Middle East Experience

The payment of $335 million was part of a deal with the US for Sudan’s removal from the list and it had been a hurdle for Khartoum as it sought debt relief and external borrowing.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Pompeo: US begins lifting Sudan from state sponsors of terror list

Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, says it will not be able to gather enough information about Emirati citizens visiting Israel under a new visa waiver programme..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israel’s Shin Bet security service expresses reservations about UAE visa waiver programme

Israel’s opposition lawmakers are furious over Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein's decision to nullify a vote to probe the prime minister in the notorious submarine affair.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Knesset speaker disqualifies vote to probe Netanyahu in submarine affair

Israeli and Bahraini officials held secretive talks through a front company, new reports reveal..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israel kept secret embassy in Bahrain for a decade before normalisation agreement

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri secured enough support in parliamentary talks on Thursday to be named prime minister and try to form a government to tackle the worst crisis since the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.A tally by Reuters and local media of nominations declared by politicians after consultations with President Michel Aoun showed Hariri had won the backing of 47 parliamentarians, more than the number of MPs yet to formally declare their stance.Hariri would still face major challenges to navigate Lebanon’s power-sharing politics and agree a cabinet, which must then address a mounting list of woes: a banking crisis, currency crash, rising poverty and crippling state debts.A new government will also have to contend with a COVID-19 surge and the fallout of the huge August explosion at Beirut port that killed nearly 200 people and caused billions of dollars of damage.Sunni leader Hariri’s last coalition government was toppled almost exactly a year ago as protests gripped the country, furious at Lebanon’s ruling elite.Read more:Lebanese criticize Saad Hariri as new Prime Minister-designate amid low vote-countSaad Hariri’s bid to lead Lebanon is a disaster waiting to happenLebanon’s largest Christian political party says won’t back Hariri for PM
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saad Hariri secures support to become Lebanon's next prime minister-designate

Saad Hariri was appointed on Thursday as Lebanon’s prime minister-designate just a year after his resignation from office during the October 17 uprising.Hariri received the lowest number of votes approving his appointment in comparison to his former nominations. Neither of the two main Christian parties of the country, Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces and their rivals President Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), nominated Hariri.Hariri received 64 number of votes for his nomination while 55 members of parliament did not name anyone at the consultations that took place in the presidential palace in Baabda. Hariri's nomination was primary pushed for by his own party Future Movement, the speaker of the parliaments’ Amal Movement, and Sleiman Frangieh’s parliamentary bloc.In a brief statement following the consultations, Lebanese Forces clarified that they called for the formation of a totally independent government in September 2019 during a national dialogue table in the presidential palace. This was before nationwide protests began in October 2019, as well as before French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative this September.FPM’s Gibran Bassil also clarified in a short statement that the French initiative explicitly called for the formation of an independent government of experts, and Hariri being the head of a political party debunks that condition, and for that reason the party decided to not nominate him.Resigned parliamentary member and member of the Kataeb party Elias Hankash re-emphasized his belief that Lebanon’s establishment is merely engaging in a “lousy” cover up, despite the deep reforms needed to deal with the country’s economic collapse and the Beirut port explosion.“We need an independent government of experts which can deal with the crisis and lead the country towards transparent early elections, after which we resolve other issues such as illegal weapons, and finally we navigate to building a new political model,” Hankash told Al Arabiya English.“Hariri was toppled down by the uprising just a year ago. As if nothing happened, he wants to return. This will only lead to more cumulative failure, even after his designation, he will not be able to form a government, he has to wait for the US elections and for the new status quo, sadly this is what establishment did, they made Lebanon a struggle square for Iran and the US,” Hankash added.Multiple factions of the October 17 uprising – the name given to the nationwide protests that have gripped Lebanon sporadically since October 2019 – united to give a statement in which they stressed their commitment to the anti-government uprising.“We renew our absolute rejection of reconfiguring this illegitimate power that deserves to be described as an occupation, and we stress that the only resolution is the formation of a transitional independent government with exceptional powers, a government of independent figures that enjoy the legitimacy of the people, a government capable of saving the country from inevitable collapse, [that will] recover the stolen money and lay down the criminals are all the criminals against the people from the war until the Beirut explosion in the face of accountability and justice,” said Beirut Madinati, ReLebanon, Li Haqi, Marsad, and Minteshreen in a joint statement.The statement pledged that the groups will continue to oppose the government and work collectively for a new, civil, democratic social contract to build the state of right and law.Political activist and law graduate Leen Mneimneh said that probably the only “good” thing about Hariri if they let him form a government, will be the fact that he has good relations with the international community, which Lebanon desperately needs in its current crisis.“Yet no trust, zero trust to Hariri who showed his continuous failure of leading a country over the years”, she added.Read More:Saad Hariri secures support to become Lebanon's next prime minister-designateSaad Hariri’s bid to lead Lebanon is a disaster waiting to happenLebanon’s largest Christian political party says won’t back Hariri for PM
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanese criticize Saad Hariri as new Prime Minister-designate amid low vote-count

