Middle East Experience

Egypt’s Eva Pharma reached a deal with Gilead Sciences to locally manufacture the antiviral treatment Remdesivir for the treatment of coronavirus patients and distribute it in 127 countries.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Deal with US drug company raises controversy in Egypt over use of anti-coronavirus treatment

Former Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi and Kuwaiti hate preacher and author Hakem al-Mutairi are heard discussing revolutionary plans in an undated audio recording leaked by a Qatari opposition figure.In this latest recording, which Al Arabiya English was unable to independently verify, Gaddafi reportedly told al-Mutairi: “We are your family and your support. You can count on us for anything to support you, all that you ask for, and you are capable of planning and working.”Gaddafi, who led Libya from 1969 until he was overthrown and killed in 2011, promoted a revolutionary ideology and frequently claimed to want to overthrow other Arab leaders.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Al-Mutairi is the leader of the Kuwaiti Ummah Party, an unrecognized political party with conservative and allegedly extremist views. He was previously a founding member of Kuwait’s Salafi Movement and critical of the US and Saudi Arabia.He said to Gaddafi: “There is no atonement except through radical change to the region, and bringing things back to what they should be, and bringing down these governments or putting them in their place until the people can be liberated from this colonialism.”In 2017, the Arab Quartet of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain named al-Mutairi as one of 59 individuals and institutions that have financed terrorism and received support from Qatar.Read more:Qatar assured Gaddafi Al Jazeera will not stop negative Saudi coverage: Audio leaksQatar’s former emir, PM assure Gaddafi Al Jazeera won’t host anti-Libya guests: AudioQatar’s former emir reveals close ties with Libya, Syrian regime: Audio leaksIn the recording, Gaddafi is heard saying that they used to support the former Egyptian leader Gamel Abdel Nasser, saying he was considered “a role model” and the “hero of Arab nationalism.”“When we did the revolution in Libya we started planning for it and working for it through secret cells while we were young students in ‘59 and until ‘69,” Gaddafi tells al-Mutairi. “Abdel Nasser didn’t know us and he didn’t meet us. And he did not plan for us, but we were able to follow through with the revolution.”He tells al-Mutairi that even without meeting him, the former Libyan leader believes the Ummah leader is capable of carrying out the revolution, to which al-Mutairi replies “For sure, the project has been on for years.”It is unclear what project they are discussing specifically.Other leaksThe leak is the latest of audio clips to be shared by Qatari opposition figure Khalid al-Hail on Twitter; many of the recordings feature Gaddafi in discussions with prominent Qatari politicians.On June 6, al-Hail released a recording that reportedly captured Qatar’s former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani expressing Doha’s support for the Libyan and the Syrian regimes in a conversation with Gaddafi and Qatar’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim.The recording is one of several released by al-Hail in recent weeks, including one in which the former emir can be heard calling former US president Barack Obama a “slave” during a conversation with Gaddafi.A similar recording between former emir of Qatar and Gaddafi was released in 2017, in which the two leaders attacked Saudi Arabia and the ruling family.In another recording leaked from the same year, Gaddafi and the former prime minister can reportedly be heard discussing plans to carve up Saudi Arabia.Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim did not deny the recording and said that the issue was discussed to appease Gaddafi.In 2013, Sheikh Hamad handed over power to his son, current Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani. Hamad bin Jassim stepped down from his positions in government at the time and reportedly has strained relations with the current emir.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Gaddafi, extremist preacher discuss ‘liberating’ Arab world in new leaked recording

Jordanians have welcomed the government’s latest push to prosecute officials and businessmen accused of tax evasion and money laundering, but wonder if the effort will be sustainable.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Jordan government takes on tax evasion, abuse of public office

Iran’s highest judicial authority upheld the death sentences of three Iranian protesters arrested during the country’s anti-government protests last November, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Wednesday.Protests broke out across Iran last November after the government introduced gasoline rationing and price hikes. Thousands were arrested and about 1,500 Iranians were killed by security forces, according to Reuters.The three protesters sentenced to death were charged in February on charges of “cooperating in vandalism and arson with an intent to act against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” HRANA, a news site run by Iranian human rights advocates in exile, had reported. They are Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi.The Supreme Court of Iran, the country’s highest judicial authority, has upheld the death sentences that were issued by the Tehran Revolutionary Court in February, HRANA said citing an unnamed lawyer.The trial of the three protesters was presided over by judge Abolghassem Salavati, whom the US imposed sanctions on last December, accusing him of having punished Iranian citizens and dual nationals for exercising their freedoms of speech and assembly.Moradi told judge Salavati during the court hearing on several occasions that he was forced to confess under “pressure, threats and torture,” according to HRANA.Tamjidi and Rajabi also said they were beaten and tortured, as well as pressured to confess to having links to the opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), said HRANA.Iranians with links to the MEK face serious charges and receive heavy sentences in Iran.Fearing arrest after Moradi was arrested, Tamjidi and Rajabi fled to Turkey seeking asylum but were extradited to Iran alongside 30 other Iranians last December days after a visit by President Hassan Rouhani to Ankara, HRANA said.Read more:Iranian judge accused of corruption in Iran found dead in Romanian capitalIran’s currency drops to lowest value ever against US dollarFugitive Iran judge Mansouri died after collision with hard surface: Autopsy
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran supreme court upholds death sentence for three protesters: Human rights agency

