Middle East Experience

Germany’s CDU/CSU conservatives and their Social Democrat rivals were virtually tied in Sunday’s national election, exit polls showed, leaving open which of them will lead the next government as Angela Merkel prepares to stand down after 16 years in power.The CDU/CSU bloc won 25 percent of the vote, their weakest result in a post-war federal election and on a par with the center-left Social Democrat (SPD), the infratest poll for broadcaster ARD showed. A Forschungsgruppe Wahlen poll for broadcaster ZDF put the SPD and its chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz on 26 percent and the CDU/CSU on 24 percent.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The SPD is back. We are where we belong,” SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil said shortly after first exit polls. He said the polls showed the SPD and its chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz had the mandate to govern.CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak told ARD after the publication of their poll: “That hurts”.Attention will now shift to informal discussions - likely with the Greens, on 15 percent, and liberal Free Democrats (FDP), on 11 percent - followed by more formal coalition negotiations, which could take months, leaving Merkel in charge in a caretaker role.“This will be all about striking deals among multiple players, and several options seem possible,” said Carsten Nickel at Teneo, a political risk consultancy. “The talks could take some time.”Merkel has been in power since 2005 but plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe’s largest economy.The election pitted Armin Laschet, of the CDU, against Scholz, the finance minister in Merkel’s “grand coalition” who won all three televised debates between the leading candidates.After a domestic-focused election campaign, Berlin’s allies in Europe and beyond may have to wait for months before they can see whether the new German government is ready to engage on foreign issues to the extent they would like.A row between Washington and Paris over a deal for Australia to buy US instead of French submarines has put Germany in an awkward spot between allies, but also gives Berlin the chance to help heal relations and rethink their common stance on China.On economic policy, French President Emmanuel Macron is eager to forge a common European fiscal policy, which the Greens support but the CDU/CSU and FDP reject. The Greens also want “a massive expansion offensive for renewables”.Whatever coalition formation ends up in power, Germany’s friends can at least take heart from an election campaign in which moderate centrism prevailed, and the populism that has taken hold in other European countries failed to break through.The ARD exit poll showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on track for 11 percent, below the 12.6 percent it got four years ago, and all other parties have ruled out a coalition with it.Read more:Who are the two men trying to replace Germany’s Angela Merkel?Germany’s Merkel in campaign finale seeks to swing tight race to her party
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: German CDU/CSU conservatives, Social Democrat tied in national election: Exit poll

Parliamentary delegation to hold talks with university in effort to shed light on student’s killing in Egypt..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Italian inquiry into Giulio Regeni’s death heads to Cambridge

A fire broke out at a research center belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the capital Tehran on Sunday, injuring three people, the IRGC said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Firefighters managed to contain the fire and the three injured employees were taken to hospital, it said.The statement did not address the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage to the center, which it said is located in western Tehran.Read more:Russia urges US to ‘be more active’ in reviving Iran nuclear talksTwo inmates found dead in Iranian prison south of TehranSaudi Arabia intercepts explosive drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Three injured in fire at IRGC center in Iran

Sada suspects that some police officers may work in cahoots with crime lords. "Whenever we call the police, they come only after the criminals have had enough time to clean their tracks."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 'Arab cities are run by gangs, and the police don't care'

Laurence Norman tweeted that the IAEA itself would soon confirm the Islamic Republic’s latest obstruction in the ongoing nuclear standoff.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Iran reneges on IAEA access to site where cameras were damaged - report

That both Sunni and Shi’ite leaders attended is noteworthy in its own right, but even more so given the focus on creating diplomatic ties with Israel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: The Erbil Effort: Iraqis across the spectrum rally for ties with Israel

India last month said that it had created the world’s first DNA vaccine, ZyCoV-D. While standard vaccines use actual 'hardware' protein, DNA vaccines use the 'software' blueprint of the virus.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Could DNA vaccines be the next tool in the world’s battle against COVID-19?

Fire broke out in one of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) research centers in the west of Tehran on Sunday evening.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Iran: Fire at Islamic Revolutionary Guard facility injures 3 - report

The stories making headlines on #TheRoundUp this Sunday: 🇪🇺 EU officials praise Qatar for ‘positive’ labour reforms 🗳️ Qatar’s FM says election laws could change for #ShuraCouncil 🇦🇫 Afghan interpreter reunites with family 🏡 SC launches ‘Host a Fan’ initiative in Qatar..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Round Up | 26 September 2021 – Doha News | Qatar

The investment of SoftBank in Israel and the appointment of former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen as its representative in the country might signal Saudi interests in Israeli technology.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Saudi-linked SoftBank invests heavily in Israel