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Items by Reuters
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What's in Tunisia's proposed constitution?
Tunisians will vote on a proposed new constitution significantly enhancing President Kais Saied’s powers, hardening critics’ fears he will entrench one-man rule and undo democratic gains from the 2011 revolution. The proposed charter weakens the parliament empowered by the 2014 constitution, remaking a system that critics say led to years...
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Relatives of some Saudi detainees anxiously await Biden trip
Malik Al-Dowaish was arrested this month following years of campaigning for the release of his father, who was himself detained in 2016 after he gave a sermon seen as critical of the Saudi Arabian Royal family, two sources familiar with the matter said. “I really don’t know the secret behind...
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Embraced as an old friend, Biden arrives in Israel at start of Mid-East visit
US President Joe Biden arrived on Wednesday in Israel, which embraced him as an old friend on the first leg of a high-stakes trip dominated by efforts to bring it closer to Saudi Arabia and to persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump more oil. Arriving on Air Force One at...
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With world in energy shock, Saudi oil cushion gets very thin
When French President, Emmanuel Macron, whispered in Joe Biden’s ear last month that top global oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has very little additional capacity to increase output, the US President looked surprised. Biden is due to land in Riyadh later this month, and he will likely hear the same sobering...
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Rise of Arab-Israel axis pushes Iran to redouble nuclear talks push
The spectre of an emerging Arab-Israeli bloc that could tilt the Middle East balance of power further away from Iran is driving the Islamic Republic to pursue nuclear talks with world powers with renewed determination, officials and analysts said. Indirect talks in Qatar between Tehran and Washington on salvaging a...
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Saudi Arabia walks oil policy tightrope between Biden and Putin
Saudi Arabia’s push for swifter oil production hikes by OPEC+, which were agreed in June, involved behind-the-scenes diplomacy to ensure Russia backed the move that followed US appeals for more supply, two sources familiar with the discussions said. The OPEC+ group of oil producers made a larger-than-expected output rise when...
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Tunisia: Saied poised for more power but economy crumbles
President Kais Saied looks on course to tighten his grip on Tunisia through a constitutional referendum in July, but it could prove to be a poisoned chalice as the economy sinks deeper into crisis and opposition to his rule widens. Nearly a year since Saied began amassing power, the 25...
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A long trail of assassinations in Iran fuel hostilities with Israel
Iran said, this week, it will soon put on trial what it said were three Mossad-linked agents arrested in April amid simmering tensions between the Islamic Republic and arch-foe, Israel, which has been waging a shadow war in the Middle East for years. A prosecutor said the three detained men...
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Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh reels from Ukrainian and Russian exodus
On Sharm el-Sheikh’s sandy beaches, many of the sun loungers lie empty. At a central promenade packed with shops, cafes and nightclubs, crowds are thinner than usual. The resort on the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is reeling from the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has seen...
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Syrian refugee brings the taste of home to Gaza
Anas Qaterji fled Syria when civil war broke out in 2011 and snuck into Gaza, a land with its own history of war and poverty, where he has gained a large following among foodies crazy for the spicy cooking he brought from home. Qaterji, 36, crossed into Gaza from Egypt through one...
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Saied is unpicking Tunisia's young 'Arab Spring' democracy
President Kais Saied has gathered nearly all state power in his hands after dismantling much of Tunisia’s young democracy over 11 turbulent months. But as he prepares for a referendum to approve his changes, challenges loom ever larger. A former law professor with a stiff public manner, Saied is rewriting the constitution...
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Iraq's Sadr: from outlaw to top politician
Populist Iraqi Shia cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr, went from a mercurial outlaw wanted dead or alive during the US occupation, to a kingmaker in politics before transforming himself into the most powerful figure in the country. But even with his unmatched influence, Sadr proved unable to end a prolonged stalemate over...
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What does a diplomatic row mean for Spain's Algerian energy supplies?
Algeria suspended a 20-year friendship treaty with Spain this week and moved to limit trade with its northern neighbour, raising more questions about the potential impact on the long-established gas business between the two countries. The row over Madrid’s stance on the disputed territory of Western Sahara comes as North...
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Lebanon's patients face crisis as medical staff exodus
Outside one of Lebanon’s leading hospitals, desperate parents arrive seeking help for their sick children, while inside its pediatric intensive care unit the beds lie empty and unattended. There are simply not enough nurses to keep the unit open and staff is forced to turn away ill babies, said the...
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Israel-Lebanon sea boundary row obstructs energy development
A dispute between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime boundary has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and risks exacerbating tensions between two foes. After months of deadlock in US-mediated talks, Beirut on Sunday warned against any activity in the disputed area, responding to the arrival of a vessel...
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Rumoured Russian scale-back from Syria prompts regional alarm
After some of the heaviest shelling of Syrian territory by Turkish forces in months, six Russian helicopters, on Monday, staged a show of force along the border. The helicopters, filmed and reported on local and social media, appeared to have a clear and simple message: despite reports of Russia pulling...
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Cut off from Black Sea wheat imports, Egypt leans on local harvest
At an agricultural storage complex in the Egyptian city of Banha, Ahmed Nasser watches truck after truck offload freshly-threshed grain from the surrounding Nile Delta. Cut off from much of the Black Sea wheat it depended on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Egypt, often the world’s biggest importer, is straining...
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Erdogan's vowed military operation returns spotlight to Syrian border towns
President Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to carry out a new military incursion on Turkiye’s southern borders has triggered speculation about potential targets, with the Syrian town of Tal Rifaat emerging as a primary goal of any operation. Two days after Erdogan announced the plan, the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said, on...
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Subtle shift in US rhetoric suggests new Iran approach
A subtle shift in official US statements suggests Washington believes reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is better than the alternatives, despite the advances in Iran’s nuclear program, diplomatic and other sources said. For months, the Biden administration argued there would soon come a point where the non-proliferation benefits of...
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Erdogan's vow to expand Syria operations raises stakes in Turkiye-NATO row
President Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to launch military operations soon to expand safe zones already set up across Turkiye’s southern borders has raised the stakes in his row with NATO partners over Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. Analysts said Erdogan’s surprise announcement on Monday reflected his belief that the West...
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A rival sits out Lebanon's election - Now Hezbollah could fill the void
The stakes are high in Lebanon’s election. The heavily armed Hezbollah Movement has seen one of its main rivals descend into disarray, handing it an opportunity to cement power over a divided country that’s sinking into poverty. Abdallah Al-Rahman will not be casting a ballot, though. “I won’t vote for anyone,”...
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Why NOPEC, the US Bill to crush the OPEC cartel, matters
A US Senate committee is expected to pass a Bill on Thursday that could open members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to antitrust lawsuits for orchestrating supply cuts that raise global crude prices. The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Bill is intended to protect US consumers...
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Rising oil prices buy Iran time in nuclear talks, officials say
Emboldened by an oil price surge since Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran’s clerical rulers are in no rush to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with world powers to ease sanctions on its energy-reliant economy, three officials familiar with Tehran’s thinking said. Last year, the Islamic Republic engaged in indirect talks with...
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Under military's watch, Sudan's former ruling party making a comeback
Since Sudan’s military staged a coup six months ago, many former allies of toppled autocrat, Omar Al-Bashir, have been allowed to rejoin the civil service, while others have been freed from jail in an apparent push to form a government and reassure donors. The rehabilitation of the Islamist National Congress...