A general to compile all news, articles, essays and info related to the Greater Middle East-North Africa region.
Creating this general in an effort to centralize all the info that currently gets posted to 5 different threads concerning conflicts and developments in the MENA region. Seeing how slow they generally are and at risk of getting bumped off besides the Palestine thread and that it’s likely people interested in Yemen, Syria, Iran, Sudan and Palestine are likely also interested in news and info from across the region I think it would be useful to post everything in one place.
Previous edition:
>>2591246Some highlights from last thread:
>The United Arab Emirates allies of the European far-righhttps://orientxxi.info/les-emirats-arabes-unis-allies-de-l-extreme-droite-europeenne,8034>How Dirty Money Finds a Home in Dubai Real Estatehttps://www.occrp.org/interactives/dubai-unlocked/en/>Why Maids Keep Dying in Saudi Arabiahttps://archive.is/u3Dea>Escape From the Abyss: Surviving the Atrocities in El Fasherhttps://archive.is/lJOet>The emerging sub-imperial role of the United Arab Emirates in Africahttps://www.tni.org/en/article/the-emerging-sub-imperial-role-of-the-united-arab-emirates-in-africa>From land to logistics: UAE's growing power in the global food systemhttps://grain.org/e/7170>Dubai Ports World: UAE’s Tentacles Monopolizing Maritime Tradehttps://en.al-akhbar.com/news/dubai-ports-world--uae-s-tentacles-monopolizing-maritime-tra>Extractive agribusinesses—guaranteeing food security in the Gulfhttps://farmlandgrab.org/post/32403-extractive-agribusinesses-guaranteeing-food-security-in-the-gulf>'Pipe dream': Turkey's plan to redraw Middle East energy routes after Iran https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pipe-dream-turkey-plan-redraw-middle-east-energy-iran-war-hormuz>System of sexual torture targeting Palestinians exposed in new reporthttps://electronicintifada.net/content/system-sexual-torture-targeting-palestinians-exposed-new-report/51373Badakhshan Fighting Raises Risks for Tajikistan and UzbekistanIn Nusay district, Badakhshan province (northeast Afghanistan), fighting began around August 11 between Taliban forces and followers of Juma Khan Fateh, a local Taliban commander of ethnic Tajik origin who had resisted efforts to disarm his network. The Armed Conflict Location and Events Data Project (ACLED) identifies the immediate trigger as an attempt to remove military equipment and vehicles from areas under Fateh’s control, amid longer-running tensions over disarmament, local authority, and control of gold mining.
The Fateh episode came amid a broader increase in armed instability in Badakhshan during 2026. ACLED recorded 22 anti-Taliban armed-opposition events in the province from January through July, compared with four from June through December 2025.
https://timesca.com/badakhshan-fighting-raises-risks-for-tajikistan-and-uzbekistan/Taliban detain 38 in Badakhshan amid searches for former security personnelTaliban have detained at least 38 people in Badakhshan over the past week as they search for former security personnel and people accused of links to armed groups opposed to Taliban rule, sources from the province who are aware of the matter told Amu TV on Sunday.
A local Taliban commander in Badakhshan confirmed some of the arrests to Amu TV, saying 18 people had been detained in the Yaftal area.
“A group of 16 people and two others have been arrested in the Yaftal area,” the commander said. “The group of 16 was arrested on accusations of declaring the existence of a group called ‘Soldiers of the Homeland,’ and the other two were accused of firing rockets toward Faizabad, with the provincial headquarters as their target.”
https://amu.tv/252215/ [Amerimutt supported media]
First 4 death 2 imperialists and their islamist lapdogs
Uzbekistan Expands Afghan Rail Capacity to Support Growing TradeA new 1,000-meter siding track has been completed at Naibabad railway station in Afghanistan, aimed at increasing freight handling capacity and improving the efficiency of rail operations, according to Uzbekistan Railways.
https://timesca.com/uzbekistan-expands-afghan-rail-capacity-to-support-growing-afghanistan-trade/Tajikistan Plans to Build Central Asia’s Tallest BuildingConstruction has begun in Tajikistan on what authorities say will be the tallest building in Central Asia, part of a massive development involving international design and engineering firms that is expected to alter Dushanbe’s skyline.
The planned 77-floor Dushanbe Tower will be in a complex in the Shohmansur district of the capital that includes five high-rise towers and office, entertainment, and residential areas, according to Tajikistan’s presidential office. It said more than 2,000 local construction workers will be involved in the Dushanbe Mall project, which is slated for completion within five years.
<tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in asia btwhttps://timesca.com/tajikistan-begins-construction-of-central-asias-tallest-building/ Five years since seizing power in Afghanistan, internal tensions test the Taliban’s vulnerabilities The Taliban’s control over Afghanistan’s internal security situation is near-complete, but an escalation in violence in Badakhshan and Herat provinces this year highlights the regime’s vulnerabilities. In the country’s ethnically mixed border provinces toward the north and west, internal divisions and deepening discontent with the Taliban’s centralized command offer opportunities to armed opposition groups and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to test the limits of the Taliban’s control.
No sustained challenge to the Taliban’s authority is expected in the short to medium term, as armed opposition groups neither have the momentum nor the capacity to mount a serious challenge, and the ISKP has been weakened through sustained pressure. Border provinces with dynamics similar to those of Badakhshan and Herat, however, face a heightened risk of localized unrest.
https://acleddata.com/report/five-years-seizing-power-afghanistan-internal-tensions-test-talibans-vulnerabilities US advisor points to private traders in Sudan arms flow, downplays direct UAE roleMassad Boulos, senior advisor on Africa to President Donald Trump, suggested that private commercial networks rather than direct state intervention could be facilitating weapon flows to Sudan’s warring factions, echoing official denials from the United Arab Emirates.
https://sudantribune.com/article/318479UAE campaign used AI Claude to target Muslim Brotherhood and SudanThe US corporation said that a “single actor” used its AI assistant, Claude, to conduct a “coordinated transatlantic and regional operation to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood globally”.
This single actor also used the AI tool to build a campaign to influence perceptions of the United Arab Emirates' involvement in the war in Sudan, where Abu Dhabi backs the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group widely accused of committing genocide in Darfur.
The UAE-directed campaign built a network of approximately 300 “inauthentic influencer social media accounts” to try and shape discourse around the Muslim Brotherhood, the war in Sudan and the UN, Anthropic said.
The single actor used Claude to create a “front NGO that copied a real Swiss organisation’s identity and published state-authored human rights reports under it”, as well as ghost writing official testimonies with the “goal of having them delivered by two people at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council”.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-campaign-used-ai-claude-target-muslim-brotherhood-and-sudan why has no one tried to teach sudanese to make drones or missiles so they can lob them at the uae
I hate islam so much that it's unreal, good afternoon.
>>2913113Im pretty sure UAE mercenaries are already using them in Sudan civil war
Somaliland’s president puts everything on the table for TrumpSomaliland’s president is putting almost everything on the table in his campaign to win US recognition for the breakaway territory of Somalia, offering US investors access to a strategically located port and mineral resources while leaving open the possibility of expanded military access.
Recognition is the prize, but economic cooperation, trade and investment can proceed in parallel. Somaliland can offer “our facilities and our minerals,” he said.
