News from the Middle East and North Africa | The Arab Weekly

Kuwait

Kuwait’s new Emir Nawwaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah stands after taking the oath of office at the parliament, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, September 30. (REUTERS)

Kuwait’s succession set in motion but uncertainty over crown prince

Maghreb

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during the September 11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, September 11. (REUTERS)

US Pentagon chief’s Maghreb tour to focus on counterterrorism, Libya

Kuwait

A 2014 file photo shows Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attending the closing session of the 25th Arab Summit in Bayan Palace in Kuwait City. (AP)

Kuwait’s Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah sworn in as new emir

Turkey

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) stands alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) during their visit to the US Naval Support Activity base at Souda on the Greek island of Crete. (AFP)

Will Washington transfer forces from Incirlik to Crete?

Jordan

A file picture shows Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz delivering a speech in Amman, last April. (DPA)

Jordan government set to step down ahead of legislative elections

News & Analysis

In Libya talks, too many cooks could spoil the broth

Latest Issue

Issue: 254 | Sun, April 26, 2020

Top Stories

Washington green-lights Israeli government’s move to annexation

Gulf countries seen as well-positioned to weather storm

For Muslims in Arab world, Ramadan is unlike any before

Opinion

Gulf countries need comprehensive solution in the face of economic pressures

Haitham El-Zobaidi

Incitement cannot topple the Egyptian state

What remains of secularism in Tunisia

Mokhtar Dabbabi

Peace deals reflect the big picture in the region

Khairallah Khairallah

Algeria

Lawyers chant slogans and wave an Algerian national flag as they demonstrate outside the Court of Algiers on September 27. (AFP)

Simmering anger could dash Algiers' hopes for an uneventful referendum

Iran

Brigadier-General Mohammad Pakpour (3rd-L), commander of the IRGC ground forces, welcomes four freed Iranian border guards held captive by a militant group in Pakistan’s restive southwest, upon their arrival in Iran on March 22, 2019. AFP

Three Iran Guards killed in attack in Sistan-Baluchistan

News & Analysis

A 2006 file photo shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, left, flashes the V sign as then Fatah official, Mohammed Dahlan, looks on in the West Bank town of Ramallah. (AFP)

Blocking Dahlan’s rise motivates Istanbul deal between Fatah, Hamas

Tunisia

President Kais Saied chairs National Security Council meeting at the Carthage Palace near Tunis, September 28. (Tunisian Presidential press office website)

Heinous crime in Tunis triggers hot debate over the death penalty

Iraq

A file photo shows Iraqi militia commander Hadi al-Amiri attending the funeral of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, January 4, in Baghdad. (REUTERS)

Amiri, Maliki looking for tribal support to topple Kadhimi

Oman

A file picture of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11. (Reuters)

Sultan Haitham a ‘renaissance figure’ with challenges ahead

UAE

Emirati officials brief Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, about a possible moon mission, September 29 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)

UAE to send unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024

Tunisia

Migrants from Tunisia disembark from Italy’s Guardia Costiera (Coast Guard) boat in the Italian Pelagie Island of Lampedusa on July 30. (AFP)

In Tunisia, not only the unemployed seek illegal emigration

Syria

Combination of photos of President Bashar al-Assad and businessman Rami Makhlouf. (The Arab Weekly).

Makhlouf protests closing of loyal charities by Syrian security

News & Analysis

A view of the Hurghada southern Red Sea resort city in Egypt. (AFP)

Libya rivals agree in Egypt talks on prisoner exchange, transit links

Syria

Children stand in front of a tent classroom at a school in the town of Batenta camp in Idlib governorate, Syria, September 27. (DPA)

More Syrian children going hungry because of effects of war, pandemic

Yemen

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada (L) shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig (2nd L) next to UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths at the end of a meeting on September 27, in Glion, Switzerland. (AFP)

Uncertainties as to what’s next after Yemen prisoner swap

Opinion

Gulf countries need comprehensive solution in the face of economic pressures

Haitham El-Zobaidi

Incitement cannot topple the Egyptian state

What remains of secularism in Tunisia

Mokhtar Dabbabi

Peace deals reflect the big picture in the region

Khairallah Khairallah

UAE

The festival events include camel, falcon and goat beauty contests. (credit)

Abu Dhabi’s popular heritage festival to kick off next month

Media

YouTube offers Arab writers a censorship-free platform, wide audience

Algeria

A 2019 file picture shows Algerian demonstrators dressed in traditional Berber or Amazigh minority outfits take part in a protest in the capital Algiers. Placard calls for unity of Algerians. (AFP)

Declaring Tamazight an official language sparks controversy in Algeria

Saudi Arabia

Media Ministry Launches Saudi Documentary Film “Difficult Times”. (SPA)

Saudi documentary chronicles life during coronavirus

Culture

Maestro Mohamed Saad Basha with members of Al-Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope) chamber orchestra of blind women perform at the Manasterly Palace in Cairo, Egypt, September 20, 2020. (Reuters)

Egyptian visually-impaired female musicians hold concert despite pandemic

Lebanon

Hope Graffiti – Le Gray Facade (Courtesy of Le Gray Hotel)

Art breeds hope, resilience in blast-stricken Beirut