Middle East Experience

Amateur and professional divers are searching Gaza's coast for Egyptian sailors feared dead in a goodwill gesture toward Cairo.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Gazan divers search for missing Egyptians after storm

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has refused to step down from his post, challenging Tunisian President Kais Saied’s conditions to resume talks, local media reported on Saturday.Mechichi said submitting his resignation is not on the table.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Tunisia needs stability and a government that responds to the aspirations of the people, the prime minister said, adding that he will not abandon his responsibility towards the country, its democratic institutions and the people’s entitlements, according to local media reports.The reports added that the Noureddine Taboubi, the Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), said that President Saied had informed him that national dialogue sessions will not start until PM Mechichi resigns.Last month, Tunisia’s powerful UGTT labor union called for four proposed new cabinet ministers to stand aside as a step towards resolving a political crisis.Parliament had earlier approved a cabinet reshuffle put forward by Mechichi with 11 new ministers. But Saied rejected the reshuffle, saying four of the appointments were believed to have conflicts of interest.The dispute has caused a political logjam as the government struggles to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. Protests have been going on for nearly three weeks over the political and social crisis.Read more:Four proposed Tunisian ministers must stand aside to resolve crisis, says unionRiots break out in several Tunisian cities for second nightOne dead, dozens injured in southern Tunisian tribal clashes
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Tunisian prime minister refuses to step down, challenging president

The Arab Coalition said it was carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi militia after the Iran-backed group launched multiple explosive-laden drones towards civilian areas in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.The military operation is targeting Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the coalition said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The coalition said it will hold terrorist leaders who try to target civilians and civilian objects accountable for their actions.The airstrikes come after several drones were intercepted on Sunday morning that the Arab Coalition said had been targeted at civilians.At least five of the armed drones were heading towards Saudi Arabia, the coalition had said. Another five were also downed, but the coalition did not specify whether they were also launched towards the Kingdom.The Houthis have been intensifying their attacks on Saudi Arabia and in the internationally-recognized government’s last northern stronghold in Marib.Clashes between government forces and the Houthis escalated on Saturday, with at least 90 combatants killed on both sides.The Arab Coalition and government forces have so far been successful in pushing the Iran-backed group back, but the Houthis have retaliated by intensifying their attacks in the region, and on Saudi Arabia.Coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki on Sunday said that the militia’s attacks on the Kingdom was a result of the coalition’s “victories” in Marib.Read more:Yemen: Fighting in Marib intensifies as pro-govt forces defend northern strongholdArab Coalition intercepts, downs 10 Houthi drones in less than five hours
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab Coalition carries out airstrikes against Houthi militia after drone attacks

Iran has released British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told Iranian website Emtedad on Sunday, after her five-year prison sentence for plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment.“She was pardoned by Iran’s Supreme Leader last year, but spent the last year of her term under house arrest with electronic shackles tied to her feet. Now they’re cast off,” Kermani told the website. “She has been freed.”Iran’s judiciary officials have yet to comment about the release.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.It was not immediately clear whether she was allowed to leave Iran. Kermani was quoted as saying that “a hearing for Zaghari’s second case has been scheduled at branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran” according to the website.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 as she prepared to head back to Britain with her daughter after a family visit.She was later sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran’s clerical establishment. Her family and the foundation, a charity that operates independently of media firm Thomson Reuters and its news subsidiary Reuters, deny the charge.She was released from jail in March last year and put under house arrest in Tehran in response to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Iran’s prisons, but her movements were restricted and she was barred from leaving the country.Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Minister Dominic Raab has urged Tehran to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe following the official end of her five-year sentence, according to AFP.“We welcome the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle tag, but Iran’s continued treatment of her is intolerable,” he said.“She must be allowed to return to the UK as soon as possible to be reunited with her family,” he added on Twitter.Read more:UK summons Iran envoy as detained aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces return to jailFrance, Germany, UK call on Iran to stop all activities that violate nuclear dealIranian-American facing spying charges arrested while leaving Iran: Spokesman
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran frees British-Iranian aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Lawyer