His appeal is also tailored to Trump. Somaliland could name Berbera’s airport after him, Irro suggested, or welcome him to build a Trump Tower in Hargeisa.
https://www.semafor.com/article/09/16/2026/somalilands-president-puts-everything-on-the-table-for-trump Exclusive: UAE pursuing 'port imperialism' across Africa, Eritrean foreign minister says “The UAE has port facilities everywhere in the region, and African countries have to ask why,” Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh told MEE. “Is it just for economics? No.”
The UAE’s two port groups, DP World and AD Ports, have stakes in or manage facilities in Egypt; Tanzania; Somaliland, a breakaway republic of Somalia recognised only by Israel; and Puntland, a semiautonomous region in Somalia that earlier this year defied Mogadishu’s decision to cut ties with Abu Dhabi.
The UAE established a military base in Eritrea’s southern port of Assab in 2016, which it used to wage war on the Houthis in neighbouring Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia. But ties between the UAE and Eritrea soured in the years after the UAE arrived.
A senior Eritrean official told MEE that Eritrea rejected a request from the UAE around 2016 to establish a military base on one of the islands in the Dahlak Archipelago that would have been shared between the UAE and Israel, roughly five years before the two signed the US-backed Abraham Accords, making their close ties public.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-eritrea-foreign-minister-says-uae-pursuing-port-imperialism-across-africa US strengthens military presence in breakaway Puntland amid battle for Red Sea In early August, the commander of US Special Operations Command Africa, Major General Claude Tudor, signed a deal with the president of Somalia’s northeastern, semi-autonomous Puntland State, Saeed Abdullahi Deni.
The two agreed to expand the American military base in Bosaso, a port city on the Gulf of Aden. According to a brief statement circulated by the Puntland Government of Somalia, the expansion is essential to “improve operations against terrorism and to help protect maritime security”.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-strengthens-military-presence-breakaway-puntland-amid-battle-red-sea African nations seek security ties with Turkey through ‘Somalia model’ African nations are increasingly pursuing the “Somali model” that Ankara and Mogadishu have developed over the years, seeking deeper ties with Turkey in hopes of receiving security and economic assistance, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told journalists over the weekend.
“In response to requests, we continue to provide training and technical support to the armed forces of African countries and contribute to their capacity building,” he said during the Efes military drills in western Turkey.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/african-nations-seek-security-ties-turkey-through-somalia-model >>2913143now say the same about judaism
Glowing article on Turkey's ever growing tentacles reaching across Africa by Africom's official magazine:
https://adf-magazine.com/2026/02/turkey-expands-reach-as-security-partner/>Ankara “acts as a unique geopolitical hybrid: a NATO member with NATO-standard military capabilities, yet a diplomat that speaks the language of the Global SouthAmerimutts really have a special asset in Turkey. Fully in cahoots with America but coded as "resistance" by retarded Muslims across MENA and Africans so it can safely go around dealing with states where direct American involvement would be less palatable.
I'm an Arab. Please don't call it the "middle east". That term is eurocentric and colonial and very hateful. Call the region by its proper name: south west asia.
>>2912080>Greater Middle Easti have my own ideas.
this new borderline is british faggotery ideology to always cause consent wars.
this is my variation of peace.
Bomb attack at Pakistan mosque kills at least 27 peopleA suicide bomb attack at a mosque and subsequent gun battle in Pakistan’s restive northwest have killed at least 27 people, including six civilians and 15 police officers, with dozens of others injured.
As worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, an explosive-laden car was rammed into the entrance of a mosque at a police headquarters in Kohat. The city is in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/18/bomb-attack-at-pakistan-mosque-kills-at-least-15-injures-50 Uganda cuts defence ties with Turkey over Somalia dispute, sources say Uganda's decision to suspend all defence cooperation with Turkey is linked to the possible end of the African Union mission in Somalia, which could cost Kampala tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, several sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uganda-cuts-defence-ties-turkey-over-somalia-dispute >>2915340You live in north africa doe
>>2915342Your country was opium addicted british puppet doe
Austria discovers up to 45 million barrels of oil in a North African nation already home to Africa’s largest oil reserves The discovery took place at the Essar well located within Libya's Sirte Basin. OMV operates the site and holds a 12% stake in the C103 concession area.
According to Libya Observer, OMV said "studies indicate recoverable resources of up to 45 million barrels of oil, adding that it holds a 12% stake in the C103 concession area".
It was announced Zueitina Oil Company will take responsibility for developing the reservoir.
Because the well sits close to established production and processing facilities, Libya Observer noted that energy officials expect a faster rollout at a lower cost.
https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/austria-discovers-up-to-45-million-barrels-of-oil-in-a-north-african-nation-already/10vm9x8 Morocco’s Mali mediation signals new diplomatic weight in the Sahel Morocco’s role in securing the release of a French intelligence officer detained in Mali has highlighted a broader shift in the balance of influence across the Sahel, where Rabat is increasingly positioning itself as a diplomatic interlocutor able to communicate with governments that have fallen out with traditional Western powers.
The current case looks less like an isolated diplomatic success and more like part of an emerging pattern in which Morocco acts as an intermediary between France and military-led governments in the Sahel.
https://thearabweekly.com/moroccos-mali-mediation-signals-new-diplomatic-weight-sahelWestern Sahara: Mali Renews Support for Morocco’s Autonomy PlanMali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdoulaye Diop has renewed his country’s position in support of the Moroccan autonomy plan as the only serious and credible basis for resolving the dispute over Western Sahara.
This comes after Mali withdrew in April its recognition of Polisario’s self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/09/339683/western-sahara-mali-renews-support-for-moroccos-autonomy-plan/ Pakistan’s latest Trump bet is on drone firm already selling to IndiaOn September 16, a delegation from Powerus, a year-old United States drone company backed by two sons of President Donald Trump, was received by Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at military headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Analysts are questioning why a country that already builds its own drones and buys others from China and Turkiye would turn to a company that was founded only last year – and has links to Israel and sells drones to India too.
“Pakistan technically already makes or is capable of making each of the drones shown by Powerus,” Bilal Khan, founder of the Quwa Group, a Toronto-based defence news and market intelligence platform, told Al Jazeera. “It’s unclear where Powerus fits in the long term [from Pakistan’s perspective].”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india Somalia, Tükiye boost spaceport cooperationA Turkish military transport docked at Mogadishu Port in February 2026, offloading a shipment of M48 and M60 Patton battle tanks in a move that signals a significant escalation of Ankara’s military footprint in the Horn of Africa. According to informed security sources, the tanks will be positioned to defend Turkish installations in the Warshiikh district, approximately 60 kilometers north of Mogadishu. The location is reportedly being prepared for missile and satellite launch operations, leveraging Somalia’s equatorial position—an optimal site for aerospace trajectories.
The protection of the Warshiikh installations represents a primary concern for Ankara. As the aerospace project advances into a critical stage, these tanks offer an essential shield against unconventional threats in the Middle Shabelle region. The increase in heavy military equipment follows recent security assessments regarding Turkish personnel and facilities. This mobilization aligns with Turkey’s recent introduction of F-16 fighter aircraft to the area, demonstrating a broader dedication to protecting its multi-billion-dollar investments in Somalia’s energy and technology sectors.
https://www.ftlsomalia.com/somalia-t-rkiye-boost-spaceport-cooperation/ Somali-Turkish Energy Partnership Reaches Milestone as Drilling Progresses Ahead of ScheduleTürkiye’s deep-sea oil and gas exploration drilling off the coast of Somalia is progressing ahead of schedule and could be completed by the end of September, according to the Somali Petroleum Authority Director General Abdulkadir Adan .
