Middle East Experience

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed regional stability and Gulf unity with the crown prince of Bahrain on Wednesday, as part of a Middle East tour following an accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on normalizing relations.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.On his arrival on Tuesday night, Pompeo had said it was vital to seize the momentum of the US-brokered deal announced on August 13. “We discussed the importance of building regional peace and stability, including the importance of Gulf unity and countering Iran's malign influence in the region,” he wrote on Twitter following the meeting with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.Israel and the United States have said they are pushing more Arab countries to follow the UAE's path. Israel's intelligence minister has mentioned Bahrain as a possible candidate. Pompeo said he also met the king of Bahrain. Pompeo first visited Jerusalem and Sudan, and is now traveling to the UAE.Read more:US Secretary Pompeo discusses UAE-Israel agreement with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US Secretary Pompeo discusses regional stability, unity with Bahrain crown prince

Women rights groups were joined by many Israeli firms in a protest over the gang rape of a 16-year-old in Eilat.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Rape of teen shocks Israelis, sends them to the streets

Abdel Rahman Salih al-Shanti, an 11-year-old rapper from the Gaza Strip, has made international headlines, with English rap songs evoking Gaza’s wars and sufferings under the Israeli blockade.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Gazan child raps about broken dreams under siege

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and UAE officials discussed the conflict in Libya and countering Iran during a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.Pompeo met with UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan.The officials discussed “regional and bilateral issues of concern, including mutual support for de-escalation and a lasting ceasefire in Libya, Gulf unity, and countering Iran’s malign influence in the region,” the US State Department said in a statement.Ceasefire in LibyaSince the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been embroiled in conflict despite efforts to transition the country to a stable democratic system.The two dominant parties competing for power are the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, based in Tripoli, and the Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by General Khalifa Haftar, based in the eastern city of Benghazi.The rival governments announced in separate statements on Friday that they would cease all hostilities and organize nationwide elections soon.The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which the UAE is a member, welcomed the ceasefire announcement.IranThe United Arab Emirates recently summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Abu Dhabi in response to a speech by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the foreign ministry described as “unacceptable.”Two days after the UAE announced it would normalize relations with Israel, Rouhani said the UAE “better be mindful.”“They have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act,” Rouhani said.The UAE foreign ministry said the speech was “unacceptable, inflammatory, and carrying serious repercussions for the security and stability of the Arabian Gulf region,” state news agency WAM reported.Abraham AccordSecretary Pompeo also congratulated the UAE officials on “the monumental achievement” of the country’s historic agreement with Israel known as the Abraham Accord.Pompeo landed in the UAE’s capital city Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, the latest stop on his Middle East tour that was prompted by the announcement of the peace deal on August 13.On Tuesday Pompeo discussed the UAE-Israel agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan over the phone, according to state news agency WAM.They discussed “the prospects for strengthening [the agreement] in a way that serves the foundations of peace and stability in the region,” WAM reported.Read more:Another Israel-Arab deal expected in coming weeks: Israeli ambassador to USSix major events in Oman-Israel relations: TimelineIsrael likely won’t stamp passports of UAE tourists: Israeli foreign ministry
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US Secretary Pompeo discusses Libya, Iran with UAE officials

The ultra-Orthodox community has united behind a small, unpopular sect after Ukraine forbade this year's traditional pilgrimage.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israeli ultra-Orthodox cry persecution over Ukraine's ban on pilgrimage

The coins are thought to date from the late 9th century..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israelis unearth haul Islamic gold coins in city built on forcibly-depopulated Palestinian village

Having failed to advance its military intervention in Libya, Ankara has grudgingly endorsed a cease-fire in the conflict, but its ambitions appear intact for the process down the road.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Libyan cease-fire casts cloud over Erdogan’s ambitions

