Middle East Experience

Pharmacies across Lebanon shuttered their doors on Friday to protest severe shortages of medicines as motorists lined up for hours outside gas stations since the crack of dawn..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Shortages prompt closure of pharmacies, gas stations in Lebanon

Two people have died after drowning at beaches in central and northern Israel, and a third is in serious condition. A man has died after a motorcycle accident near the dead sea.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Deadly weekend: Three dead in unconnected accidents across Israel

The sixth round of talks kicked off with a meeting of remaining parties to the deal - Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union - in the basement of a luxury hotel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 'Intense' Iran nuclear talks resume as Germany calls for rapid progress

Macron's remark echoes that of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who hailed Biden on Thursday as "a big breath of fresh air".
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: America is back with Biden, France's Macron says

For some this is just talk and the reality is that China, Iran, Russia, Turkey and other authoritarians are humiliating Biden, Europe and US allies and partners.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Does the G7 meeting show that 'America (and democracy) is back?'

“Bennett is opposed to a Palestinian state,” one official told The Jerusalem Post. “He also believes in the annexation of all the settlements."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Palestinians: Bennett gov’t will continue Netanyahu policies

Iran held a final presidential debate Saturday that showed the fissures within the Islamic Republic’s politics, as hard-liners referred to those seeking ties to the West as “infiltrators” and the race’s two other candidates brought up the unrest that surrounded Tehran’s disputed 2009 election.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Analysts and state-linked polling put hard-line judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi as the clear front-runner in Friday’s upcoming vote, with the public now largely hostile to the relative moderate President Hassan Rouhani after the collapse of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.But that didn’t stop Rouhani’s former Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati from harshly criticizing Raisi, at one point getting up from his chair to hand him a list he described as naming individuals who haven’t paid back huge loans from state banks. He again tried to link Raisi to former President Donald Trump, whose decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Iran’s nuclear deal has seen the country crushed by sanctions.“Mr. Raisi, you and your friends have played in Trump’s ground with your extremist policies,” Hemmati said.For his part, Raisi called Hemmati’s move a stunt and said he’d make sure the government returns to the nuclear deal.The deal “would not be executed by you, it needs a powerful government to do this,” Raisi said.The election Friday will see voters pick a candidate to replace Rouhani, who is term limited from running again. The vote comes amid tensions with the West as negotiations continue to try and resuscitate the nuclear deal, which saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.The debate took on the pattern of the previous ones, with hard-liners focusing their criticism on Hemmati as a stand-in for Rouhani. Hard-liner Alireza Zakani went as far to accuse Hemmati of committing a “huge treason” by sharing financial information to the International Monetary Fund. Hard-line former Revolutionary Guard chief Mohsen Rezaei described the Rouhani government as being run by “infiltrators.”Hemmati, who raised eyebrows in recent days after telling The Associated Press in an interview he’d be potentially willing to speak with President Joe Biden, said his government would not view Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as enemies. He also warned that without deals with the wider world, Iran’s economy would see no growth.“What will happen if the hard-liners have power?” Hemmati asked. “I tell you there is going to be more sanctions with global consensus.”It remains unclear if the debates will affect voters’ opinions. The state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency suggested just 37 percent of Iranian adults watched the second debate.There also remains the larger concern about turnout in the election. Officials in the past have pointed to turnout as a sign of popular support for Iran’s theocratic government. As of now, ISPA estimates turnout will be around 41 percent of Iran’s over 59 million eligible voters. That would the lowest percentage since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. ISPA polling also puts Raisi as the front-runner with enough of a percentage to avoid a runoff.But unlike the earlier debates, both Hemmati and an inconspicuous reformist candidate named Mohsen Mehralizadeh brought up mass protests that directly challenged the government. Mehralizadeh at one point asked Raisi to intervene with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to pardon people still held after nationwide demonstrations in November 2019 over price rises of state-subsidized gasoline.Those demonstrations ended with one lawmaker suggesting 7,000 people had been arrested. Amnesty International put the death toll from the violence at at least 208, with the rights group saying security forces killed demonstrators. Iran has yet to offer any definitive account of what happened.Responding later to Mehralizadeh, Raisi said most of those arrested “have been pardoned by the supreme leader, except those who had relations with other countries or had other issues.” He offered no figures for those pardoned and those still detained.The 2019 demonstrations were the deadliest since Iran’s 2009 presidential vote that saw hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected amid a disputed result that gave rise to the Green Movement protests.“What happened to our youth during these 12 years that changed their chants from ‘Where is my vote?” to ‘No way I’m voting?’” Hemmati asked at one point.Read more: Iran sends warships to Atlantic amid Venezuela concernsUS-based Iranian professor under fire for hiding facts about 1988 massacreFire breaks out at steel factory in Iran’s Kerman province: Fars
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Final presidential debate shows Iran’s political fissures