Speaking to the Somali National News Agency (SONNA), Adan said the drilling had reached a depth of around 3,000 meters and was proceeding rapidly and without technical difficulties. The operation was initially scheduled to be completed in October, but the current pace could bring completion forward by about a month. “Completion by the end of September is possible. October had previously been set as the target completion date,” he said.
https://www.ftlsomalia.com/somali-turkish-energy-partnership-reaches-milestone-as-drilling-progresses-ahead-of-schedule/La Turquie construit une base spatiale en SomalieC’est un chantier hors norme qu’a discrètement lancé la Turquie depuis octobre 2025 dans le centre de la Somalie. Warsheikh, une ville située au bord de l’océan Indien, à 70 kilomètres au nord de la capitale, Mogadiscio, va accueillir le futur fleuron du programme spatial turc : une base de lancement satellitaire qui sera doublée d’un site d’essai balistique destiné aux tests de missiles de la puissante industrie de défense d’Ankara.
Ce partenariat s’est mué en une tutelle politique. Dépendant d’Ankara, le gouvernement somalien ne peut rien lui refuser. En 2024, la Turquie s’est, par exemple, engagée à protéger les eaux territoriales somaliennes en échange de 30 % des revenus maritimes. La même année, elle s’est vue offrir des blocs pétroliers offshore à explorer – le forage doit débuter cette année a annoncé fin décembre Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
https://archive.is/Ly6kK I was reading some essays by Nibras Kazimi by way of Rob Ashlar, who is a Marxist and anti-imperialist. Kazimi is a neocon who comes from a family of Iraqi communists and turned into a doomer. So it's all very bizarre but Ashlar found him analyzing Saudi Arabia to be interesting. Green quotes are Kazimi and orange are Ashlar.
<[Kazimi] argues that while the Kurdish independence was one “station along the rim,” the key force to watch is MBS, as he may even bring about the “event horizon” or “singularity.” Put concretely, the failure of his cultural and political revolution in KSA may have devastating consequences for the region. The cultural side of this revolutionary is self-explanatory, e.g. permitting women to drive, work, etc. The political side is much murkier despite (or because of) its significance. It mainly consisted in, first, eliminating all possible rivals to MBS, and second, installing members of his clique to all parts of the Saudi state. For example, before MBS, the Ministry of Interior was the preserve of Prince Nayif and his sons, most famous being Muhammad bin Nayif, whom MBS ruthlessly ousted in his ascent to power. This violated all precedent in Saudi internal politics:
>There is a mini-world of politics within the royal ‘house’, whose dynasts are numerous enough to warrant an upgraded term such a royal barrio. The institution of Saudi royalty can draw on a long, at times embittered, memory of fratricidal feuding, elegiac enough to reveal what pitfalls to avoid. Such was the inherited wisdom by which the kingdom’s founder instituted a successional order to sustain his offspring for several generations. What comes next was to be mediated by family politics and consultation, involving multiple branches not only that of Ibn Saud’s sons and their progeny, but of more distant cousins too. […] Bin Salman finds politics, as little of it as exists in Saudi, to be an impediment. What we are watching is his bid to destroy that little space, to clear his path for absolute unencumbered governance. With the brakes gone, all one gets is the man and his instincts and reflexes at the wheel. And again, I think this particular individual is not altogether there. (98)
<My Saudi Shiite friend first alerted me to this point several years ago. He quite aptly observed that the character of the Saudi state had qualitatively changed under MBS. As he put it, this was now the “Salmanite State,” which, in destroying Saudi factional squabbles, has silently inaugurated the Fourth Saudi Realm, superseding the Third Realm formed by MBS’s grandfather King Abdulaziz. My friend also shared Kazimi’s skepticism of MBS’s mental constitution. Take this incident: Many years ago, when MBS was still fairly unknown, he had a land dispute. The judge overseeing the dispute ruled against MBS. In response, MBS mailed the judge an envelope with a single bullet, earning himself the nickname Abu Risasa (“Father of the Bullet”). The judge promptly reversed his decision. By all accounts, MBS is a clinical psychopath, and he has been presiding over a quiet revolution in KSA. Kazimi chooses an excellent example illustrating this revolution:
>Consider how novel it is to introduce the word ‘corruption’ into the Saudi lexicon of doing things as squads fanned out across Riyadh last November, arresting the high and mighty, then depositing them at the Ritz Carlton. With that action, the iron-cast lid of traditional norms— whereby corruption went by another name and was critical for regime coherence—has been completely removed from the Saudi pot. The contents beneath are opaque even to the best connected, and best informed. What is at stake has been amply described by observers already. Thousands if not tens of thousands of Saudis are connected to many of those arrested through patronage networks and familial bonds. These networks, within military, tribal, financial, religious frameworks, held Saudi rule together. Variations of this model run back three hundred years. By breaking the mold, Bin Salman is directing loyalty to his person. (99)
<MBS is one case where Great Man Theory has some utility. His recent displeasure with the UAE is suggestive. Bombing Emirati arms shipments, expelling Emirati troops, and seizing Emirati-backed territories are not calm and measured moves. Perhaps MBS seeks to once again pursue a muscular foreign policy? In the 2010s, Saudiya formed the Islamic Alliance to geopolitically compete with not only Iran but Islamic State (IS).2 MBS recognized that KSA and IS occupy the same political and ideological space–that is, Wahhabism–so he sought to take control of this space with an aggressive foreign policy, the flagship of which was the horrific war on Yemen. The Islamic Alliance failed for many reasons (which I may analyze one day), so MBS opted for rapprochement on the one hand and abandoning Wahhabism on the other. This rapprochement first entailed a truce with Iran, then an effort to join the Abraham Accords, and finally (in the wake of the Gaza Genocide) a pivot away from the American security umbrella given the weakening of Iran. Saudi hostilities with the UAE now may indicate that MBS realizes Saudiya must assert itself regionally lest it be swallowed by the Zionist-Emirati Alliance. KSA won handily in Yemen, completely eliminating the Emirati Southern Transitional Council. It has reportedly forced the Federal Government of Somalia to eject Emirati influence. The next major proxy battlefield is Sudan, where Saudiya is rumored to be behind a $1.5b arms deal between Pakistan and the SAF.
<Above I alluded to MBS’s curious relationship with Wahhabism. Many observers, especially in the left, mistakenly conflate KSA’s historical ideological proximity to jihadism–due to their shared Wahhabism–with political affinity and sympathy. In reality, this proximity engenders extremely bitter mutual animosity and rivalry. It is precisely because Saudiya and the jihadists were so ideologically similar that they saw each other as existential threats–they are (or were) two sides in a political war over who represents muscular Sunnidom and Wahhabism. At times, the shared Wahhabi ideology between KSA and jihadists allowed for tactical cooperation against mutual enemies–as with AQAP during the Gulf war on Yemen–but the two remained strategic enemies.
<This same core logic motivates the sectarian nature of state executions in Saudiya. The state routinely executes Shiite detainees because it paradoxically does not view them as a threat. Shiites are a despised minority and their anger is ultimately impotent–but not so with Sunnis. This is the state’s core popular base, so its disaffection is far more threatening, as they may join the jihadist opposition. Saudi authorities must therefore be careful not to encourage jihadist tendencies in the public. Hence it is relatively lenient with Sunni dissidents, allowing them to “reform” after a brief prison stint, while peaceful Shiite protestors like Nimr al-Nimr are executed alongside hardline jihadists like Faris al-Zahrani. The Saudi marriage with Wahhabism meant that competition with jihadism lay at the heart of Saudi policy.
