Middle East Experience

While the United States and its allies have largely tolerated Qatar's duplicity, Israel faces a far more immediate and existential threat.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Qatar’s shadow: Western tolerance vs Israel’s immediate risk

Three Iranian men appeared in a London court Saturday charged with spying for Iran's intelligence services, as the UK interior ministry said they had arrived "by irregular means including small boats".Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to boost national security powers following the charges, which come amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil.In October, the head of Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence service revealed that since 2022 the UK had uncovered 20 Iran-backed plots posing "potentially lethal threats".
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Three Iranians charged with suspected espionage in UK

In Tel Aviv, families of hostages called for an end to the war, arguing that only a deal can bring the remaining hostages home.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Netanyahu has become 'angel of death' for the hostages, Zangauker says

While he once stood under the bright lights of Kochav Habah (Rising Star), his music now resonates in a different key: soul, faith, and national healing.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: From Rising Star to national inspiration: A musical journey after October 7

The Dubai real estate sector saw $4.7bn of transactions and 4,048 sales last week
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Dubai real estate sector recorded .7bn of transactions last week, including m Business Bay building

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with riot police in Basel as the Swiss city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest Saturday, AFP journalists at the scene witnessed.Protesters demonstrating against Israel's participation in the contest while it ramps up its war in Gaza clashed briefly with police in the centre of the city shortly before Israel's Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael took to the stage at the St. Jakobshalle venue across town.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Pro-Palestinian protesters, police clash in Basel during Eurovision

Syria on Saturday announced the formation of a national commission for missing persons and another for transitional justice, more than five months after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.Syria's new authorities have pledged justice for victims of atrocities committed under Assad's rule, and a five-year transitional constitution signed in March provided for the formation of a transitional justice commission.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syria announces commissions for missing persons, transitional justice

Hasan Hadi, the first filmmaker from Iraq to be selected for the prestigious Cannes Festival, said that economic embargoes like those imposed in his childhood under Saddam Hussein do not work."Sanctions empower dictators," he told AFP, claiming that they concentrate scant resources in their hands and only make them "more brutal"."In the history of the world, there was no one time when they (imposed) sanctions and the president couldn't eat."
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraq's first filmmaker in Cannes says sanctions no piece of cake

The Israeli army announced "extensive ground operations" Sunday as part of its newly expanded campaign in the Gaza Strip, where rescuers reported dozens killed in a wave of Israeli strikes.The announcement came just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled Israel was open to striking a deal with Hamas that involved "ending the fighting" in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel army announces 'extensive ground operations' under ramped-up Gaza campaign

Dubai is further developing its bus service as it looks to expand network and number of dedicated transport lanes
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Dubai plans 6 new bus lanes as RTA reveals 11,000 daily trips and reveals 188m passengers last year