Middle East Experience

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, has asked a Chechen jihadist group to either join its ranks or leave the battlefronts, in a move that many consider to be part of HTS' policy to have its name removed from international terrorist lists.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syrian jihadist group ramps up efforts to oust rivals from Idlib

A widespread power outage hit Iraq on Friday as temperatures reached scorching levels, affecting even affluent areas in the capital and stirring concerns of widespread unrest.Iraq’s grid was generating just over 4,000 Megawatts according to Ministry of Electricity data on Friday morning, less than the 20,000 MW the grid generates on average. The cuts have impacted Baghdad and southern provinces in particular.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Local channels reported that the outage was due to the cutting of a major power line — known as a 400 KV — between Baghdad and the southern province of Babylon.A ministry official said the reason was not immediately known, but that it could have been because the line was overloaded, or an act of sabotage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.Total shutdowns can occur when Iraq’s electricity network is working at maximum capacity. Defects in the transmission network and distribution capacity also contribute to outages. High temperatures can also impact the distribution lines.The last time a nation-wide outage was seen was five years ago.The outage struck wealthier neighborhoods of Baghdad, where some residents typically enjoy 24 hours of electricity.Water pumps, which rely on electricity, stopped working in many areas, impeding access to water.“If this isn’t resolved quickly it will have catastrophic effects as everything stops working,” tweeted Iraq-based researcher Sajad Jiyad.Power outages routinely fuel protests in Iraq. Poor government service delivery and rampant corruption was a driver of mass anti-government demonstrations across Iraq in 2019.Iran recently cut crucial electricity exports to Iraq this week, which can amount to nearly a third of Iraq’s supply in the peak summer months. Iraq’s Electricity Minister Majed Hantoush also recently resigned, citing political and popular pressure.Read more:Iran power cuts fuel fears in Iraq as scorching summer peaksExplosion injures 11 in Iraq’s Baghdad: Police
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iraq struggles with widespread power outages amid scorching temperatures 

In his warm meeting with President Joe Biden, President Reuven Rivlin prepared the ground for an upcoming first visit in Washington by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: In Biden meeting, Rivlin clears way for Bennett visit to White House

Egypt, Iraq and Jordan are working to establish an alliance to boost cooperation in various economic fields.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt anticipates gains from expanding economic ties with Iraq

The judge in charge of the investigation into last year’s Beirut port blast will start calling in top politicians for questioning, including caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Lebanon’s national news agency reported on Friday.No date has been specified yet, the agency said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Judge Tarek Bitar also wrote to parliament asking to lift immunity from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaitar and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk as a first step towards charging them.The caretaker prime minister and former officials could not immediately be reached for comment.The same officials were charged last year by judge Fadi Sawan, who previously led the probe, but they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers.Sawan was removed from the investigation by the court of cassation after a request by Khalil and Zeaiter, two of the former ministers he charged.Hundreds of people died in the August blast when a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored unsafely for years, detonated at the capital’s port.Thousands were injured and entire neighborhoods destroyed.Read more:Rights groups urge UN investigation into Beirut port explosionFrance sends Lebanon preliminary report regarding Beirut port blastInvestigation underway after fire erupts in Lebanon’s Beirut port: Security sources
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Judge to start questioning top politicians over deadly Beirut port blast

The deal made with settlers on the evacuation of the Evyatar outpost and the upcoming Knesset vote on the controversial citizenship law are already destabilizing the coalition.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Settlement evacuation compromise rocks Israeli coalition

There is no simple answer to the day to day struggles for hundreds of thousands of wage earners and households that once planned foreign trips abroad at this time of year, but today plan to ration food, pray they find milk for their children and medicine for their elderly parents..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Economic recession bites most Lebanese hard

A young Yemeni model has attempted suicide in a Sana’a jail run by Iran-backed Houthi rebels enforcing a strict “morality” code, rights groups and her lawyer said..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Persecuted by Houthis, Yemeni model attempts suicide in jail

As this year’s wedding season will begin in November, planners and vendors say enquiries and bookings started coming in for the season..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE: Wedding planners hope for an industry revival this season

Iraq has long suffered from electricity cuts, which make life unbearable during the sweltering summer months.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Power cuts in scorching Iraqi heat prompt protests