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While there is a broad range of Arabic language media outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable and reliable means for English speakers to gain access to this content. As a result, many English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.

Mideastwire.com aims to close this gap by offering a daily menu of translations covering some of the key political, cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries and the Arab Diaspora. Through this effort, we hope to address at least one aspect of a global disconnect that continues to threaten a wide spectrum of socio-political and economic relationships, both here in the region and beyond.

It is also important to note that, since our founding in 2005, Mideastwire.com is wholly funded by the content license fees paid by individuals and organizations. As such, there is no government, commercial or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides a relatively independent platform for better understanding.

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TODAY’S DAILY BRIEFING

24-May-2017

Bahrain

Opinion

“Hamad Bin Isa: The king of sedition and blood!” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Human Rights - Unrest

On May 24, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following piece: “The rulers of Bahrain, and their King Hamad Bin Isa, are proceeding with the unjust treatment of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the most prominent leader in the country who was sentenced in absentia, by a tribunal in Manama last Sunday, to a suspended term of one year in prison after being convicted of “collecting money in illegal ways…[ellipses as published] and money laundering” in addition to paying a fee of 100,000 Bahraini dinars (around 265,000 USD) and “confiscating the concerned funds… (Read More)

“Who will pay the price of instigation against the state?!” (Akhbar al-Khaleej, Bahrain)

Democracy and Party Politics - Human Rights - Judicial Affairs - Unrest

On May 24, Akhbar al-Khaleej newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Ibrahim ash-Shaikh: “How painful it is to see the repetition of acts of violence and unjustified confrontations that have caused the death of one person and the injuring of another yesterday, due to the insistence of some on belittling the state and establishing a state within the state, in accordance with the Lebanese model. We used to think that the 2011 lesson was harsh on everyone, and that those who had wasted the blood of their youth by instigating them then throwing them to death would have learned the lesson and would be acting more carefully. Unfortunately however, the commerce of sectarianism, death and hatred is persisting and is very lucrative to some! Yes, the state made a mistake by dispersing the gathering in front of Sheikh Isa Qassim’s house, because it should not have authorized it in the first place… (Read More)

Egypt

Politics

“Exclusive: Secrets of meeting between 11 activists and dubious organization in Rome...” (Newspaper, Middle East)

Human Rights - USA Europe

On May 21, the Egyptian pro-government Youm 7 newspaper carried the following report by Muhammad Attiya: “During the last few days, a major hotel in the Italian capital Rome hosted a secret meeting organized by a dubious association claiming to defend human rights, i.e. Reseau Fondrac Onlus, to instigate against Egypt and plan acts of sabotage in the country. The meeting was attended by Human Rights Attorney Khaled Ali [a potential presidential candidate], Academician Amr Hamzawi, who lives abroad, the head of a human rights organization in Egypt known as the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, Emad Mubarak, and Director of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies Baha’eddin Hassan, one of those whose funds were confiscated in the context of the “foreign funding” case… (Read More)

Iran

Politics

"The priority of economy for Iran's 12th government" (Website, Middle East)

Democracy and Party Politics - Financial Markets - Governmental Reform

On May 20, the Iranian website Khabar online carried a report by Zahra Aliakbari that said: "The head of the 12th government train must soon show its iron determination for the management of the future government. The candidates' election campaign slogans on the one hand and the demands of the people who voted for the candidates, on the other, will determine what the economic priorities facing the 12th government are. Assessments show that the furnace of campaign slogans was very hot leading up to the 12th presidential election; so much so that people bought not just into the promise of higher cash subsidies, but also promises of more jobs and increased purchasing power. This demonstrates that in the upcoming four years, the 12th government's special and important task must be to focus on the economy and Iranians' livelihoods because they consider themselves to be deserving of better lives, and without a doubt, this feeling is not unjustified. Analyses indicate that the two ends of the crisis for which the 12th government must find a solution, lead to those who are entering the job market and those who are leaving it, namely to job creation and to the resolution of the pension funds' crisis. The implementation of plans such as introducing a single rate currency and pursuing the contents of the resistant economy plan, is also a necessity… (Read More)

Lebanon

Politics

“Why the 1960’s law?” (Ad-Diyyar, Lebanon)

Democracy and Party Politics

On May 24, the Ad-Diyyar daily newspaper carried the following report: “Several questions can be raised to learn the real reasons that pushed the president, Gen. Michel Aoun, to give up on one of his three “No’s” which he had voiced out a while ago: No to a term extension, no to the void, and no to the 1960’s law. Indeed, he has recently announced, at the press club, that failure to reach an agreement over a new electoral law means that the elections will take place based on the constitutional law in force, i.e. the 1960’s law… (Read More)

“…Lebanese president gives first sign pointing to possible elections in accordance with 1960 Law…” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Arab Diplomacy - Democracy and Party Politics

On May 24, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report by its correspondent in Beirut Sa’d Elias: “For the first time, Lebanese President General Michel Aoun pointed to the possible staging of parliamentary elections in accordance with the 1960 Law in force, in case no agreement is reached over a new electoral law. And he believed that “extending Parliament’s term would be like stepping on the constitution,” thus assuring: “There is no need to threaten with vacuum if Parliament’s term is about to expire without there being an agreement over a new electoral law.” On the other hand, he insisted that “what was said by Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil regarding the Lebanese position towards the Riyadh Declaration is 100% accurate,” seeing how “Lebanon cannot side with one party.” The president was speaking before a delegation from the Press Club in Beirut, with Al-Quds al-Arabi’s participation… (Read More)