Three weeks after the catastrophic explosion at Beirut port, Lebanon is drifting towards even more trouble as its politicians fail to agree a new government that can arrest a financial meltdown.As Lebanon grapples with the aftermath of the blast that killed 180 people, its politicians have been locked in fruitless talks to agree on a new prime minister who might be able to restart International Monetary Fund talks and enact reforms.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Even before the Aug. 4 port explosion, caused by unsafely stored chemicals, the financial collapse had devastated lives across Lebanon, fueling hyperinflation and poverty and demolishing the value of savings in a now zombie banking system. An intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to visit Lebanon again on Sept. 1, has been unable to break the impasse among the sectarian leaders responsible for steering Lebanon into crisis. All-too-familiar personal rivalries and factional interests are getting in the way.Read more: Lebanon’s leading candidate to form a new government withdraws from race Now, barring a course correction, Lebanon is at risk of even deeper chaos, in the assessment of three senior sources from different parties. The central bank has warned it can only subsidize imports of basic goods for three more months, an official source said, raising concern that prices of fuel, wheat and medicine will spiral later this year.“It is very dangerous now. We were at a crossroads: either the right path or continuing going down the road to no IMF, no international aid, no money.This is pushing Lebanon towards chaos, complete collapse,” said one senior political source. A senior European diplomat said: “The speed of politics does not reflect the urgency of the situation. Does Aug. 4 not show things need to change?” The financial collapse is the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-90 civil war. Donor states want to see reforms to curb waste and corruption that are the root causes of the collapse. But three cabinets have failed to make progress on reform since donors pledged more than $11 billion to Lebanon in 2018. The currency has sunk by as much as 80 percent since October. “WE DON’T KNOW WHO IS IN CHARGE”Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab quit on Aug. 10 over the port blast. Nominated by the Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah and its allies in January using their parliamentary majority, Diab stays on as caretaker until a new government is formed. The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. Hezbollah and its Shia ally Amal are pressing for the return of Saad Hariri, seeing him as well placed to galvanize foreign support. But this has hit resistance from several parties, each for their own reasons. The opponents include Hezbollah’s ally the Maronite Christian President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil, who have been at loggerheads with Hariri since last year. At the other end of the spectrum, neither the Christian Lebanese Forces Party, seen as close to Saudi Arabia, nor Druze leader Walid Joumblatt want him back in the job for now. “If it isn’t Saad Hariri, we will remain with a caretaker government” until the end of Aoun’s term in 2022, said a senior politician familiar with the thinking of Hezbollah and Amal. “We are currently in a state of chaos,” the politician said.Without a deal on a new government, “we will go to even more chaos in the street.” Hariri announced on Tuesday he was not a candidate for the job. He has insisted he will only become prime minister of a cabinet of non-aligned experts with public sector experience able to drive through reform.The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, told Reuters reforming Lebanon was more important than the identity of the next prime minister. “What matters to the international community is the next government’s program and its ... policies to meet the expectations of the Lebanese people and restore trust,” he said. Unless a compromise can be reached on Hariri, the choice now for Hezbollah, Aoun and Berri is whether to seek out another Sunni or leave Diab in a caretaker capacity. Hezbollah and Amal do not want anyone but Hariri, the politician familiar with their thinking said. “Now, after three weeks, there has been nothing; we don’t know who is in charge,” said a former government minister. “Not one of the current elite has moved one inch” in addressing demands for a government that implements political and economic reforms. “No one is asking ‘what is it that we have to do?’ No one is proposing anything.” The ruling majority in the political establishment could lean on the central bank to access the gold reserves to finance subsidies for a while longer to stave off chaos, said a senior opposition official familiar with the Lebanese Forces’ position, referring to reserves valued at $18 billion as of Aug. 15. But he added: “I can’t see any compromise government being able to conduct any reforms and I can’t see them agreeing on an independent government. This is pushing the country into further chaos either way.”Read more:Israel strikes Lebanon Hezbollah posts after shots fired towards troops: MilitaryLebanon central bank governor says he hopes depositors will recuperate their money
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Further chaos feared in Lebanon as politicians fail to agree on new govt

The probe has covered 20 per cent of its 493-million-km journey within a month after it was launched..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Half of UAE’s Mars mission leaders are women: Minister

Fighting resumed in southern Yemen between the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, officials said Wednesday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Yemen’s STC suspends Riadh Agreement participation, fighting resumes