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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.

Our Corrections Policy: We adhere to an honest and open corrections policy. Please email info@mideastwire.com if you notice any typo or if you disagree with our translation choices. Since we do not produce our own content, we only will consider corrections that highlight typos or dispute our translations, not the veracity or accuracy of the original content. Accepted corrections are applied directly to the relevant translations as soon as they are approved by the editor and our database is updated accordingly for all subscribers.

TODAY’S DAILY BRIEFING

15-Feb-2018

Egypt

Politics

“Geneina in exclusive interview: If Anan is the object of assassination attempt, dangerous secret documents will emerge…” (Huffington Post Arabic, Middle East)

Human Rights - Judicial Affairs

On February 11, Huffington Post Arabic carried the following exclusive interview with Judge and former head of Egypt's Administrative Control Authority, Hisham Geneina, which led to his arrest two days ago… (Read More)

Lebanon

Opinion

“What is the Hezbollah related matter that the Israeli intelligence services failed to uncover?” (Ad-Diyyar, Lebanon)

Military and Security

On February 14, the Ad-Diyyar daily newspaper carried the following piece: “Saudi Arabia, based on the Wahhabi doctrine, is hostile towards Hezbollah and wants to say that the war is between Arabism and the Persians. However, the real context of the war is Iran’s support for the countries that are combating the Israeli enemy. The first step carried out by Iran had been to offer the Israeli embassy in Tehran to Yasser Arafat as an embassy for Palestine… (Read More)

Libya

Politics

“Did Aguila Saleh’s statements implicate Egypt and embarrass Haftar?” (Website, Middle East)

Arab Diplomacy - Military and Security

On February 12, the Egyptian Arabi 21 news website carried the following report from Tripoli by its correspondent Ala’a Farouk: “Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh’s confirmation of Egypt’s participation in the upcoming military operations, which will be launched by [Khalifa] Haftar’s forces to storm Darnah City, generated numerous speculations surrounding their significance at this point in time, and whether or not Saleh wanted to implicate Egypt and embarrass Haftar. According to the Egyptian Youm 7 newspaper, Saleh said from Egypt that the military operation to ensure what he referred to as being Darnah’s liberation, will be conducted in full coordination with the Egyptian authorities, adding: “This operation is a priority for Egypt, to prevent the terrorists from escaping the city towards the Egyptian territories” [full interview not yet posted on Youm 7 website]… (Read More)

Middle East

Politics

“Ambassador Rakha Hassan to Al-Sharq: Egyptian decision making circles considering to break connection with besieging trio” (Al-Sharq, Qatar)

Arab Diplomacy

On February 15, the Al-Sharq daily carried the following interview with Ambassador Rakha Ahmad Hassan, a Former Egyptian Assistant Secretary of State: “…Q. Your Excellency, we spoke in the first part of the interview on the need to settle the Gulf crisis. Do you think there’s an opportunity for reaching a settlement during the Arab summit that will be held in Al-Riyadh by the end of next March?… (Read More)

Sudan

Politics

“Five files required Salah Gosh’s return as Sudan’s intelligence chief” (Website, Middle East)

Democracy and Party Politics - Military and Security

On February 14, the official Turkish Anadolu News Agency carried the following report from Khartoum by its correspondent Adel Abdul Rahim: “The reappointment of Major General Salah Mohamed Abdallah Gosh (61 years old) as Head of the Security and Intelligence Services last Sunday prevailed over all other news in Sudan. Indeed, Gosh unexpectedly returned to the top of the security pyramid, which generated opposite reactions, shuffled many cards, and raised questions surrounding the purpose and timing of this return... Anadolu detected five reasons behind the surprising reappointment of Gosh, who is called in Sudan’s political circles “Al-Bashir’s strongman… (Read More)

Syria

Opinion

“Iran and the threats of the Afrin operation” - part one (Al-Watan Syria, Syria)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 15, the pro-Assad Al-Watan daily carried the following piece by Anas Wahib al-Kurdi: “The commanders of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in the area of Afrin did not show any leniency regarding the Iranian efforts at convincing them of the Syrian army’s offer to enter the region and thus abort the Turkish plans there. At the same time, Iran is aware of the major repercussions resulting from Afrin’s fall into the hands of the Turks and their allies, the Free Army militias, on the regional security as well as on Iran’s own security… (Read More)

