Middle East Experience

Iranian authorities on Wednesday freed Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi from prison for three weeks on medical grounds, a move supporters decried as "too little too late" with the Nobel committee urging a permanent release.Addressing reporters in Paris, Mohammadi's 18-year-old son, Ali Rahmani, said he had been able to speak by phone to his mother for the first time in two years.Her lawyer Mostafa Nili earlier announced on X that her jail sentence had been "suspended" for three weeks and she had been released.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iran frees Nobel winner for three weeks, sparking calls for 'permanent' release

President Emmanuel Macron completed his state visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as France's government faced being ousted in a no-confidence vote.Macron flew out after viewing the ancient AlUla heritage site, a cornerstone of the conservative country's nascent tourism industry, at the end of his three-day tour.The first French state visit to Saudi Arabia since 2006 came against the backdrop of a major political crisis that threatens to force out the minority government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Macron wraps up Saudi visit as government faces no-confidence vote

Israeli settlers on Wednesday wounded a Palestinian and set buildings on fire while raiding two villages in the occupied West Bank after a nearby settlement outpost was evicted by Israeli forces, Palestinian and Israeli sources said."Israeli civilians entered the village of Beit Furik" east of the Palestinian city of Nablus, the Israeli army said, adding that they "set property on fire, and hurled stones".Local authorities told AFP the attacks took place early on Wednesday morning.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Adam Boehler previously served as a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords with Jared Kushner.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Trump names Adam Boehler as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs

“We didn’t just lose our mother; we lost our childhood, our resilience, and our security,” Amna Aash said following her mother's murder.

Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Orphaned by violence: Amna Aash’s journey with the Sunflower Association

“A fixated mind can make one believe black is white,” he explained.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Oct. 7 intel. failure due to psychological blindness of Israeli leaders, expert says

The soldiers had reportedly filmed themselves during their IDF service in Gaza, the report noted. 
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: IDF orders five soldiers to return from Europe over arrest warrant fears

The European plane maker aims to develop local talent and technological expertise in the fast-growing Gulf market.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Airbus becomes latest multinational to open regional HQ in Saudi Arabia

Syria's fourth-largest city, Hama, which the army on Thursday admitted it lost control of after an Islamist-led rebel advance, was the scene in the 1980s of a massacre that remains among the darkest chapters in the country's history.Around 210 kilometres (130 miles) north of the capital Damascus, Hama is strategic because of its location between Syria's second city Aleppo -- which rebels took on December 1 -- and Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad's power base.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hama, Syrian city at centre of fighting, has brutal history

Several OPEC+ countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed Thursday to extend oil supply cuts for three months through March to avoid a sharp drop in prices in a global market awash in crude.The decision had been widely expected, though dissension that caused the meeting to be delayed by a few days had created some doubts that the oil cartel would maintain the cuts.Eight OPEC+ countries will extend their "voluntary adjustments" of 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of March, the Vienna-based group said in a statement following a virtual meeting.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: OPEC+ extends oil supply cuts through March