<MBS almost certainly understands this, and he likely realized that Saudiya’s alliance with American imperialism made it inherently vulnerable to the jihadist political challenge. Jihadists could justifiably always slam KSA as hypocrites for betraying the Wahhabi creed that they preach. There were two potential answers. One was to aggressively confront the supposed enemies of Sunnidom, particularly the Axis. This was the goal of the Islamic Alliance, which failed. A more consistent version of this would be to completely sever Saudi ties to the US and the West. This was impossible, and so came another answer: To abandon Wahhabism entirely. If Saudiya was no longer Wahhabi, it could not be challenged on those grounds, thus neutering the jihadist critique. An essential part of this ideological project was to de-emphasize the importance of the Wahhabi Mission in Saudi history in favor of Saudi state nationalism.https://robashlar.substack.com/p/review-stations-along-the-rim-nibrasCan we take a moment to recognize how Erdogan has put Turkey well on its path to becoming the most important country in West Eurasia?
>economic growth above 4% for almost two decades
>economy on course to surpass the uk's en france's
>more major defense companies than germany
>manufacturing hub for europe
>well poised to economically capture north africa, central asia, caucasus, middle east, pakistan and afghanistan, somalia and maybe the sahel (a market of almost a billion people
>turkish companies are building africa, turkish companies will start extracting oil in somalia (90% revenue for turkey only) and pakistan
>soon to be space power, ongoing localization of military manufacture, just achieved intercontinental missiles, soon to get nuclear power plants
>massive soft power thanks to turk soap operas
>massive tourism flows, istanbul is the fifth most visited city in the world
>military bases in iraq, syria, qatar, djibouti and somalia (last one essentially just a turkish protectorate at this point)
>fully embedded in nato and western world order yet able to talk and trade with the third world and russia increasing its importance to america as conduit to keep potentially unfriendly thirdies like aes or pakistan in check
>just achieved highest ever pisa scores, surpassing almost every european country, including germany, france, sweden, italy and spain
Seriously, I hate Erdog but how can anyone say he's incompetent? He's pretty much assured Turkey's dominance over Europe, MENA, Central Asia, Pakistan and gotten Turkey a place at the table in Africa and space. I think the only thing that could stop Turkey's rise is Israel going full schizo and provoking a crisis with it or trying to engineer a more publicly Israel-friendly successor to Erdogan.
Inside Somaliland: How Berbera Port is central to the Red Sea's power struggleAcross the Gulf of Aden, Yemen's Houthis are warily watching Israel and the UAE entrench themselves at a military base here. Meanwhile, to the south, Somalia, flush with new arms from Turkey, sees Berbera typifying the independent ambitions of Somalilanders which need to be stamped out.
Recent satellite imagery shared by open-source analysts suggests the UAE has expanded its presence at the city's airport with new surface-to-air-missile sites, radar facilities and hangars. The UAE is also building a naval facility a few kilometres away from the commercial port. The construction has coincided with rising tensions not just between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but also between Israel and the Houthis.
Abu Dhabi has used the airport as a stopover for flights carrying military equipment to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Reuters reported in December 2024. The RSF is battling Sudan’s military, which is backed by Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, the UAE evacuated its ally and leader of Yemen's Southern separatist movement, Aidarus al-Zubaidi, to Berbera, after Saudi Arabia attacked the group.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/inside-berbera-port-center-scramble-red-sea<Why the FUCK do the Houthis just sit idle while the UAE builds these fucking bases in Somaliland? They WILL be used against them at some point. <Just fucking send Zionist Somalia's economy down the shitter by destroying the port. Inside Somaliland: The Israel-Turkey clash coming to the Horn of Africa Officials and analysts in Somaliland say their diplomatic normalisation with Israel in January 2026 -widely condemned by the wider Muslim and Arab world - was, in part, motivated by the need to check Turkey’s growing military footprint in Somalia.
“We need air defence systems,” Mohamed Osman Fadal, a senior foreign affairs advisor to Somaliland’s president, said in an interview. “Turkey has F-16s in Mogadishu, and it wants to build a drone base in Somalia.”
“We want Israel to support us against Turkey,” he said.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-turkey-clash-coming-horn-africa 'Mayfair means money': A walk through the Gulf elite's favourite part of London It is Mayfair, though, that has become a real home away from home for wealthy Gulf citizens. The area, which includes North Audley Street, where Mohammed bin Rashid and his group were shouted at, is one of the richest in the world - full of upscale restaurants, luxury car dealerships and grand hotels.
“We come to London because we have a lot of investments here and we like to help them out,” the noticeably confident Khaled says.
“Sudanese people are ignorant,” he tells Middle East Eye when asked about the incident with Dubai's ruler. “We are helping Sudan. We are sending humanitarian aid. It was disrespectful.”
“Yes, you can have freedom of speech, but you can’t say that to a leader; it’s not respectful,” says Mohammed, whose father was a soldier and who remembers a “simpler, harder life” in Dubai before oil transformed the city.
Today in the Emirates, he says, you can “get whatever you want within minutes. Someone will bring it to you. You don’t even have to get up”.
But although the family visit Oxford and Hampshire, London for this teenager from Dubai begins and ends in the affluent parts of the centre.
“We don’t go to the areas where there are roadmen and lots of migrants and stabbings,” he says, before getting out a map on his phone marked up with his favourite spots.
The list, which does not stray far beyond Mayfair, is described by Khaled as a map of "prime khaleeji hangouts". It includes the restaurants Cipriani, Ivy Asia, Sexy Fish, Supernova and Nobu.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mayfair-means-money-walk-through-gulf-elite-favourite-part-london Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey Agree to Expand Regional Railway Cooperation The Deputy Minister also participated in a trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey. In this session, the three countries agreed to jointly begin the construction of the Herat–Mazar-e-Sharif railway. Each country will contribute financial, technical, and human resources to the project.
https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan-196284Afghan banks to finance Herat–Mazar railway projectAfghanistan’s central bank has announced that commercial banks will participate in financing the planned Herat–Mazar-e-Sharif railway project, a major infrastructure initiative estimated to cost nearly 55 billion afghanis ($780 million).
Khalid said the banking sector could play a significant role in strengthening the national economy and accelerating the implementation of development projects through domestic investment.
Khalid also said improved security conditions in the country have created a favorable environment for implementing major infrastructure projects, adding that the central bank would provide the necessary support and facilities to encourage private-sector participation.
https://www.ariananews.af/afghan-banks-to-finance-herat-mazar-railway-project/Gov’t approves East-West transit corridor plan linking Afghanistan railway projectIran's state railway chief last week told ILNA that Iranian companies had begun construction of an 800-kilometer railway linking Herat and Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan.
Jabbar Ali Zakari, who serves as deputy minister of roads and urban development, said the project aims to expand regional rail connectivity and complete a transport corridor linking Iran, Afghanistan and China.
He said the project is being financed by the Afghan government and will be carried out under a "railway-for-minerals" arrangement, under which Iran will build the railway in return for participating in the development of and investment in Afghanistan's mining sector.
https://newspaper.irandaily.ir/8179/3/25501 Project for the New American Century = ZIONIST DEATH CULT
PNAC was a neoconservative think tank made up of a who’s who of American neocons. Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan were the founders. Among their proposals was the so-called Wolfowitz Doctrine crafted by Paul Wolfowitz which called for massive military spending and preemptive invasions of foreign nations hostile to America, and specifically called for a “NEW PEARL HARBOR” to justify said policies.