The United States has agreed to the release of $3 billion in Iranian funds that have been frozen in Iraq, Oman and South Korea due to Washington’s sanctions, Iranian trade official Hamid Hosseini told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.Hosseini, board member of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, had tweeted on Friday that Washington approved the release of frozen Iranian assets at the Trade Bank of Iraq, without mentioning the value of the assets.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Hosseini on Sunday confirmed that the US agreed to the release of $3 billion in Iranian frozen assets in the three countries.US sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump have prevented Iran from accessing tens of billions of its assets in foreign banks.Iranian frozen assets in Iraq amount to more than $6 billion, according to Iranian officials.The head of the Iran-South Korea Chamber of Commerce said in October Iranian frozen funds in South Korea are worth $8.5 billion and added that their release depended on the outcome of the US presidential election.Iranian officials have not commented on the value of Iran’s frozen assets in Oman.Iran’s economy has been hit hard since 2018 when Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reimposed sweeping sanctions on the country.Iran’s chances of gaining access to billions of dollars of its frozen assets abroad have risen significantly since Trump, who pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran, left the White House.Under President Joe Biden, Washington has signalled its willingness to return to talks to revive the nuclear deal, which saw Iran limit its nuclear program in return for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.The Biden administration revoked snapback sanctions claimed by the Trump administration against Iran and also revoked travel restrictions on senior Iranian diplomats at the United Nations.Last month, South Korea said it reached an agreement with Iran over the release of Tehran’s frozen funds in its banks but signalled that the agreement was effectively subject to US approval.Read more:Iran says US approved release of frozen Iranian assets in IraqIran frozen assets: Countries where Tehran's oil and gas revenues are blockedSouth Korea, Iran agree on proposal to unlock billions of dollars of frozen oil money
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran says US approved release of bln of Iran’s funds in Iraq, Oman, S. Korea

For the first time in history, the pope has visited the Shiite holy city of Najaf and met with top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Pope Francis, Iraq's Ayatollah Sistani call for unity in historic meeting

Iran has summoned British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to court on a second case again scheduled for March 14, hours after she was released from house arrest at the end of her five-year prison sentence on Sunday, her lawyer said.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 and later convicted of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who served out most of her sentence in Tehran’s Evin prison, was released last March during the coronavirus pandemic and kept under house arrest, but her movements were restricted and she was barred from leaving the country.On Sunday the authorities removed her ankle tag.“She was pardoned by Iran’s supreme leader last year, but spent the last year of her term under house arrest with electronic shackles tied to her feet. Now they’re cast off,” her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told an Iranian website. “She has been freed.”Iran’s judiciary was not immediately available to comment about the release. Her family and the foundation, a charity that operates independently of media firm Thomson Reuters and its news subsidiary Reuters, deny the charge.Kermani said a hearing for Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s second case has been scheduled on March 14.“In this case, she is accused of propaganda against the Islamic Republic’s system for participating in a rally in front of the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009 and giving interview to the BBC Persian TV channel at the same time,” Kermani said.He said he hoped that “this case will be closed at this stage, considering the previous investigation.”Mixed newsZaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard Ratcliffe told Sky News on Sunday she was “pleased” her ankle tag had been removed but said the news was “mixed” from Iran due to the court summons. Ratcliffe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said the foundation was “delighted that her jail term was ended” and that she had told him she was “‘ecstatic’ to be able to sit in a cafe and have a coffee.”“Nazanin must be given her freedom, as was promised.”British foreign minister Dominic Raab welcomed the removal of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle tag but said Iran continued to put her and her family through a “cruel and an intolerable ordeal.”“She must be released permanently so she can return to her family in the UK. We have relayed to the Iranian authorities in the strongest possible terms that her continued confinement is unacceptable,” Raab said in a statement.Her lawyer told Iranian state TV he had no news on the status of her travel ban.Read more:Iran says US approved release of $3 bln of Iran’s funds in Iraq, Oman, S. KoreaUK summons Iran envoy as detained aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces return to jailIranian-American facing spying charges arrested while leaving Iran: SpokesmanBritish lawmaker Tulip Siddiq said she had spoken to Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family and that her first trip would be to see her grandmother.The detentions of dozens of dual nationals and foreigners have complicated ties between Tehran and several European countries including Germany, France and Britain, all parties to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers.The release come as Iran and the United States are trying to revive the deal, which former US president abandoned in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded by scaling down its compliance.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iranian court summons Zaghari-Ratcliffe again after being released from house arrest

👇 Top stories in #Qatar on #TheRoundUp today: 🇾🇪 Yemen FM arrives in Doha to restore ties 🚌 School fees increase capped at 2% 🤼 Qatar remains committed to 2032 Olympics 🎾 All the latest tennis updates..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Round Up 7 March 2021 – Doha News Qatar

While being away from their families has been a difficult task, they say the UAE’s opportunities have helped them become financially independent..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Power women staying in UAE to provide for family back home

'I never thought there was a question of whether I needed to obey the law, but suddenly people tell me they're going to boycott me,' says one owner threatened for enforcing regulations barring indoor seating for unvaccinated..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israeli restaurants come under attack from anti-vaxxers for enforcing COVID rules