AW

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Issue: 161 | Sun, June 17, 2018

Top Stories

Iran’s ‘dangerous game’ with Israel in Syria

Iraq’s al-Sadr turns to Iran-backed rival in bid to end vote fraud crisis

Mamoon Alabbasi

Trump’s aid cuts to the Middle East draw sharp criticism from US Congress

Battle for Hodeidah a major turning point in Yemen’s war

Mohammed Alkhereiji

Erdogan facing biggest political challenge in Turkish elections

Opinion

Did Jordan’s poor save Jordan’s rich from income tax?

Islamists’ partisan elevation of Istanbul is not credible

Trump-Kim summit can set off nuclear dominoes game

Rashmee Roshan Lall

Double-standard treatment of refugees in Europe

Gulf aid calms tensions in Jordan but economy needs structural reforms

Islamism and secular nationalism have much in common

Iraq’s democracy burns in the fires of voter fraud allegations

Tallha Abdulrazaq

Editorial

Arab world

Supporters of the Egyptian national football team cheer during a gathering in central Moscow, on June 15. (Reuters)

The Arab region and the football World Cup

MENA

An Iraqi youth washes his hands in a stream of water in the village of Sayyed Dakhil. (AFP)

Water supplies under threat in MENA

Palestine

Capturing the violence. Palestinian women use their mobile phones to take photos during clashes with Israeli troops, last March. (AP)

Palestinians wary of proposal that criminalises filming of Israeli soldiers

East|West

The Italian Navy patrol vessel Orione (L) sails next to the French NGO SOS Mediterranee Aquarius ship as migrants are being transferred in the Mediterranean Sea, on June 12. (AP)

Italy’s populist government draws line over migration

Mahmud el-Shafey

Lebanon

A 2004 file picture shows Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (L) chatting with Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas’s political bureau in Beirut. (AP)

Hezbollah, Hamas bolster ties, raising stakes in Lebanon

Nicholas Blanford

Egypt

Progress despite challenges. Egyptian security forces stand guard in central Abdin neighbourhood in Cairo. (AFP)

Egyptians feel safer but at high cost for security forces

Jordan

Hoping for better days. People stroll in a traditional market in downtown Amman.(AFP)

Positive vibes in Jordan after scrapping of tax law, Gulf aid

Gulf

Operation Golden Victory shows coalition’s resolve to defeat Houthis

Mohammed Alkhereiji

Interview

Defeating dependency. Palestinian-American businessman Sam Bahour. (Courtesy of Sam Bahour)

In times of turbulence, Palestinians continue to put nonviolent pressure on Israel

Economy

A worker waits for clients at a petrol station in Cairo. (AP)

Egypt orders major subsidy cuts in latest austerity move

East|West

A riot police officer stands with his weapon during a protest march at the G7 Summit in Quebec City, on June 9. (Reuters)

G7 countries eye threat of foreign fighters’ return

Abdulrahman al-Masri

Maghreb

A new chapter. Libyan children displaced from the town of Tawergha attend class in their camp in Benghazi. (Reuters)

Resolution of Tawergha issue shows Libyan reconciliation is possible

Maghreb

Seasoned diplomat. Newly appointed Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.(Reuters)

Mauritania names veteran diplomat as foreign minister ahead of African Union summit

Turkey

Uncertain race. People walk past an election poster of Muharrem Ince, the presidential candidate of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), in Istanbul, on June 6. (AP)

Five candidates compete in Turkey’s presidential race

Sports

A Saudi woman and boy pose for a “selfie” before a wall showing a picture of the Saudi national football team in Jeddah, on June 14. (AFP)

Arab teams off to slow start in World Cup but fans hold out hope

Stephen Quillen

Travel

A view of the Saint Louis Cathedral from down the Byrsa Hill. (The Acropolium of Carthage)

The Acropolium of Carthage: At the crossroads of culture and history

Culture

Creative forms. Mixed-media Installations by Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim. (Sharjah Art Foundation)

Pioneering Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim stands out with unique vision

N.P. Krishna Kumar

Sports

Egypt’s national team goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, also known as Al-Sad Al-Aaly, arrives for a training session, on June 11. (AFP)

For Egypt’s new breed of footballers, everything’s in a nickname

Mahmud el-Shafey

Society

Pastry shop at Derb Sultan district in Casablanca. (Saad Guerraoui)

Centuries-old traditions prevail as Moroccans celebrate Eid al-Fitr

Society

Egyptians look up as balloons are released from the roof of a mosque on Eid al-Fitr. (AFP)

In Arab world, Eid al-Fitr comes with a mix of economic and political concerns