It’s important to note that Wolfowitz was a student of political philosopher Leo Strauss who taught that political elites should see themselves as philosopher kings and lie to the vulgar masses of people in order to keep the masses in-check. When philosophers aren’t ruling overtly, they should rule covertly. Bill and his father Irving Kristol were die-hard followers of Strauss and sought to implement his thought any way they could. The Straussian cabal is very real and has been carefully manipulating American politics from the Nixon era onward.
Also, Clean Break was a bipartisan predecessor to PNAC that called for a U.S. invasion of Iraq as early as 1999 under the name “Operation Desert Crossing.”
Given that we are now in the 25th anniversary of 9/11can we all admit PNAC did 9/11?
POWER OF NIGHTMARES
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jxBbw13Y3GcA VERY HEAVY AGENDA (PNAC + 9/11)
https://www.bitchute.com/video/mbaAPILY8XmM/Neocons are satanic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNYidsuhaKYNeocon origins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0C157Wmm6EZionist Jew YouTuber: "Claiming Jews were behind Iraq War is 'BLOOD LIBEL.'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUA2Sy3jAZE&t=6013s(1:40:13)
>"oy vey goyim, let us lie and deceive the public and give us the oil and let us establish a rothschild bank"They aren't even making an effort to hide it anymore.
Total neocon death.
Railway Freight Through Afghanistan’s Four Main Borders Rises 39.1% in a Year, Taliban SaysMinistry spokesperson Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas said in a post on social media platform X that a total of 6,119,498 metric tons of goods were transported through the Hairatan (Uzbekistan), Aqina and Torghundi (Turkmenistan) and Khaf–Herat (Iran) railway routes.
According to the statement, 4,261,991 tons were transported through Hairatan, 472,282 tons through Aqina, 743,012 tons through Torghundi, and 642,212 tons via the Khaf–Herat railway line.
https://thekabultribune.com/en/0007947Afghanistan and Iran synchronize transport diplomacy: Implications for Central AsiaIn light of the escalation of the Afghan-Pakistani conflict, the rail link between Iran and Afghanistan has given Kabul a significant opportunity to access the markets of the Persian Gulf states, Türkiye and the EU, offsetting the costs resulting from the temporary lack of access to the seaports of neighboring Pakistan. This has also boosted Iranian-Afghan trade, with an annual volume reaching US$ 3.6 billion. Similarly, bilateral freight traffic has sharply increased. From March 2025 to March 2026, over 640,000 tons of cargo were transported via the Khaf-Herat railway, compared to fewer than 15,000 tons during the previous period. Monthly volumes have already approached 130,000 tons, and projections indicate growth to 160,000 tons per month, or 1.5 million tons per year.
It is estimated that, once the Khaf-Herat railway line is fully operational, the annual volume of interstate freight traffic could increase to 3 million tons, and transit freight to 1.7 million tons. These figures are in line with Tehran’s ambitious plan to increase the volume of cargo transported by rail to 60 million tons per year. This goal will be achieved by developing North-South and East-West international transport corridors, which will require close cooperation with neighboring countries, including those in Central Asia. Tehran has already announced plans to increase rail freight traffic with Kazakhstan to 5 million tons per year, with Turkmenistan to 4 million tons, and with Uzbekistan to 2 million tons.
https://eurasianet.org/afghanistan-and-iran-synchronize-transport-diplomacy-implications-for-central-asia[EurasiaNet is a creation of the Open Societies Foundation]
After financing doubts last year, Rogun is on rise againConstruction on Tajikistan’s massive Rogun Dam project has taken significant steps forward over the last year, seeming to put to rest doubts about the project’s viability that had bubbled up last summer.
In June, World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $300 million grant for the project – its second round of funding, on top of a $350 million grant approved in December 2024.
In addition to the World Bank’s new tranche of funds, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development signed a loan agreement in early February for $100 million toward the current stage of the project. In late July, the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an investment organ of the Italian state, committed to a $150 million investment through the World Bank’s consortium.
https://eurasianet.org/after-financing-doubts-last-year-rogun-is-on-rise-againAfghanistan Nears 75% Completion of CASA-1000 Project The DABS officials add that once completed, Afghanistan will earn about $65 million annually from electricity transit fees.
Mohammad Tawoos Farzad, an economic analyst, said: “With the implementation of this project, Afghanistan can obtain electricity and also receive between $50 to $60 million in transit fees; however, the key issue is that if tensions between Kabul and Islamabad continue, completing this project will be difficult.”
CASA-1000 is considered one of the key regional energy projects aimed at transferring electricity from Central Asia to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
https://www.tolonews.com/business-198728 Pakistan accelerates four major dam projects amid growing water security concernsPakistan has accelerated work on four dam projects that are expected to add more than eight million acre-feet (MAF) of water storage capacity, state media reported, as the country seeks to strengthen water security amid growing climate-related challenges.
https://www.arabnews.pk/pakistan/pakistan-accelerates-four-major-dam-projects-amid-growing-water-security-concerns-2645567Analysis: Can Pakistan afford to delay its dams?THE country’s persistent failure to invest adequately in water storage and hydropower infrastructure has once again come into focus, as the government is expected to earmark only Rs179 billion under the proposed Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2026-27 for a sector considered critical to the nation’s water, food and energy security.
The proposed allocation has raised concerns over the pace of work on major ongoing hydropower projects, reservoirs and flood mitigation schemes at a time when the country is struggling with recurring floods, shrinking per capita water availability and high electricity costs.
https://asianews.network/analysis-can-pakistan-afford-to-delay-its-dams/ >>2926325Don't ban me for this shitpost. I know that anime is the greatest shibboleth on this website.
>>2925181>Why is Ansar Allah sitting idle w/ Somaliland?What do you think Ansar Allah is doing with the most recent offensive?
Iranian Oil Starts Flowing to Tajikistan Despite U.S. Sanctions RiskTajikistan began receiving Iranian oil and petroleum products in late August, although shipment volumes, prices and transport routes remain undisclosed.
Dushanbe has requested as much as 2.55 million tons annually, but that is a prospective volume rather than the amount currently being supplied.
The new supply route could diversify a fuel market in which Russia accounted for 91.1% of petroleum-product imports in the first half of 2026.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Iranian-Oil-Starts-Flowing-to-Tajikistan-Despite-US-Sanctions-Risk.html>>2928923 >>2928923nothing to thwart somaliland. that's for sure
>>2926323Lol wake me up when they attack Zionist investments.
>>2928926>That's for sure. Oh really? So proximity to the Gulf of Aden is just for show then?
>>2929076what are you even implying here? that because there's fighting in yemen (something going on since 2011) somaliland won't develop? the whole port of berbera AND bosaso was developed under their noses
Turkey jails 2 journalists pending trial for fund crisis 'misinformation'A Turkish court on Friday jailed two journalists pending trial for allegedly spreading misinformation over a sprawling investment fund scandal, while another two were granted conditional release, media reports said.
Turkey has been grappling with the fallout from an investment fund scandal which erupted in mid-September, prompting an investigation into allegations of widespread market manipulation.
https://www.newarab.com/news/turkey-jails-2-journalists-fund-crisis-misinformation <uh ohCIA Report Warns Israel Could Head Toward Civil War, Total CollapseThe August report, titled “Fracture From Within,” was compiled by experts in the CIA’s Red Cell, according to two U.S. sources who described the contents of the report to Drop Site News. The Red Cell, which is the unit responsible for providing “alternative analysis” within the agency, produced the assessment through a combination of open source information and U.S. intelligence.
