassy in the Pakistani capital, senior Taliban sources said, as the new administration starts to take over Afghanistan’s network of foreign delegations.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Mohammad Shokaib was appointed first secretary or charge d’affaires at the embassy, which has not had an ambassador in place since the previous Western-backed government withdrew its envoy in July over the alleged kidnapping of his daughter.As Pakistan does not officially recognize the new Taliban government, Shokaib will not have the formal title of ambassador but will be in charge of the embassy.A Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman said the appointment was mainly about ensuring consular functions, adding: “There are millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and there are visa issues as well.”Two Afghan officials were also appointed to run the consulates in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Peshawar, close to the two major border crossings with Afghanistan.“We understand that Pakistan has not yet recognized us as a legitimate government but we made these arrangements for public facilitations,” a senior Taliban leader told Reuters on condition of anonymity.No comment was immediately available from Taliban spokesmen in Kabul.No country has given formal recognition to the Taliban, who ousted the Western-backed government in Kabul in August, and Afghanistan’s embassies are largely still run by ambassadors appointed by the previous government, many of whom are outspoken critics of the Taliban.Read more: ‘Just give us our money’: Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroadAfghan girls learn, code ‘underground’ to bypass Taliban curbsRussia urges West to engage with Taliban
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Afghan Taliban appoint new envoy to run embassy in neighboring Pakistan

"There is no fake news item that won't be told. There is no political spin that won't be broadcast. It is all part of the game, and it is OK," said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Bennett warns coalition MKs of fake news at pep rally

Facebook said its users had difficulties using some of its applications Friday after users reported issues with Instagram.Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, reported that Instagram, Facebook and Facebook Messenger were down. Instagram then said it fixed the issue a few hours later.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“things have been fixed, and everything should be back to normal now. thank you for bearing with us (and for all the memes this week Upside-down face),” Instagram said in a tweet.“We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and we apologize for any inconvenience,” Facebook said in an earlier tweet.On Monday, Facebook also saw its apps go offline for nearly six hours across the globe. Facebook said that “networking issues” were the cause of the outage.Shortly after the outages were reported, Facebook shares fell more than 5 percent and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s personal wealth reportedly fell by more than $6 billion in a few hours.Read more: Whom should the Facebook slap awaken?
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Facebook apps, including Instagram, down for the second time in a week

The melodrama of an investigation into Beirut port blast is intensifying amid a smear campaign against Bitar and pushback from powerful factions..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Beirut port probe stumbles into maze of intrigue

Ten people were injured on Friday when an explosive-laden drone struck King Abdullah airport in the Saudi southern city of Jazan, the Arab Coalition said.Six Saudis, three Bangladeshi Nationals and one Sudanese were injured, state news agency SPA reported citing the Arab Coalition spokesman.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.There was also material damage to the airport and shattered windows due to the attack.The Arab Coalition said later that it intercepted and destroyed a second drone which was targeting the airport.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.However, since January, Yemen’s Houthis have ramped up their attacks on the Kingdom and launched dozens of cross-border aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed militia targeted civilian areas and energy facilities in the Kingdom with explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles.Read more: Saudi air defenses intercept Houthi drone targeting Abha airport, four injured
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Explosive-laden drone attack injures 10 at Saudi Arabia’s airport in Jazan: Coalition

The US slapped new sanctions on Iran and its drone program on Friday, warning that Tehran’s irresponsible acts would continue to be punished.“Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated members of a network of companies and individuals that have provided critical support to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its expeditionary unit, the IRGC Qods Force (IRGC-QF),” a statement from the Treasury Department read.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force UAV Command, Saeed Aghajani, was also designated.Aghajani oversaw the July 29, 2021 attack on Mercer Street tanker off the coast of Oman and was behind the UAV attack against a Saudi Arabian oil refinery in 2019, the Treasury said.Drones from Iran’s UAV program were used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas, Kataeb Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, the Treasury Department said.The drones were also making their way to Ethiopia, “where the escalating crisis threatens to destabilize the broader region.”“Lethal UAVs have been used in attacks on international shipping and on US forces,” the Treasury Department statement read.Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said Iran and its proxy militants used UAVs to attack US forces and Washington’s partners.“Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts,” Adeyemo said.Read more: Region is entering a dangerous phase due to Iran’s activities: Saudi FMSome agreements reached in reconciliatory talks with Saudi Arabia: Iran FMUS ready ‘to turn to other options’ if Iran fails to return to nuclear deal: Official
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US slaps sanctions on Iran's drone program, will continue to hold Tehran accountable