“The horizons of the US-Kurdish alliance” (Al-Watan Syria, Syria)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 15, the pro-Assad Al-Watan daily carried the following piece by Abdul Menhem Ali Issa: “In the summer and fall of 2014, the Islamic State organization was controlling a wide area expanding from the Syrian city of Al-Bab in the west to the Iraqi Mosul in the east and from Jarablus to Fallujah. In her book, Hard Choices, which she published before leaving her post in 2013, the former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, wrote that in June 2013, Washington was about to acknowledge an Islamic State established on part of the Syrian as well as Iraqi lands. However, the developments in the region called for a change in the US position mainly the Egyptian development consisting of the collapse of the MB rule on July 3rd of that year. The American shift called for a US war declaration on ISIL as the latter now fell outside the context of the US plans… (Read More)

“…Why is the Gulf media refusing to acknowledge the role of the Syrian rocket?” (Website, Middle East)

Media - Military and Security

On February 14, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily carried the following piece by Sabbah Ali al-Shaher: “The weirdest comment on the downing of the Israeli F-16 is the one made by an opposition journalist about God having empowered the unjust to fight the unjust. Clearly, this comment means that the Syrian army, which is defending its land, is unjust and that the Israeli assaulting enemy is also unjust while the just God has empowered the unjust to fight the unjust. And since injustice is one, the Syrian and Israeli armies are the same; and this is the epitome of subjectivity and stupidity… (Read More)

“Why did Putin remain silent towards his soldiers’ death in Deir Ezzor?” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 15, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following lead editorial: “Bloomberg reported that US troops killed a large number of Russian contractors in Syria last week, and considered this to be the first military clash between the two countries since the Cold War. According to the website, this dangerous information was relayed by knowledgeable American and Russian officials. The report continued that around 200 mercenaries, mostly Russians, died in a failed operation on the US base in Deir Ezzor, near the oil fields controlled by the US-backed Kurdish fighters. However, sources at the Russian Foreign Ministry questioned the veracity of the information… This development features many mysteries, starting with the Russian Army’s claim that it had nothing to do with the attack on the US base, which is hard to believe in light of the size of the attack and the wide participation of Russian soldiers and contractors in it… (Read More)

Politics

“Why did ISIL in Rif Adlib choose to surrender to Free Army, not Levant Liberation [Committee]…?” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Military and Security - Terrorism

On February 15, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report from Adlib and Istanbul by its correspondents Wael Issam and Sultan al-Kanj: “The latest information regarding the backdrop of the settlement, which led to the surrender of hundreds of ISIL fighters with their families in Rif Adlib, reveals that the organization’s members preferred to surrender the Free Army at the “defeat of the invaders” room, instead of the members of the Levant Liberation Committee, i.e. the “ideological brothers,” which is a term used by the Jihadis to described the Salafi Jihadi organizations. Indeed, according to local sources who spoke to Al-Quds al-Arabi, the ISIL’s elements asked to surrender to the Free Army, though the Liberation Committee was the one that militarily pressured the organization into sealing this settlement… (Read More)

Turkey

Politics

“Turkey threatens America with a more dangerous Vietnam in Syria…” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 14, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily carried the following editorial: “Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, will be landing in the Turkish capital, Ankara, tomorrow Thursday, to carry out a visit that might put an end to the seventy years long strategic alliance between the two countries. Indeed, relations are tense and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the USA of supporting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units with money and modern weapons in addition to accusing them of constituting a barrier on the road of the Turkish military intervention project in the area of Afrin knowing that this intervention is about to complete its first month without realizing most of its objectives… (Read More)

Yemen

Opinion

On targeting of scholars and imams in Aden (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - Terrorism

On February 14, journalist from Aden Abdel Raqib al-Hadyani wrote the following on his Facebook page: “There is a question often being reiterated: Who is targeting the scholars and imams of Aden’s mosques? There are three sides, whose interests converged and required them to liquidate that faction in Aden and the South. The first is Iran and its arms in Yemen, who want to clear the scene of Sunni society’s scholars and religious and social leaders, as well as those who have confronted the Iranian project in Yemen in retaliation against them. The second is the UAE, which has wide ambitions in Aden’s ports, Bab al-Mandeb and the Yemeni islands, and thinks that one day, the street will rise against it and reject its practices starting from the mosques, with the help of the social guides. Therefore, it wants to get rid of the scholars in favour of its collaborating mercenaries… (Read More)

Co-Founder: Nicholas Noe

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