CIA experts pointed to a volatile mix of pressures converging ahead of Israel’s elections on October 27: economic crisis and soaring military spending; heavily armed veterans returning from prolonged combat, many carrying serious psychological trauma; growing fury over ultra-Orthodox men who are exempt from military service; escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fighting to hold onto power and igniting a constitutional crisis.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/cia-report-israel-civil-war-collapse Cairo's new $4.5bn monorail has commuters asking one question: is it actually worth it?At the entrance to Station 11 of Cairo’s four-month-old monorail, near the American University in Cairo and the Future University of Egypt in New Cairo, you will see people walking up the escalator toward the monorail, while others exit and head down.
At least, that’s what it looks like at first glance.
In reality, most people skip the train entirely. Instead, the $4.5 billion project seems to be used more as a glorified crosswalk, traversed so people can avoid the traffic below.
https://www.newarab.com/features/cairo-commuters-give-their-verdict-citys-new-monorail Drones and Death: Families Reel from the UAE’s “Catastrophic” Strikes in War on ISISFour Puntland security officials with intricate knowledge on UAE military operations in Puntland have told Drop Site that UAE drone strikes have been “catastrophic” and at times “reckless.”
“When the US carries out a strike, their is a lot of surveillance that takes place beforehand. Oftentimes, the US surveillance drones will carry out reconnaissance on a target in the mountains for a lengthy period of time, then carry out a lethal strike but the Emirates fire on anything that moves,” a Puntland security official tells Drop Site.
“With the Emirates, there is no level of accountability. If they see a group of people burning wood somewhere in the [Al-Miskaad] mountains, they won’t even care to verify if these individuals are nomads or Daesh [ISIS],” a second Puntland security official said.
“It’s like target practice for them,” he said.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/uae-somalia-isis-strikes-bedouin-bosasso-united-states-base >>2930388presumably the couple was japanese?
>>2930841i am EXTREMELY surprised at these protests
isn't azerbaijan one of the most secular countries out there? where are all of these hijab wearing kids coming from? and i'm SHOCKED other people are protesting solidarity with them. usually protests are broken up and participants quickly arrested in that country. why are people risking their lives over something like hijab in the most secular muslim country there is?
>>2930909It's fucked up to ban the hijab, it's right wing bullshit
Aliyev calls European Parliament 'nest of corrupt figures' and urges Muslim countries to unite On 15 September, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused European institutions of bias during a meeting in Baku with representatives of Muslim religious organisations and participants in international conferences. He said the peace process with Armenia was continuing. At the same time, he stressed that Azerbaijan intended to strengthen its military capabilities.
Aliyev said that an undeclared war was being waged against the Islamic world, and described Islamophobia as one of its components. According to him, Muslim countries’ main response to this pressure should be solidarity.
https://jam-news.net/aliyev-calls-european-parliament-nest-of-corrupt-figures-and-urges-muslim-countries-to-unite/ >>2930911>it's fucked up to ban the hijab>it's fucked to ban the burka>it's fucked up to ban female genital mutilationAll the abrahamic trash goes in the bin where it belongs
>>2931090Are you seriously gonna say the hijab and FGM are the same
>>2930911Saudi Wahhabist bullshit has to go back. Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries may be American dogs right now but at least they kept many of the right cultural policies from the Soviet times.
>>2930909wait until you hear about who have ruling turkey for the past half decades
>>2930909>isn't azerbaijan one of the most secular countries out there? Not sure but even the most secular societies have a reactionary segment in their population.
>>2931289saudi is secular like america
>>2931291azerbaijan's population is both reactionary and secular
Azerbaijan accuses Turkey of stoking tensions over headscarf ban The New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Ilham Aliyev, singled out Turkish chief presidential adviser Oktay Saral and other officials from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who had opposed the ban in social media posts.
The party said Turkish media outlets close to the AKP government were publishing reports about Azerbaijan that were "contrary to the facts" and warned that relations between the two countries could suffer.
Saral said on Monday that denying students wearing headscarves access to education in Azerbaijan was unacceptable and called on Baku to reverse the practice.
Beyond the headscarf issue, many Turkish users on X have criticised Azerbaijan's close relationship with Israel.
Azerbaijan's decision not to leave the UN hall during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address last month triggered a wave of negative commentary about Baku.
The party said Azerbaijan's relationship with Israel was based on international law and mutual interests. It also reiterated its "support" for the Palestinian people, noting that Baku had provided financial and humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
Responding to criticism of the headscarf ban, the party said no state in the Islamic world had the right to dictate its will to other Muslim peoples, interfere in their internal affairs or regard itself as superior.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/azerbaijan-accuses-turkey-stoking-tensions-over-headscarf-ban Azerbaijan Significantly Increases State Funding for Religious Institutions Since 2020Azerbaijan has increased state financial support for religious institutions by nearly 94% since 2020, while expanding assistance to religious figures, developing theological education and supporting the preservation of religious heritage.
Financial assistance to religious figures has also expanded. Azerbaijan currently has 1,479 religious figures appointed to places of worship, of whom 1,204 receive state assistance, compared with 984 in 2020.
The number of officially registered religious communities has increased from 645 in 2015 to 994, including 956 Islamic communities.
https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/azerbaijan-significantly-increases-state-funding-for-religious-institutions-since-2020-2026-10-13-0/ At least 33 pupils and teacher killed after school roof collapses in Pakistan Emergency services were called to the private Al-Khair school in Dir Colony at 08:48 (03:48 GMT) on Thursday after lessons had begun, rescue official Bilal Faizi told the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The roof of an upper-floor classroom had collapsed, he said, causing ceilings below to cave in and trap children beneath the debris.
Announcing the arrest of the school's owner, police chief Mian Saeed promised a thorough inquiry into "whether there were any violations of building codes".
In June, fourteen children died after the roof of a private tuition centre near Lahore collapsed.
And in August, 14 newborn babies were killed by a fire that ripped through a neonatal unit at a hospital in the capital, Islamabad, which an inquiry found lacked fire alarms and sprinklers.
https://www.British Broadcasting Corporation.com/news/articles/cked326llddgo What is behind the Egyptian military operations in the southeastern desert? For Egypt, the border region is a lucrative site of gold that should be under singular state control, the Egyptian officials say. But equally, there is a fear in official quarters that informal mining and the network of armed smugglers surrounding it could formalize into more formidable armed groups that complicate the war in Sudan as much as the security situation in southern Egypt.
But the scale of last week’s attack was also meant to send a message, one of the Egyptian officials says, as Egypt has grown increasingly concerned that the push and pull of the war’s international dynamic may see Sudan enter into agreements that would require Sudan to have its right of control over the Halayeb Triangle, over which Egypt has exercised effective administrative and military control since the mid-1990s, even as Sudan continues to claim it as part of Red Sea State.
A source at the Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority who spoke to Mada Masr in the aftermath of the operation uses the example of a new initiative that the authority intends to launch between Safaga and Berenice along the Red Sea coast.
“Investors in most areas of the Eastern Desert are currently unable to claim their designated areas, because prospectors are entering these areas and mining there, even in areas where mining concessions are held,” the source says.