A US delegation will meet with senior Taliban representatives in Doha on Saturday and Sunday in their first face-to-face meeting at a senior level since Washington pulled its troops from Afghanistan and the hardline group took over the country, two senior administration officials told Reuters.The high-level US delegation will include officials from the State Department, USAID and the US intelligence community, will press the Taliban to ensure continued safe passage for US citizens and others out of Afghanistan and to release kidnapped US citizen Mark Frerichs, the officials said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Another top priority will be to hold the Taliban to its commitment that it will not allow Afghanistan to again become a hotbed for al Qaeda or other extremists while pressing the group to improve access for humanitarian aid as the country faces the prospect of a “really severe and probably impossible to prevent” economic contraction, US officials said.US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who has for years spearheaded US dialogue with the Taliban and been a key figure in peace talks with the group, will not be part of the delegation.The US team will include the State Department’s Deputy Special Representative Tom West as well as top USAID humanitarian official Sarah Charles. On The Taliban side, cabinet officials will be attending, officials said.“This meeting is a continuation of the pragmatic engagements with the Taliban that we’ve had ongoing on matters of vital national interest,” said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.“This meeting is not about granting recognition or conferring legitimacy. We remain clear that any legitimacy must be earned through the Taliban’s own actions. They need to establish a sustained track record,” the official said.The United States’ two decades-long occupation of Afghanistan culminated in a hastily organized airlift in August which saw more than 124,000 civilians including Americans, Afghans and others being evacuated as the Taliban took over. But thousands of other US-allied Afghans at risk of Taliban persecution were left behind.Washington and other Western countries are grappling with difficult choices as a severe humanitarian crisis looms large over Afghanistan. They are trying to formulate how to engage with the Taliban without granting it the legitimacy it seeks while ensuring humanitarian aid flows into the country.Many Afghans have started selling their possessions to pay for ever-scarcer food.The departure of US-led forces and many international donors robbed the country of grants that financed 75 percent of public spending, according to the World Bank.While there was an improvement for humanitarian actors get access to some areas that they haven’t been in a decade, problems still persisted, the US official said, adding that the US delegation would press Taliban to improve.“Right now, we are facing some real access issues....There are a lot of challenges in ensuring that female aid workers are provided unimpeded access to all areas,” the official said and added that Washington needed to see an improvement by the Taliban on this front “if we are to contemplate even more robust humanitarian assistance.”Pressure on women's rightsWhile the Taliban has promised to be more inclusive than when it led the country from 1996 to 2001, the United States has repeatedly said it will judge the new Taliban government based on its deeds not its words.The Taliban drew from its inner high echelons to fill top posts in Afghanistan’s new provisional government announced last month, including an associate of the Islamist militant group’s founder as premier and a wanted man on a US terrorism list as interior minister. There were no outsiders and no women in the cabinet.The European Union foreign policy chief said on Sunday its behavior up to now was “not very encouraging.”“We will certainly press the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans including women and girls and to form an inclusive government with broad support,” the US official said.He added that there were discrepancies between the Taliban’s promises of continued safe passage and implementation.“As a practical matter, their implementation of their commitments have been uneven. It is true that sometimes we receive assurances from certain levels but then follow through on those assurances has truly been uneven,” the official said.The United States has directly facilitated the departure of 105 US citizens and 95 lawful permanent residents out of Afghanistan since Aug. 31, when US withdrawal was completed, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday.He declined to provide a precise figure for those remaining, but said the agency was in contact with “dozens of Americans in Afghanistan who wish to leave” but that the number was dynamic and constantly changing.Read more: UN rights body establishes investigator for Afghanistan to probe Taliban violations
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US delegation to meet Taliban in first high-level talks since pullout: Officials

The Raisi administration’s apparent new approach has been tried before, unsuccessfully..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Iran’s Emerging New ‘Second Europe’ Strategy May Be Doomed

The number three diplomat at the State Department will visit Lebanon next week, making her the most senior official in the Biden administration to do so.Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland will travel to Moscow, Russia, before heading to Beirut and then London, the State Department said Friday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Al Arabiya English previously reported that Nuland would make the trip as well as the Biden administration’s special advisor for energy, Amos Hochstein.No mention of Hochstein was made in Friday’s statement. But the State Department told Al Arabiya English that the Israeli-born diplomat would now be in charge of mediating the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel.In Lebanon, Nuland will hold meetings with Lebanese representatives of civil society and government leaders to discuss economic reforms and elections next year.Read more: Hezbollah playing ‘public relations game’ by importing fuel from Iran to Lebanon: US
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: No. 3 US diplomat heading to Lebanon, Russia and UK next week: State Department

Riyadh has submitted a formal request to host Expo 2030, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced Friday.Saudi Arabia is the latest country to submit a request after Italy, Russia, South Korea and Ukraine.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We live in an era of change, and we face an unprecedented need for humanity’s collective action,” the Saudi Crown Prince said in a letter to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).“It is clear that the whole world, as a collective, needs to work together to foresee the future and address, with its brightest minds, the challenges and opportunities that emanate from this change,” he added.The theme proposed by Saudi Arabia is “The era of change: Leading the planet to a foresighted tomorrow.”The Crown Prince noted that Expo 2030 would also coincide with the culmination of Vision 2030, which is a strategic framework to reduce Riyadh’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors.Read more: Saudi Arabia: 44 foreign companies to relocate to Riyadh including PepsiCo, Deloitte
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Riyadh submits formal request to host Expo 2030, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince says