Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Israel seals borders and Morocco bans flights as Omicron Covid fears rise

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Red-listing of 50 African countries and use of phone monitoring technology among measures approved by Israel

Israel is barring entry to all foreign nationals and Morocco is suspending all incoming flights for two weeks, in the two most drastic of travel restrictions imposed by countries around the world in an attempt to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Israel’s coronavirus cabinet has authorised a series of measures including banning entry by foreigners, red-listing travel to 50 African countries, and making quarantine mandatory for all Israelis arriving from abroad. The entry ban is expected to come into effect at midnight local time (10pm GMT) on Sunday.

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Iran nuclear talks to resume with world powers after five-month hiatus

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Expectations of salvaging 2015 deal low amid fears Iran is covertly boosting nuclear programme

Talks between world powers and Iran on salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal will resume in Vienna on Monday after a five-month hiatus, but expectations of a breakthrough are low.

The talks could liberate Iran from hundreds of western economic sanctions or lead to a tightening of the economic noose and the intensified threat of military attacks by Israel.

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Nothing can stop Iran’s World Cup heroes. Except war, of course…

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The ‘Persian Leopards’ are going great guns on the football field, but at nuclear talks in Vienna a far more dangerous game is being played

There is a strikingly topsy-turvy, Saturnalian feel to recent qualifying matches for the 2022 football World Cup. Saudi Arabia (population 35 million) beat China (population 1.4 billion). Canada lead the US in their group. Four-time winners Italy failed to defeat lowly Northern Ireland.

Pursuing an unbeaten run full of political symbolism, unfancied Iran are also over the moon after subjugating the neighbourhood, as is their habit. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the UAE all succumbed to the soar‑away “Persian Leopards”.

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Controversial Pegasus spyware faces its day of reckoning | John Naughton

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The infamous hacking tool is now at the centre of international lawsuits thanks to a courageous research lab

If you were compiling a list of the most toxic tech companies, Facebook – strangely – would not come out on top. First place belongs to NSO, an outfit of which most people have probably never heard. Wikipedia tells us that “NSO Group is an Israeli technology firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance of smartphones”.

Pause for a moment on that phrase: “remote zero-click surveillance of smartphones”. Most smartphone users assume that the ability of a hacker to penetrate their device relies upon the user doing something careless or naive – clicking on a weblink, or opening an attachment. And in most cases they would be right in that assumption. But Pegasus can get in without the user doing anything untoward. And once in, it turns everything on the device into an open book for whoever deployed the malware.

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‘Amoral 21st-century mercenaries’: problems mount for NSO Group

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Israeli spyware firm goes from bad to worse as scathing Apple lawsuit follows US blacklisting

Shalev Hulio, the co-founder of Israel’s NSO Group, was in Washington DC on a mission to try to resuscitate the surveillance company’s battered reputation on Capitol Hill shortly before the news broke that he had probably arrived too late to make a difference.

With little advance warning to its allies in Israel, the Biden administration announced on 3 November that it was putting the spyware maker – one of the most sophisticated cyber-weapons companies in the world – on a US blacklist, citing use of the company’s software by regimes around the world for “transnational repression”.

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Channel drownings unlikely to slow exodus from Iraqi Kurdistan

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As officials grapple with crisis, even more Kurds are preparing to make dangerous journey to Europe

Were they driven to the freezing shores of Europe by desperation, or did several thousand Kurds instead make the dangerous journey in search of opportunity?

As officials in Iraqi Kurdistan grapple with what is driving a crisis that is thought to have led to scores of citizens drowning in the Channel on Wednesday, and thousands of others to brave precarious migrant routes to Europe, even more are preparing to leave.

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Interpol’s president: alleged torturer rises as symbol of UAE soft power

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Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s election has raised concerns about human rights and the surveillance state

Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s ascent through the ranks of the interior ministry in Abu Dhabi is associated with the United Arab Emirates’ transformation into a hi-tech surveillance state.

His personal achievements include a diploma in police management from the University of Cambridge, a doctorate in policing, security and community safety from London Metropolitan University and a medal of honour from Italy.

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Interpol appoints Emirati general accused of torture as president

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Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of United Arab Emirates elected despite concerns of human rights groups and MEPs

An Emirati general accused of torture has been elected president of Interpol, despite the concerns of human rights organisations and members of the European parliament who fear the global police agency will be at risk of exploitation by repressive regimes.

The appointment follows generous funding by the United Arab Emirates for Interpol, which is based in Lyon, France, and accusations Abu Dhabi has abused its system of “red notices” for wanted suspects to persecute political dissidents.

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Muammar Gaddafi’s son disqualified from standing in Libya election

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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was ruled ineligible amid disputes over rules and threats to peace process

Libya’s election commission said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former ruler and a strong candidate in December’s planned presidential election, was ineligible to run, compounding the turmoil surrounding the vote.

Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates that the commission disqualified in an initial decision pending an appeals process that will ultimately be decided by the judiciary. Ninety-eight Libyans registered as candidates.

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Call to British Airways might have averted 1990 Kuwait hostage crisis

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Ambassador warned Foreign Office an Iraqi invasion was under way but this was not passed on to airline

Hundreds of British passengers might have avoided being taken hostage by Saddam Hussein in 1990 if a call by a British ambassador regarding Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait had been relayed to British Airways, the Foreign Office has disclosed.

The revelation of the phone call and the decades long cover-up was made on Tuesday under the 20-year disclosure rule, but was known to ministers and diplomats since 1990. The current foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has apologised for the omission.

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Aid workers say Mediterranean a ‘liquid graveyard’ after 75 feared dead off Libya

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People smugglers are putting hundreds to sea this autumn despite stormy weather

More than 75 people are feared dead after their boat capsized in stormy seas off the coast of Libya while attempting to reach Europe in one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year, according to the UN.

Fifteen survivors were rescued by local fishers and brought to the port of Zuwara in north-western Libya. They said there were about 92 people onboard the vessel when the incident took place on 17 November. Most of those who died came from sub-Saharan Africa.

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Improving migrant workers’ lives in Qatar | Letter

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Faha Al-Mana responds to a report on allegations of exploitation and abuse by migrant workers in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup

Your report (‘We have fallen into a trap’: Qatar’s World Cup dream is a nightmare for hotel staff, 18 November) fails to acknowledge the progress Qatar has made to improve living and working standards for foreign workers, including those in the hospitality sector.

The impact of Qatar’s reforms is best highlighted through its numbers: over 240,000 workers have successfully changed jobs since barriers were removed in September 2020; more than 400,000 have directly benefited from the new minimum wage; improvements to the wage protection system now protect 96% of eligible workers from wage abuse; and hundreds of thousands of workers have left Qatar and returned without permission from their employer since exit permits were abolished.

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The road to reform: have things improved for Qatar’s World Cup migrant workers?

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A year before kick off, workers claim companies are refusing to enforce sweeping new labour laws created to stamp out human rights abuses

When Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup in 2010, the triumphant Gulf state unveiled plans to host the most spectacular of all World Cup tournaments and began an ambitious building plan of state-of-the-art stadiums, luxury hotels and a sparkling new metro.

Yet, over the next decade, the brutal conditions in which hundreds of thousands of migrant workers toiled in searing heat to build Qatar’s World Cup vision has been exposed, with investigations into the forced labour , debt bondage and worker death toll causing international outrage.

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Hamas gunman kills one and injures four in Jerusalem’s Old City

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South African immigrant Eliyahu Kay, 26, killed in attack before militant shot dead by Israeli police

A Hamas militant opened fire in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, killing one and wounding four others before Israeli police fatally shot him.

It was not immediately clear whether Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, had ordered the attack or whether one of its members had acted alone.

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Sudan military agrees to reinstate PM and release political detainees

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Hopes for end to crisis undermined as protests continue despite deal between military and civilian political parties

Sudan’s military coup leader has announced the release of the detained civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, and other political prisoners, as the country’s pro-democracy movement vowed to continue with protests.

After weeks of lethal turmoil following the country’s October coup, the agreement to release Hamdok and set up a new largely technocratic cabinet was mediated by US and UN officials.

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Sudanese PM’s release is only small step in resolving crisis

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Analysis: deal satisfies some international demands but route to democratic transition after fall of Omar al-Bashir remains unclear

The deal to secure the release of the detained Sudanese prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, signed by Hamdok and Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a military coup on 25 October, leaves Sudan in a continuing crisis.

While the agreement satisfies some of the immediate demands of the international community and mediators from the US and UN – not least securing the release of Hamdok and other political detainees – it leaves many of the country’s most serious issues in its political transition unresolved.

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‘He is responsible for torture’: nominee for Interpol chief accused by detained Britons

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An academic and a football fan who were held in the United Arab Emirates claim Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi oversaw physical abuse

Two British men formerly detained in United Arab Emirates are campaigning to prevent a senior Emirati official from becoming the next president of Interpol, accusing him of personal involvement in their arrests and torture.

Academic Matthew Hedges, who was imprisoned in the UAE for seven months, and football fan Ali Issa Ahmad, detained while on holiday in Dubai for wearing a Qatar football shirt, accuse Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi of overseeing their detention and physical abuse.

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Iran says it has seized foreign ship smuggling diesel

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Spokesman says ship’s 11 crew were detained for interrogation after ship was seized in Gulf

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign ship in Gulf waters for allegedly smuggling diesel, a Guards commander said.

“A foreign ship carrying smuggled diesel was seized,” Iran’s state broadcaster quoted Col Ahmad Hajian, commander of the Naval Type 412 Zulfaqar, as saying.

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Migrant caravan and Qatar’s tarnished World Cup: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

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A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Pakistan to Poland

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Omar Souleyman: singer held by Turkey over alleged militant links is freed

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Syrian questioned by police after reports he has ties to banned Kurdish People’s Protection Units

Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman, who has performed at festivals around the world, has been released after being detained over alleged links to Kurdish militants.

Souleyman was freed at 10.30pm (19.30 GMT) after a confusing day during which he was released in the morning before being taken back to a detention centre.

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