This, the source says, is why the military has been active throughout the entire mountain range, not just along the border with Sudan.
https://www.madamasr.com/en/2026/06/25/feature/politics/what-is-behind-the-egyptian-military-operations-in-the-southeastern-desert/Egyptian F-16s struck Sudanese gold miners with 400 kg bombsThe Egyptian military conducted at least five air strikes using US-made F-16 fighter jets on Saturday targeting artisanal miners in the Al-Agaidat gold mine in the North Al-Wadi area. The strikes killed an estimated 72 people, hitting miners working in the disputed Egypt-Sudan border region known as the Hala’ib Triangle, the Emergency Lawyers reported. One health official treating the wounded told Ayin the number of casualties is likely higher, ranging from 150 to 250 deaths.
https://3ayin.com/en/egypt-4-/ Inside the Turkey-Azerbaijan rift: How a headscarf ban strained an alliance Despite multibillion-dollar investments in each other’s economies, spanning energy, transportation, construction and agriculture, multiple Azerbaijani news outlets with close ties to Baku this week accused Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan of trying to instigate an insurrection against President Ilham Aliyev’s administration.
The unprecedented attacks on Fidan and the Turkish government followed Azerbaijan’s decision last month to impose a headscarf ban in primary and secondary schools, triggering protests and critical media coverage in Turkey.
Qafqazinfo, a website with close ties to the Azerbaijani presidency, linked Fidan’s visit to broader allegations about Turkey-affiliated entities operating in Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan, too, has faced attempts by Turkey-affiliated entities to stage a coup and incite chaos in the country,” said a report that was later deleted and republished without the passages targeting Fidan after the Turkish embassy's strong denial. “There is serious information suggesting that Fidan gave specific instructions during the meeting.”
Multiple officials and people familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye that the attacks on Turkey and Fidan had been ordered from the top.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/inside-turkey-azerbaijan-rift-how-headscarf-ban-strained-alliance Turkey’s $17bn fund scandal becomes a political crisis for Erdogan A crisis involving Turkish investment funds accused of running Ponzi-like schemes has affected half a million people, with authorities ordering the liquidation of some 130 funds worth $17bn earlier this month.
The most prominent political casualty so far has been Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, a deputy head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and family minister from 2016 to 2018. She resigned on Sunday after the opposition accused her of making substantial profits from share sales shortly before the funds crisis triggered a major stock market sell-off on 16 September.
>>2936137https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-17bn-fund-scandal-becomes-political-crisis-erdoganExclusive: Full text of the Mecca defence pact signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan The Turkish government submitted the text of the Mecca Defence Pact to the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.
The pact, signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in August, establishes a new international defence alliance that commits the signatories to one another’s defence, similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
The text of the agreement, obtained exclusively by Middle East Eye, does not identify any specific country or region as a threat, but emphasises that all participating countries will take the necessary measures to support one another in the event of an armed attack against their independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/full-text-mecca-defence-pact-signed-turkey-saudi-arabia-and-pakistan >>2936139>This Agreement has been signed in three original copies in the Turkish, Arabic, and English languages, each text being equally authentic. In the event of a difference in interpretation between the texts, the English text shall prevail.lol
from newsanon's thread:
Tunisia jails opposition politician for four years over social media postsThe charges against Olfa Hamdi, a dual Tunisian and United States national, stemmed from social media posts, her lawyer Akram Moussa said on Wednesday. Hamdi has repeatedly criticised Tunisian President Kais Saied’s rule and called for a transitional government and early presidential elections.
Hamdi’s sentence comprises two separate two-year prison terms from two additional convictions and 80,000 dinars ($26,000) in fines, her lawyer said.
Hamdi was also sentenced in March in a separate case to two years in prison. Global human rights organisations have widely criticised the cases against her.
A US Department of State spokesperson told the AFP news agency that Washington was “closely tracking the situation”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/21/tunisia-jails-opposition-politician-for-four-years-over-social-media-postsIranian Universities Ready to Admit Azerbaijani Students Facing Hijab RestrictionsIranian Science Minister Hossein Simaei Saraf has announced that the country’s universities are ready to welcome female students from the Republic of Azerbaijan who face pressure over hijab restrictions while pursuing their education.
https://wanaen.com/iranian-universities-ready-to-admit-azerbaijani-students-facing-hijab-restrictions/ Azerbaijan bans 31 Turks from entering country as headscarf ban dispute escalates Azerbaijan has barred 31 Turkish citizens from entering the country over social media remarks that authorities allege threatened Azerbaijani national security and advocated the forcible overthrow of the Baku government.
Separately, the office of Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general said on Monday that a district court in
Baku had issued international arrest warrants in absentia for seven people living in Turkey who had organised or attended demonstrations outside Azerbaijani diplomatic missions to protest the headscarf ban.<talk about escalationhttps://www.middleeasteye.net/news/azerbaijan-bans-31-turks-headscarf-ban-dispute Iraqi schools, universities protest Azerbaijan hijab restrictions Universities and schools across several Iraqi provinces staged protests on Thursday against Azerbaijan's restrictions on wearing the hijab, calling for respect for religious freedom and women's right to wear headscarves.
https://shafaq.com/en/society/Iraqi-schools-universities-protest-Azerbaijan-hijab-restrictionsErdoğan calls Aliyev as almost 90 allegedly detained in one village’s anti-hijab ban protestAccording to Azerbaijan’s presidential press service, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as regional and global issues.
Erdoğan expressed confidence that cooperation between the two countries, based on their ‘brotherly ties’, would continue to develop further.
He also reiterated his congratulations to Azerbaijan on the 35th anniversary of the restoration of its independence and invited Aliyev to attend the 13th summit of the Organisation of Turkic States, scheduled to take place in Ankara.
Aliyev thanked Erdoğan for the call and his congratulations, expressing confidence that relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey would continue to develop successfully.
https://oc-media.org/erdogan-calls-aliyev-as-almost-90-allegedly-detained-in-one-villages-anti-hijab-ban-protest/ Iran, Afghanistan Reach Preliminary Deal on 110 Hectares at Chabahar Port Mohsen Zanganeh told an Iranian media outlet that the agreement, reached with Afghanistan's Minister of Industry and Commerce, aims to facilitate investment and develop transit infrastructure.
According to Zanganeh, the proposed allocation includes nearly 10 hectares in the port's coastal area and more than 100 hectares within the Chabahar Special Economic Zone.
However, economic restrictions, sanctions on Iran and banking challenges could affect Afghan investment and the implementation of the project.
https://www.tolonews.com/business-201130Israel's vision of regional security rests on keeping Arab states weakThe report states that Israel does not view Arab countries as true nations, but instead as mere "collections of tribes and ethnic groups". As a result, undermining their stability "is viewed as a natural process" that Israel "should even encourage".
Indeed, the policy treats weak, fragmented Arab states as a source of security, since instability is something Israel "can manage more effectively than it can contend with strong nation-states".
It further defines Israel's approach as "perpetual preemptive war", with Israeli expansion - including into Syria and Lebanon - serving a broad objective of Arab "destabilization".
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israels-vision-regional-security-rests-keeping-arab-states-weak??
>report being discussed:https://www.inss.org.il/publication/new-concept/ Netanyahu map shows RSF 'friendly' to Israel and UAE, backing for separatist movements Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a map of the wider Middle East showing his country and the UAE aligned with a paramilitary in Sudan, accused of committing genocide, and separatists in Libya, Yemen and Somaliland.