A fire erupted on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia’s Tanouma, located in the Kingdom’s southwestern Asir region, and the General Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense said there were no injuries reported so far.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The civil defense teams in Asir continue their tasks in extinguishing the fire in Tanouma and prevent it from reaching residential areas, without reporting any injuries so far, thank God,” the General Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense said in a tweet on Thursday.Earlier, the Kingdom’s General Directorate of Civil Defense said the fire started in a rugged area in Tanouma’s Jabal Ghulamah.“The strong winds contributed to the spread of the fire,” they added.Last month, Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Civil Defense said a fire broke out in the Kingdom’s Taif Governorate, also reporting no injuries.Read more:Fire erupts in Saudi Arabia’s Taif, no injuries reported
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Fire erupts in Saudi Arabian city of Tanouma, Civil Defense reports no injuries

Saudi Arabia reports 401 new cases of the novel coronavirus, which raises the total number of infections in the Kingdom to 343,774, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Medina recorded the highest number of new cases with 55 infections. The capital Riyadh recorded 39 new cases, Mecca reported 35, and Jeddah reported nine.The other infections were confirmed in cities and provinces around the Kingdom, according to the ministry.Fifteen people died due to complications caused by COVID-19, bringing the virus-related death toll to 5,250.Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries in Saudi Arabia rose to 330,181 after 466 people recovered in the last 24 hours. Read more:Coronavirus: UAE detects highest daily tally with 1,578 cases in just 24 hoursThird region in Italy to enforce curfew as coronavirus cases surge in RomeCoronavirus: Sales of toilet paper, disinfectants rise in Germany as cases surge
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia reports 401 new infections, 466 recoveries, 15 deaths

Citizens of the United Arab Emirates can now travel to Israel without a visa for up to 90 days, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying on Thursday. The visa waiver is line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed by both countries on Tuesday. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The decision was signed by the UAE’s Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy Omar Saif Ghobash and Israel’s Director-General of the Population and Immigration Authority of the Ministry of Interior. The exemption “reflects both countries’ desire to strengthen promising relations and opportunities for cooperation” and “open up new horizons for cooperation in the region,” WAM reported. The first ever passenger flight from the UAE to Israel landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, a month after the countries signed an agreement normalizing ties.In August, Israel and the UAE announced that they had reached a US-brokered deal to normalize ties, following years of discreet economic and security cooperation.Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, ratified the UAE deal last week.The UAE and Israel on Tuesday signed an agreement to have 28 weekly commercial flights between the countries, a transportation ministry official said.Read more:First Emirati passenger plane lands in Israel from UAE‘Welcome to Israel’: First UAE delegation received by Israeli PM Netanyahu at airport
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE citizens can now travel to Israel without a visa, stay for 90 days

A top Israeli delegation's visit to Sudan could mean that the rapprochement process is moving quickly and the establishment of diplomatic ties is imminent.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israeli delegation visits Sudan in sign of possible normalization