Libya

Politics

“Libya: Will greatest military supporters of Presidential Council abandon Sarraj...?” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - Peace Process

On May 23, the official Turkish Anadolu News Agency carried the following report by Mustafa Daleh: “The Military Council of Misrata City (west) recanted its recognition of the Government of National Accord, which once again raised questions surrounding whether or not all the Misrata brigades, the greatest military supporters of the Presidential Council, had decided to topple it and lead the situation back to the way it was prior to the Skhirat Agreement signed at the end of 2015. The latter announcement was made in a statement circulated on Sunday by a number of Libyan media outlets, showing Commander of the Soumoud [Steadfastness] Brigade and one of the former commanders of the Libya Dawn alliance Salah Bady, who had previously refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Presidential Council and sided with the Salvation Government… (Read More)

Middle East

Opinion

“Why did Erdogan, unlike Es-Sisi, fail to attend the Islamic-American summit…?” (Website, Middle East)

Arab Diplomacy - Religion - USA Europe

On May 22, Abdul Bari Atwan wrote the following piece in the electronic Rai al-Youm daily: “If the conflict between the two Shi’i references in Al-Najaf and Qom has recently subsided because of the strong Iranian authority in Iraq, the conflict between the main three Sunni references including Al-Azhar and Istanbul [author probably omitted Saudi Arabia] is still on in an unannounced manner, and has started to take on a political aspect under the announcement of a kind of circumstantial “truce.” The Sunni-Trump summit held last Sunday at the Saudi capital, Al-Riyadh, in the presence of representatives from 52 Islamic States including a few leaders, somehow reflected this conflict although [all the participants agreed to] openly condemned Iran for being the source of terrorism and instability in the region… (Read More)

Qatar

Politics

“…Qatar divides ranks, sides with enemies of the nation” (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Arab Diplomacy - Media

On May 24, the pro-monarchy Okaz newspaper carried the following report from Doha: “In statements that were condemned by observers and described as reckless due to their content which divides the Arab ranks, Prince of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad at-Thani considered that Hezbollah was a resistance party and that Iran was an Islamic state with a regional weight that could not be disregarded, warning against what he dubbed escalation with it. And while the Prince of Qatar praised his country’s relationship with Israel, he questioned the current US Administration’s inclinations towards Qatar, said they were not positive, and assured that the current situation will not persist “in light of the investigations into the American president’s violations.” He continued that Al-Udeid Airbase was a guarantee for Qatar against the ambitions of some neighbouring states, and called on Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain to review their anti-Qatari positions… (Read More)

Tunisia

Politics

“Tunisia – Tataouine: This is beyond the protests” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Unrest

On May 24, the Al-Akhbar daily carried the following report: “The protests in the province of Tataouine have been following an escalating course as they moved, in around two months, from protests into a sit-in at the El-Kamour road, which was closed to the oil and gas companies’ trucks. Yesterday, the situation escalated into violent clashes between the protestors and the security forces. The province of Tataouine in Southeast Tunisia witnessed confrontations, two days ago, between the security forces and the sit-in participants as well as protestors supporting them, which led to the death of one sit-in participant and the injury of others including two critical injuries. In addition, two police stations and security equipment were torched; and a number of security officers sustained different injuries… (Read More)

United Arab Emirates

Politics

“The night when Qatar was attacked…” (Website, Middle East)

Arab Diplomacy - Media

On May 24, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily carried the following report by Kamal Khalaf: “It was a hot night when the Saudi Al-Arabiya Channel and the UAE Sky News launched an extensive attack on the Qatari Prince, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani over the statements carried by the Qatari news agency where Sheikh Tamim reportedly said that the American Al-Udeid base has shielded Qatar from the greed of the neighboring countries; that it’s wrong to escalate against Iran because Iran is a country that has its weight in the region; that Hamas and Hezbollah are resistance rather than terrorist movements; and that the Hamas movement is the legal representative of the Palestinian people… (Read More)

United Kingdom

Opinion

“Islamic State’s terrorism strikes Britain for the second time in less than two months…” (Website, Middle East)

Terrorism - USA Europe

On May 23, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following editorial: “For the second time in two months, a cell affiliated to the Islamic State organization has carried out a terrorist operation in Britain, a few days prior to the general parliamentary elections… A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated himself in a place near the [Manchester] arena in Britain that can accommodate up to 21,000 individuals and where a concert was taking place. This led to the killing of 23 people and the injuring of dozens. These numbers would have been much worse, had the attacker been able to enter the arena… (Read More)

“The Manchester attack: Terrorism’s faces and masks” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Terrorism - USA Europe

On May 24, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following lead editorial: “A suicide attack struck Manchester, the largest British city after London, after the assailant chose a crowded concert by an American singer to detonate himself in a large gathering of people, thus killing 22, including an 8-year-old girl, and injuring 59 others. The Islamic State organization rushed to claim responsibility for the attack, at a time when the city’s authorities arrested a young man and quickly launched investigations into his possible support by a network. The latter attack had been preceded by another in March, using a car that killed five people (in addition to the assailant) and injured around 50 others near the British Parliament. In the incident’s aftermath, the police arrested seven individuals, noting that the assailant was born in Birmingham City and had a criminal record… (Read More)

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