Tuesday, March 19

Middle East

Arab Countries are Boycotting French Products After Macron’s Islam Measures
France, Middle East, News

Arab Countries are Boycotting French Products After Macron’s Islam Measures

Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar have completely boycotted French products. The three Arab countries do not agree with French President Emmanuel Macron's new Islam policy.   After the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty by a Muslim extremist, Macron took strict measures. Last week it was just a call on social media: #BoycottFrenchProducts. Numerous companies in Arab countries and Turkey are now responding to this and are removing French products such as L'Oreal, Tefal and La Vache Qui Rit from the shelves. In Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, the reaction is currently strongest: there the governments have declared a total ban on French products. "The French must respect our religion," the director of a mall in Jordan told Reuters. "They express themselves with cartoons, and we express ourselves eco...
Lebanese Justice Will Interrogate Ministers After Disaster
Lebanon, Middle East, News

Lebanese Justice Will Interrogate Ministers After Disaster

A Lebanese prosecutor is going to question ministers and former ministers about the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut.   Former Minister of Public Works Ghazi al-Aridi will be questioned first, says an initiate, who wanted to remain anonymous. If the investigation reveals negligence, the source says the evidence should be sent to parliament. Justice cannot merely decide to prosecute ministers or former ministers. Permission must be requested for this. The explosion in the port of Beirut claimed the lives of at least 171 people. Another 6,500 people were injured, and hundreds of thousands of the city's residents are left homeless. The damage may amount to more than $ 15 billion, President Michel Aoun said Wednesday. Last week, a warehouse exploded where 2,750 tons of co...
Israeli Army Raid against Hamas Targets
Israel, Middle East, News

Israeli Army Raid against Hamas Targets

Israeli Army Raid against Hamas Targets. In the nighttime from Saturday to Sunday, the Israeli army conducted a series of air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.   The raid was retaliation for Saturday's radical Palestinian organisation's attack on targets in Israel. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinians fired four more missiles on Israeli territory last night. Hamas had declared a ceasefire on Saturday night after two days of heavy fighting with Israel. But Israel had not confirmed that truce, updated by Planet Blog. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, the Israeli army has been bombarding several targets of Hamas in Gaza City with air strikes. These include a training centre for the radical Palestinian movement, and the military says Sunday morning in a press ...
Iranian Government for Crisis Negotiations at the Supreme Leader
Iran, Middle East, News

Iranian Government for Crisis Negotiations at the Supreme Leader

Iranian Government for Crisis Negotiations at the Supreme Leader. The Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei has summoned President Hassan.   Rohani and the rest of his ministers for a crisis meeting in his residency. That reports news site Alef Sunday. According to Alef, Khamenei wants to discuss the financial crisis in the country with the government, writes The Greater. Because all ministers were summoned, observers do not exclude Khamenei from asking the president to resign. Hardliners in the country accuse Rohani of having miscalculated the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal, and after the American exit from that agreement, Iran has plunged into a crisis.
Social Protest Costs Two People Lives in Iraq
International, Iraq, Middle East, News

Social Protest Costs Two People Lives in Iraq

Two people were killed on Friday night in the south of Iraq in social protest. The protest movement is increasing in size, which prompted the authorities to set a curfew in the Basra province, reports Press Cube.   Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also announced extra funds and investments in Basra on Saturday evening, where he had been on the spot the day before and had already made promises. The demonstrators complain about the corruption of public services and high unemployment. They are displeased with the lack of decisiveness of the government in the region, which is nevertheless rich in oil. A spokesperson for the provincial emergency services, Ahmad al-Kanani, said that two demonstrators "were killed by bullets" in the province of Maysan, on the border with Iran. This brings...
China Tightens Ties with the Arab States
Asia, Business, China, Middle East, News

China Tightens Ties with the Arab States

China Tightens Ties with the Arab States. The eighth meeting of ministers of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum takes place in Beijing. There are about 300 participants from 21 Arab States plus China, reports Citi News.   President Xi announced a "Sino-Arab forward-looking strategic partnership for all-inclusive cooperation and joint development". In his opening speech, President Xi said that "We must strive to preserve peace and stability in the Middle East, protect justice and justice, promote joint development and learn from each other as friends." Critical concepts in his vision are mutual trust, dialogue and reconciliation, sticking to sovereignty, comprehensive settlement and the fight against terrorism. Critical areas for economic cooperation are connectivity, energy,...