News Brief - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

News Brief

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Raisi: Iran 'never has hope' in Vienna talks

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has struck a pessimistic tone commenting on the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers.

Passengers from Iran arrive to Najaf airport after it reopened on July 16, 2018.

Iraq receives 145% more foreign visitors in 2021

Iraq waived the visa requirements for citizens of many economically powerful countries last year in a bid to attract tourists and businesspeople.

Dubai expo

Saudi Arabia building support for Expo 2030 bid

The kingdom wants to host the international cultural forum, which is currently being held in Dubai.

Saudi tech

Saudi IT industry to work with German software firm SAP on cloud technology

The memorandum of understanding is the latest to come out of the LEAP technology forum in Riyadh, and reflects the kingdom’s diversification efforts.

Latest News

Turkish technology fair comes to Azerbaijan

A Turkish boy uses a Turkish unmanned aircraft (ANKA) simulation unit on Sept. 20, 2018 at the Istanbul's new international airport, during the Teknofest aviation, space and technology fair.

US voices concern after Tunisia's Saied disbands judicial watchdog

Tunisia court

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

World Bank gives Palestinian Authority new grant to fight COVID-19

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran talks to resume Tuesday as negotiations enter final phase

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Hodeida land mine

Yemen land mine explosion kills three kids near Red Sea port

Fighting is continuing in Yemen, despite Saudi, Iranian and US calls for a cease-fire.

migrants detained by Libyan coast guard

More than 100 children intercepted off Libyan coast

2021 has been a deadly year for people seeking to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe, and around 1,000 children are currently detained in Libya in connection with migration attempts.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian shakes hands with a French soldier of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon during a visit to the contingent headquarters in the southern village of Deir Kifa, Lebanon, April 20, 2015.

French FM says some Lebanese politicians banned from France over failure to form government

Lebanon has been without a Cabinet since last year, and France does not want to provide the country much-needed aid until economic reforms are implemented.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends the 42nd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Coorporation at Bayan palace in Kuwait City May 27, 2015.

Iranian foreign minister visits Kuwait

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is on a regional diplomatic tour and talks have included the war in Yemen.

Blinken and Cohen

Blinken meets Israel’s Mossad chief to talk Iran

The meeting follows talks earlier this week involving Israeli officials and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Shored Gaza fishing boats

Israel reopens Gaza fishing zone closed over rocket fire

Israel shut civilian access to the fishing zone after several nights of rocket attacks.

Iraq's oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar (C) attends the inauguration of a new gas compressor station in the Rumaylah oil field near Iraq's southern port city of Basra on Feb. 28, 2021.

Iraqi, Syrian oil ministers discuss gas imports

The Iraqi and Syrian oil ministers talked about the possibility of transporting Egyptian gas to Iraq through Syria during a meeting in Baghdad.

Samantha Power, nominee to be Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Biden's USAID nominee confirmed by Senate

Samantha Power is one of several Obama era officials serving in the Biden administration. She said delivering aid to Libya and Yemen would be among her priorities at the foreign aid agency.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia seeks 'good' relationship with Iran, says crown prince

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said Saudi Arabia is "more than 90% in agreement with" the administration of President Joe Biden.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

3 killed, 10 arrested in Dubai knife brawl

The quarrel was the result of a financial dispute between foreign workers in the UAE's largest city.

Israeli human rights activist Adi Dagan listens to an Israeli soldier as she waits for troops to allow Palestinian schoolchildren home through a gate in the security fence March 2, 2004, at the village of Jubara near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The 300 Israeli women volunteers of the Machsom Watch group have appointed themselves to the task of monitoring the Israeli army, which operates about 65 manned and hundreds of unmanned checkpoints in the West Bank.

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of 'apartheid'

The leading international human rights watchdog cited Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza vis-a-vis Jewish Israelis. The Israeli government dismissed the report.

A person is tested with a COVID-19 PCR exam on April 14, 2021, in Montevideo, Uruguay. After cases surged in the last week, Uruguay has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections per million inhabitants in Latin America, surpassing Brazil and Mexico. The South American country, which has a population of 3.4 million, currently has the highest global rate of new positive cases of coronavirus.

Israel, Saudi Arabia help Uruguay fight COVID-19

Uruguay has some of the highest case and death rates of coronavirus in the world. An Israeli medical team arrived in the South American country today.