Daily News Brief - 27/09/2022
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Please find below today’s daily news brief.
Egypt | Qatar: Influential Muslim Brotherhood cleric dies in Doha aged 96
Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi died on Monday in the Qatari capital of Doha where he had relocated following the 2013 overthrow of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government. The 96-year-old was a vocal opponent of the removal from power of Mohammad Morsi, the first democratically-elected president and prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure. In 2018, Egypt sentenced Qaradawi in absentia to life in prison after a military court convicted him, among others, of participating in the 2015 assassination of public security Colonel Wael Tahoon.
Iran: Crackdown on journalists intensifies as protests continue
The Washington-based Committee to Protect Journalists has stated that at least twenty journalists have been imprisoned since the protests in Iran erupted, along with numerous activists and lawyers. Severe internet restrictions and blocking of social media platforms have been imposed preventing details of the protests from reaching the world. According to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group more than 76 people have been killed by Iranian authorities and more than 1,200 were arrested. The protests in Tehran and several other cities across the country entered their 12th consecutive day as crowds shouted “death to the dictator,” calling for an end of the more than three-decade-long rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated on Monday that more sanctions could be expected after the Treasury Department imposed penalties on Iran’s morality police and other security agencies last week.
Iran | Iraq: Iranian artillery continues shelling Iraq’s Kurdish region
On Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a wave of drone strikes and artillery attacks in Iraq’s northern region targeting what Tehran says are bases of Kurdish separatists. The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the attacks were in response to the support provided by the separatists for the unrest inside Iran, as well as their attempts to smuggle weapons across the border. Such claims could not be independently verified. On Tuesday, local sources reported artillery shelling in Soran, north of Erbil, the fourth attack within three days. No casualties were reported.
Iran | UN: UN nuclear watchdog chief meets Iranian officials in Vienna
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced on Monday night that he met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Eslami in Vienna for talks about an ongoing investigation regarding uranium particles found at undeclared sites in Iran. Grossi tweeted on Monday that “dialogue has restarted with Iran on clarification of outstanding safeguards issues.” In August, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that the IAEA’s investigation into the issue must stop in order for Tehran to recommit to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iraq: Speaker of the parliament resigns as the country’s political crisis deepens
The Speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammad al-Halbousi announced his resignation on Monday and called for a vote to appoint a new speaker on Wednesday. Al-Halbousi stated in a speech that one of the reasons for his resignation “is the transition from the political majority to run the state by consensus.” He added that “the tripartite alliance [consisting of the Sadrist Movement, the Kurdish Democratic Party, and the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance] has a political vision, but it did not present the governmental program.” The parliament will vote on Wednesday on al-Halbousi’s resignation and elect his first deputy as the new speaker of the legislature.
Israel | Palestine: Several Palestinians were injured after Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Hundreds of Jewish settlers under heavy Israeli police protection stormed the compound hosting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian media, two were injured and five were arrested by the Israeli forces that attempted to clear the area. Meanwhile, late on Monday, violent confrontations erupted between Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Israeli security forces amid Jewish new year celebrations. According to the authorities, dozens of masked men threw Molotov cocktails and rocks in the direction of the forces at several locations. No injuries or damages were reported.
Israel | Palestine: Palestinian president and Israeli minister of defense hold phone call to discuss security in the occupied West Bank
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel’s Minister of Defense Benny Gantz held a phone conversation on Monday to discuss the security situation in the occupied West Bank as well as the need to maintain cooperation and defuse tensions. The call comes as Israeli forces are on high alert with the occasion of the Jewish new year celebrations. It also follows clashes between the Palestinian Authority’s security forces and Palestinian protesters in the city of Nablus last week after the former arrested a senior member of Hamas.
Lebanon: Members of the parliament will convene to elect a new president on Thursday
Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will call for a session to elect a new president on Thursday despite no political consensus on a candidate. Current President Michel Aoun’s term ends on October 31 and concerns increase about no successor being found. The votes of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 128-member parliament are required for a candidate to be successful in the first round of voting, after which a simple majority suffices. The session will be held at 11 A.M. on Thursday.
Lebanon | Syria: The death toll in migrant boat shipwreck increases as Syrian authorities recover more bodies
At least 100 bodies have been recovered by Syrian authorities from a Lebanese migrant boat that sank off Syria’s coast last week. As many as 150 Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians were on board the ship that sailed off from Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, including children and elderly people. According to UNICEF, ten children appeared to be “among those who lost their lives.” Only 20 people were rescued and, according to Syrian media, they were all discharged from the hospital.
Tunisia: Official arrested after street vendor commits suicide, sparking public anger
Tunisian security forces arrested the mayor of Morang, a town in southern Tunisia after an unlicensed 25-year-old street vendor committed suicide because the municipal police prevented him from selling fruits at a stall. Popular protests occurred after his family accused the authorities of preventing the victim from working.
Turkey: One police officer was killed and two other people were wounded in a suspected Kurdish militant attack
One Turkish police officer was killed and two other people were wounded after two suspected female militants opened fire on police in southern Turkey’s coastal province of Mersin. The perpetrators, reportedly affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), later killed themselves by detonating suicide bombs. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, Europe, and the United States.
Turkey | Greece: Turkish president accuses Greece of militarizing islands and harboring terrorists
During a meeting with his AKP party’s leaders in Ankara on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of carrying out a “covert occupation” of islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, a day after Ankara claimed that US-made armored vehicles are being transported on the Greek islands of Lesvos and Samos. Turkey has summoned the Greek ambassador to Ankara and protested to Washington against these developments. Diplomatic sources in Athens rejected Erdogan’s claims as “completely unfounded and incompatible with international law.” Moreover, the Turkish leader stated that “the murderers who shed the blood of our citizens are embraced in almost every country in Europe, particularly in the Lavrio camp in Greece. They can walk around freely by waving their arms.”
UAE | Oman: Emirati president arrives in Oman for a two-day official visit
UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed arrived in Oman on Tuesday for a two-day official visit during which he will hold meetings with several officials, including his counterpart Sultan Haitham bin Tareq Al Said. The visit to Oman is Mohammad bin Zayed’s second foreign trip as president. Investment and economic issues are at the top of the agenda as the discussions aim at boosting economic relations and developing new opportunities in this field between the two countries.