KHARTOUM (REUTERS) – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is ready to proceed with normalising relations with Israel once a yet-to-be-formed transitional Parliament has approved the step, two Sudanese government sources told Reuters on Thursday (Oct 22). The comments are the clearest sign that Mr Hamdok, under pressure from the United States, is willing to contemplate […]

JERUSALEM — Diplomats from the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday made their first official trip to Israel since the countries normalized relations in August, and the two sides signed pacts deepening their ties, including allowing their citizens to travel from one country to the other without visas — Israel’s first such waiver with an Arab […]

RIYADH (REUTERS) – Saudi Arabia’s biggest supermarket chains this week joined a growing boycott of Turkish imports proposed by business leaders and Saudis on social media, as political tensions spilled into trade between the two regional powers. Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads since the 2011 “Arab Spring” over Ankara’s support for Islamist […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Long-time chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was in “critical” condition and in a medically induced coma on Monday (Oct 19), said the Israeli hospital in Jerusalem treating him for coronavirus complications. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said on Sunday that Mr Erekat had been admitted to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital’s coronavirus intensive […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – The scene cuts from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the lyrics switch from Arabic to Hebrew to English and the song is a slightly kitsch electro-pop duet by artists who, for now, remain apart. The normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has produced its first musical collaboration: Ahlan Bik, […]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel and Bahrain will officially establish diplomatic relations on Sunday (Oct 18) at a ceremony in Manama, an Israeli official said, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. A visiting delegation from Israel and officials in Bahrain will sign a “joint communique (that) is the establishment of full […]

KABUL — Rahmatullah Andar was once a feared Taliban commander, locked in bloody skirmishes against American and Afghan government troops in the rugged landscape of eastern Afghanistan. In 2007, an American Special Operations team captured him during a night raid on a house in his ancestral village in Ghazni Province. He spent two years in […]

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister signalled progress may be underway toward resolving the three-year-old rift with its neighbour Qatar, following a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. “We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers, and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement,” Prince […]

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister signalled progress may be underway toward resolving the three-year-old rift with its neighbour Qatar, following a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. “We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers, and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement,” Prince […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon and Israel kicked off their first negotiations in 30 years on nonsecurity issues, aiming to end a long-running dispute over their maritime border in the gas-rich Mediterranean Sea. The brief first session on Wednesday was hosted by the United Nations and mediated by the United States, whose diplomats worked for years […]