Saudi Arabia reported 3,123 new coronavirus cases and 41 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, according to the ministry of health. There were 2,912 new recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 112,797.There have been 167,267 total confirmed coronavirus cases, with a total of 1,387 COVID-19 related deaths, since Saudi Arabia reported its first case on March 2.Saudi Arabia was recently ranked among the top 20 safest countries in the world during the ongoing pandemic, according to a comprehensive data analysis by Hong Kong-based Deep Knowledge Group.Saudi Arabia was 17th in Deep Knowledge’s COVID-19 Safety Assessment, classified within the “Tier 1” category - 20 countries that ranked highest “in terms of regional safety and stability” in the era of COVID-19.Saudi Arabia also took the number one spot in the analysis’ “regional resiliency” index, which considers how a country’s demography, geopolitical stability, and societal discipline, and other factors influence safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.The Kingdom ranked seventh in the emergency preparedness index, which takes into account four factors including emergency military mobilization experience and level of societal emergency resilience – the overall level of preparedness that incorporates “psychological, cultural and religious practices and attitudes.”Saudi Arabia also ranked 19th in the “monitoring and detection” index, which included indicators of testing efficiency and transparency of dataSaudi Arabia has so far conducted over 1 million tests for COVID-19.Read more:Erdogan critics: Turkey tried to silence them, now these journalists demand justiceSafest coronavirus countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE rank in top 20 of COVID-19 analysisCoronavirus: UAE launches world’s first phase 3 clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia reports 3,123 new coronavirus cases, 41 COVID-19 deaths

The US is sanctioning five Iranian ship captains who delivered about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline to Venezuela “in support of the illegitimate Maduro regime,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.“These captains assets with be blocked and they won’t be able to operate with US waters,” he added.“Mariners who are considering work with Iran and Venezuela should understand that aiding these oppressive regimes is simply not worth the risk,” the State Department said in a press release.Earlier this month an Iranian news agency close to the elite Revolutionary Guards reported that Iran’s naval forces were preparing to target US commercial vessels in the Gulf last month in case US forces interfered with Venezuela-bound Iranian oil tankers.Iran sent a flotilla of five tankers of fuel to gasoline-starved ally Venezuela in May, and Tehran has said it will continue the shipments if Caracas requests more, despite Washington’s criticism of the trade between the two nations, which are both under US sanctions.“According to reports received by Noor News, after increasing military threats against Iranian vessels headed for Venezuela, an order was issued to Iran’s armed forces to identify and track several US merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman,” Noor News said on its website.“Options for reciprocal action were immediately identified and monitored for possible operations,” the agency added.Iran complained to the United Nations last month and summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the Islamic Republic, over possible measures Washington could take against the Iranian tankers.Tension between Washington and Tehran has escalated since 2018, when US President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed sanctions targeting particularly its vital oil industry.Read more:Third Iranian cargo reaches Venezuelan waters, others unloadingSaudi Arabia reports 3,123 new coronavirus cases, 41 COVID-19 deathsErdogan critics: Turkey tried to silence them, now these journalists demand justice
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US sanctions five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to Venezuela: Pompeo

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the recent decision taken by Saudi Arabia to host a limited Hajj season this year based on risk assessments under WHO guidance, the organization’s chief said in a press conference on Wednesday.“Earlier this week, the government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that this year’s Hajj will proceed with a limited number of pilgrims of different nationalities who live within the kingdom. This decision was made based on a risk assessment and analysis of different scenarios in accordance with WHO guidance to protect the safety of pilgrims and minimize the risk of transmission,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom.Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.“WHO supports this decision. We understand that it was not an easy decision to make, and we also understand it is a major disappointment for many Muslims who are looking forward to making their pilgrimage this year,” Adhanom added.“This is another example of the hard choices that all countries must make to put health first.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia’s authorities confirmed the Hajj pilgrimage would be held in a limited capacity this year amid the global pandemic.Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime. Last year, 2.5 million pilgrims performed their Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.Read more:Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia announces Hajj protocols, measures for pilgrimsCoronavirus: Muftis across Arab, Islamic world welcome Saudi decision to limit HajjCoronavirus numbers 'quickly rising,' WHO warns after record global COVID-19 spike
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: WHO supports Saudi Arabia’s decision to host limited Hajj

Environmental and anti-occupation activists are campaigning against plans to establish an industrial zone near the settlement town Beitar illit, a project they say threatens traditional agriculture and a world heritage site.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Battle rages over Israel's plan for industrial zone in unique West Bank landscape

Seven GOP senators say Trump peace plan will reverse "Obama-Biden legacy."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton: Trump should support annexation

What’s that you say? You didn’t know that hot dogs were a Jewish food? Well, that’s part of the story, too.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Hot dogs are the greatest American Jewish food. Here’s why.