G7 leaders have reached consensus on the need for a shared approach to China selling exports at unfairly low prices and to human rights abuses, a senior official in the US President Joe Biden’s administration said on Saturday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leaders of the Group of Seven world’s largest advanced economies had also agreed on the need to coordinate on supply chain resilience to ensure democracies are supporting each other.“I would say there was unanimity in terms of a willingness to call out human rights abuses and violations of fundamental freedoms that invoke our shared values,” the official said.“There was commitment to take action in response to what we’re seeing.” The official said the G7 had moved far from three years ago when the final communique made no mention of China.Under the legal structure of the World Trade Organization, the designation of China as a “non-market economy” allows its trading partners, including the US, to use a special framework to determine whether China’s exports are being sold at unfairly low prices and, if that is found to be the case, to apply additional anti-dumping duties.Read more: China, US will work on issues for producers, consumers in next step: MinistryExplainer: The cost of raising a child in ChinaChina’s new three-child policy draws skepticism, cost questions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: G7 reaches consensus on China dumping, human rights abuses: US official

Several hundred mourners joined a public funeral service on Saturday of a Canadian Muslim family run over and killed by a man in a pick-up truck last Sunday in an attack the police said was driven by hate.The four victims, spanning three generations, were killed when Nathaniel Veltman, 20, ran into them while they were out for an evening walk near their home in London, Ontario. A fifth family member, a 9-year-old boy, is recovering from his injuries in the hospital.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the killings a “terrorist attack” and vowed to clamp down on far-right groups and online hate.Police have said the attack was premeditated and allege the family was targeted because of their Islamic faith.The hour-long ceremony started after the four coffins draped in Canadian flags rolled into the compound of the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario, and ended with prayers and condolences offered by religious and community leaders.The funeral procession later proceeded for a private burial.“And the very fact their coffins are draped in the beautiful Canadian flag is an apt testimony of the fact that the entire Canadian nation stands with them,” Raza Bashir Tarar High Commissioner for Pakistan to Canada told the gathering.The family moved to Canada from Pakistan some 14 years ago.The attack sparked outrage across Canada, with politicians from all sides condemning the crime, spurring growing calls to take action to curb hate crime and Islamophobia. The city of London, 200 km (120 miles) southwest of Toronto, has seen an outpouring of support in the aftermath of the attack.Veltman, who returns to court on Monday, faces four charges of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.“I think we’re emotionally exhausted,” Imam Aarij Anwer told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp before the ceremony. “We’re looking forward to having some closure on Saturday.”Read more:Canada’s Trudeau deems killing of Muslim family a ‘terrorist attack’Canada truck attack suspect makes brief court appearanceNew Zealand mosque shooter seeks review of prison conditions, terrorist status
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hundreds take part in funeral of Canadian Muslim family killed in ‘terrorist attack’

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square is undergoing a facelift that tourism officials and curators hope will allow it to compete with the Grand Egyptian Museum, soon to open its doors to visitors.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egyptian Museum of Antiquities gets makeover to compete for tourists