Middle East Experience

Some of the companies that will present weapons at the fair are from countries Turkey has difficult relations with.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Turkey to host international defense fair

The speed of the Afghan insurgents' advances is "really troubling," Erdogan told CNN Turk.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Turkey's Erdogan says he may meet with Taliban leadership

The Central Bank of Egypt shared its initial designs for the new Egyptian banknotes, but was heavily criticized when many Egyptians took the reflective watermark for an LGBT pride flag.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: 'Rainbow' mosque in new banknotes riles Egyptians

The two-day visit in Rabat of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is not only historic diplomatically, it also cements growing trade relations between the two countries.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel’s Lapid in Morocco to cement diplomatic, economic ties

Egypt is helping Russia confront extremism, namely Muslim Brotherhood ideology, by training Russian imams in the Dar al-Ifta — including a 'fatwa training program.'
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt enrolls Russian imams in 'fatwa training program' to combat Brotherhood

The UN special envoy for Syria on Thursday voiced his growing concern at increased hostilities in the south of the country and warned of the alarming shortages faced by civilians.Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen reiterated his call for an immediate end to the violence and urged all parties to uphold the principle of protecting civilians.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Increased hostilities, which have included heavy shelling and intensified ground clashes, have resulted in civilian casualties, as well as damage to civilian infrastructures,” his office said in a statement.“Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee Daraa al-Balad. Civilians are suffering with acute shortages of fuel, cooking gas, water, and bread. Medical assistance is in short supply to treat the injured.“The situation is alarming.”At Thursday’s virtual meeting of the International Syria Support Group’s Humanitarian Task Force, Pedersen stressed that immediate, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must be granted to all affected areas and communities, and that the near siege-like situation must end.“There is the potential for increased confrontations and further deterioration unless there is an immediate calm and a political way forward,” Pedersen’s office said.“The special envoy also continues to hear from people in Daraa, including civil society representatives on the ground, who have expressed grave fears for their safety.”He also noted an escalation of violence in northwest Syria, and multiple water security challenges in the northeast.Syria’s war has killed around half a million people since 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.Read more:
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UN Syria envoy alarmed by hostilities, civilian shortages

Fuel prices in Lebanon that were issued on Wednesday still apply and are binding on companies and gas stations, the oil directorate said on Thursday, after the central bank decided to end fuel subsidies..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Fuel prices issued Wednesday still apply, oil authority says

Israel and Morocco plan to upgrade their restored diplomatic relations and open embassies within several months, Israel’s foreign minister said during a visit to the North African kingdom on Thursday.Morocco was one of four Arab countries - along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan - to move towards normalizing relations with Israel last year under US-engineered accords.Those agreements also saw Washington recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, in a diplomatic boon for Rabat.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We are going to upgrade from liaison offices to embassies,” Yair Lapid told a news conference.In similar comments to Israeli reporters accompanying him on a two-day trip that began on Wednesday, Lapid was quoted as saying that he had agreed with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita that the embassies would open in two months’ time.There was no immediate confirmation of Lapid’s remarks by Morocco.Lapid’s visit was the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Morocco since 2003, after the two countries agreed in December to resume diplomatic relations under a US-brokered deal.Earlier on Thursday, Lapid inaugurated Israel’s liaison office in Rabat and visited a synagogue in Casablanca.The deals between Israel and the four Arab states angered Palestinians, who have long relied on Arab support in their quest for statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Until last year, only two Arab states - Egypt and Jordan - had forged full ties with Israel.Morocco cooled mid-level relations with Israel in 2000 in solidarity with the Palestinians, who launched an uprising that year.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israel, Morocco to upgrade ties and open embassies within several months: Israeli FM

A day of UN-led talks between delegates from war-torn Libya failed to reach agreement on a constitutional framework to hold elections as planned in December, the United Nations said.The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said participants at Wednesday’s meeting held via videoconference discussed four proposals, the contents of which were not disclosed.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“A final decision on the constitutional basis” on the constitutional basis for legislative and presidential elections would be taken at the next meeting, UNSMIL said, without giving a date.The talks came six weeks after the failure of negotiations held in Switzerland between the 75 participants from all sides gathered for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.UNSMIL acknowledged the failure of that session after four days, due to a lack of consensus.Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.Two rival administrations later emerged, backed by a complex patchwork of militias, mercenaries and foreign powers.Under a UN-backed ceasefire agreed last October, an interim administration was established in March to prepare for polls on December 24.The deal was widely hailed as “historic” at the time, but divisions have since resurfaced, raising doubts that elections can go ahead as planned.Read more:
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Libya delegates fail to agree on basis for December polls

Algeria’s state prosecutor on Thursday ordered an investigation after a mob lynched a man they accused of sparking the country’s deadly wildfires.The North African country has been in the grip of devastating fires since Monday that have cost at least 69 lives.Video footage posted online Wednesday showed a crowd beating to death 38-year-old Jamal Ben Ismail and setting him ablaze.They alleged he had started the fires.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The grisly murder was staged in Larbaa Nath Irathen, in the Tizi Ouzou district, one of the worst hit by the fires.Those responsible “will receive a severe punishment”, the prosecutor said, adding that “odious crimes should not remain unpunished.”Amnesty International called on authorities to investigate Ben Ismail’s death, which the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights branded as “barbaric and atrocious.”“Scenes of the lynching and torching of the suspected arsonist -- a young artist who had come to help put out the fires -- are shocking,” the Algerian group said.Ben Ismail’s father, quoted by local media, called for “calm” as he urged the authorities to “shed light” on his son’s death.Algeria on Thursday began observing a three-day mourning period for those killed in the fires.Authorities have said they suspect arson after dozens of fires erupted in a short time.Four suspected “arsonists” have been arrested, but their identities or suspected motives have not been disclosed.Read more:
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Algeria probes crowd lynching, setting fire of arson suspect Jamal Ben Ismail