The map was part of Netanyahu’s unveiling on Sunday of a new security doctrine that emphasises preemptive strikes and the establishment of "buffer zones" on Israel’s borders.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/netanyahu-map-shows-rsf-friendly-israel-and-uae-backing-separatist-movements<lmao at kurds not being acknowledged by mother israel 'Null and void:' Egypt condemns Turkey-Libya maritime deal, reaffirms pact with Greece Egypt has declared a contentious maritime deal sealed by Turkey and eastern Libya as “null and void, absolutely”, reaffirming its commitment to an agreement it sealed with Greece.
Libya’s eastern parliament surprised many on Tuesday by unanimously approving a contentious maritime deal with Turkey that it had opposed for years. The agreement was first approved by Libya’s Tripoli-based government in 2019.
Sources tell MEE that Saddam is seeking Ankara’s support for a wider power-sharing deal in Libya with the rulers of Tripoli.
>power sharing deal orchestrated by amerimutts btw https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/null-and-void-egypt-condemns-turkey-libya-maritime-deal-reaffirming-agreement-greece Egypt's Sisi declares his presidency will end in 2030 Sisi, 71, said on Saturday during a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy that "the Egyptian constitution would not be touched". He is currently serving a six-year term.
"The year 2030 will mark the end of my presidential term. This matter is completely settled," Sisi said.
"I will not leave the Egyptian state until it is brimming with its own people capable of shouldering responsibility."
The president added that the military academy was creating a new generation of leaders.
Rights groups estimate that over 60,000 prisoners of conscience are held in Egyptian jails, including more than 1,000 women.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-sisi-declares-his-presidency-will-end-2030 Egypt detains entire newsroom of leading fact-checking platform over 'fake news' allegations Egyptian authorities have detained the entire newsroom of one of the country’s only independent media outlets in a move that rights groups have denounced as a “first” and an “alarming escalation” on free speech.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-detains-entire-newsroom-leading-fact-checking-platform-over-fake-news-allegations Turkey secures a strategic win over Greece as eastern Libya backs the maritime deal Over the past few years, however, Ankara has re-established ties with eastern Libya’s de facto ruler, Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), and particularly with his son Saddam.
Several sources told Middle East Eye that Libya's eastern parliament’s decision to ratify the deal on the same day as Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin’s reported visit to Tripoli was no coincidence.
“Kalin established really deep ties with Haftar and made tangible progress in carrying this issue to the finish line,” a Libya-based source familiar with the issue told MEE.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-secures-strategic-win-over-greece-eastern-libya-maritime-dealEgypt and Libya study building $1bn oil pipelineEgypt and Libya are nearing the launch of a joint project to build an 800-kilometer oil pipeline linking the Libyan city of Tobruk with Alexandria, transporting Libyan crude to Egyptian refineries on the Mediterranean coast. The project’s preliminary cost is estimated at more than $1 billion.
https://www.arabnews.com/business/egypt-and-libya-study-building-1bn-oil-pipeline-2654078 Haftar's forces execute 30 after secret military trials in eastern Libya At least 30 men have been executed in eastern Libya since late August after being sentenced to death in secretive military trials and at least 50 others remain at imminent risk of execution, local media and rights groups have reported over the last week.
Amnesty International said the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), led by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and the de facto authorities in the region, resumed executions on 23 August in Libya for the first time since 2010.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/least-30-executed-after-secret-military-trials-eastern-libya-50-more-face-deathEgypt’s economy set to grow 5.1% in 2026: IMF Egypt’s economy is projected to grow by 5.1 percent in 2026, as resilient domestic activity, remittances and tourism support the recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest regional economic outlook.
The new forecast marks an upward revision from the 4.2 percent growth projected in April, reflecting stronger-than-expected economic performance during the first half of the year. However, the IMF cautioned that inflation, currency pressures and elevated borrowing costs continue to pose risks.
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/150203/Egypt%E2%80%99s-economy-set-to-grow-5-1-in-2026-IMF What does the UAE own in the UK? Football clubs, London landmarks and billion-pound assets Besides owning Manchester City football club, the UAE also owns lucrative property developments across the city. Among the largest is Manchester Life, a glitzy, mixed-use regeneration project in Manchester’s Ancoats area launched in 2014 in a deal between Manchester City Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group reportedly worth £1bn.
It emerged in October that Manchester City Council gave Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group the right of first refusal on some of these projects in what critics have dubbed a “sweetheart deal” that sidelined rival developers.
DP World, the Dubai government’s ports and logistics giant, owns London Gateway and Southampton, the UK’s second and third largest shipping terminals by container volume. The London site was approved for a £1bn expansion by the government in 2024.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/what-uae-own-uk-invest-manchester-city Hospitals deliberately targeted by Sudan's RSF fighters, British Broadcasting Corporation investigation findsUsing sources who were on the ground in el-Fasher, the British Broadcasting Corporation has found details of at least 43 separate attacks on hospitals and healthcare sites from May 2024 to October 2025 - some hit multiple times.
The investigation also reveals the toll on medical workers in the western city. In the period from April 2023 to October 2025, the British Broadcasting Corporation's data shows 120 were injured, 55 killed and 10 forcibly "disappeared" or abducted.
<The attacks culminated in an RSF raid on 8 June. Hospital staff were taken by surprise - many of them escaped over the back wall as the RSF fighters entered the building, says Dr Mustafa Ahmed, a pharmaceutical specialist.<But the director general of the hospital, surgeon Izzeldin Ahmed Dawaud Asow, encountered a group of the paramilitaries outside his office.<"There are no citizens here. You are Falangi," they said, using a derogatory term implying that non-Arab Sudanese are foreigners.<Dr Asow says he was beaten with rifle butts and lost consciousness at one point. Ultimately, he saved himself by pretending to be dead.<"They put their hand on my chest, and I stopped breathing. And they said: 'Leave him, leave him. The rubbish has died. Leave him.' They left me."<Dr Asow also describes how drones tracked the movement of patients.<On 15 March 2025, people carrying the injured from the site of an attack to one of the temporary wards were followed by a hunting drone, he says.<It struck as they reached the gate of the building, killing nine people.https://www.British Broadcasting Corporation.com/news/articles/c54g1kxw4nvvo and finally the biggest joke of them all, a cosmic slap in the face
UAE nominates diplomat to lead UN amid criticism over Sudan and Israel policy The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday formally nominated Lana Nusseibeh, its former ambassador to the United Nations, to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN secretary-general, adding a new contender to a deadlocked race.
Her family hails from Jerusalem. Her grandfather, Anwar Nusseibeh, was a prominent Palestinian politician who held ministerial posts in Jordan's government when it controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and served as Jordan's ambassador to Britain.
Colin Shindler, an emeritus professor of Israel studies at Soas who taught her, wrote in a 2020 Jewish Chronicle column that she had completed a master's in Israeli studies there, writing essays on Zionism and Israeli history, and described her as "instrumental" in the normalisation deal, known as the Arabram accords.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-nominates-diplomat-lana-nusseibeh-un-secretary-general>y saben que es lo mejor? se supone que la presidencia deberia ir a latino america y quien es la candidata mas probable a ganar de la region? una maldita j de costa rica cuya hermana vive en israel. pueden creer estas pendejeces? un maldito pais donde viven menos de 3,000 judios y la unica persona que se les ocurre nominar es una maldita judia sionista.>so there you go. the next un secretary is either going to be a zionist jew from latin america with family ties to israel or a zionist palestinian from the emirates. isn't that amazing? Unique IPs: 55