MOSCOW: Sudan's Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said during a visit to Moscow on Monday that lawmakers in the African country would consider an agreement brokered by its ousted leader to establish a Russian naval base there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir in 2017 on establishing a naval base in Port Sudan, on Sudan's Red Sea coast.
No announcement was ever made by the Sudanese side but Russia said it had signed a 25-year agreement with Sudan in December last year to build and operate the base.
Last month a top military official in Sudan said the country was reviewing the document after some clauses were found to be "somewhat harmful".
During a press conference with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday, Mahdi said the legislature will study the agreement.
"We now have a government that is accountable to a new legislative mechanism," she told reporters.
"The Sudanese legislature will discuss and consider this document," Mahdi added.
Under the deal, Russia's navy was to be allowed to keep up to four ships at a time at the base, including nuclear-powered vessels.
The base was to be staffed by up to 300 military and civilian personnel.
The lawmakers will evaluate whether the agreement is a "benefit to Sudan itself and the strategic goals pursued by Russia and Sudan," Mahdi said in Moscow Monday.
For decades, the country was dependent militarily on Russia because of crippling sanctions imposed by Washington against the government of now ousted president Omar al-Bashir.
But since his 2019 overthrow, Sudan has moved closer to the United States, which removed Khartoum from its crippling blacklist last year.
Sudan lawmakers to review Russian navy base deal: FM
https://arab.news/mvqam
Sudan lawmakers to review Russian navy base deal: FM
Iraq’s Kurdish authorities extradite activist to Iran: group
- Khosrawi “asked to return to the Islamic Republic of Iran” and signed a document stating this, the Asayesh added in a statement
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: An Iranian Kurdish activist was extradited from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region back to Iran, the opposition group he belongs to said on Saturday, an account disputed by local authorities.
Behzad Khosrawi was arrested last week by security forces in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah and handed over to “Iranian intelligence,” said the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), one of several Iranian Kurdish groups exiled for decades in northern Iraq.
“He is a member of an opposition political party... and enjoys the right to asylum as a political refugee,” said the group, condemning his extradition.
Local security forces, called Asayesh, said Khosrawi was arrested “because he did not have residency” in the Kurdish region, denying he had any connection to “political activism.”
Khosrawi “asked to return to the Islamic Republic of Iran” and signed a document stating this, the Asayesh added in a statement.
The KDPI said Khosrawi, a member of their party, “had been living with his mother and sister in Sulaimaniyah for more than 10 years... and their residency was in order.”
He had been given refugee status by the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the KDPI said.
Iran considers the KDPI a “terrorist” organization.
Iranian Kurdish groups, whose members are made up of Iran’s long-marginalized Kurdish minority, have trained to use weapons from their outposts in northern Iraq for decades.
After several Iranian strikes on the groups, Iraqi authorities in late 2023 pledged to disarm these factions and move them from bases near the Iranian border to camps.
Tehran has accused the Kurdish opposition groups of inciting mass protest in Iran in 2022, after the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police.
No spying took place by employees of Iraqi prime minister’s office, adviser says
- The reports have caused a stir in Iraq, which has seen a period of relative stability since Sudani was brought to power in late 2022 as part of an agreement between ruling factions ending a year-long political stalemate
BAGHDAD: A political adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has rejected recent allegations that employees at the premier’s office have been spying on and wire-tapping senior officials and politicians.
Since late August, Iraqi local media outlets and lawmakers have alleged that employees at Sudani’s office had been arrested on charges of spying on senior officials.
“This is an inflated lie,” said Fadi Al-Shammari in an interview with an Iraqi broadcaster published late on Friday, the most explicit denial by a senior member of the prime minister’s team.
He said the allegations were aimed at undermining Sudani ahead of parliamentary polls expected to be held next year.
“Everything that has happened in the last two weeks consists of media exaggeration contrary to reality and the truth.”
The reports have caused a stir in Iraq, which has seen a period of relative stability since Sudani was brought to power in late 2022 as part of an agreement between ruling factions ending a year-long political stalemate.
While there had been one arrest at the prime minister’s office in August, it had nothing to do with spying or wire-tapping, Shammari said. The employee in question was detained after contacting lawmakers and other politicians while posing as a different person, he said.
“(He) talked to lawmakers using different numbers and fake names and asked them for a number of different files,” he added, without providing details.
“There was no spying, no wiretapping.”
Algeria’s 78-year-old president is expected to breeze to a second term in Saturday’s election
- More than 24 million Algerians are registered to vote, and both of Tebboune’s challengers have urged a large turnout
ALGIERS, Algeria: Polls closed in Algeria on Saturday, where voters were deciding whether to grant army-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune another term — five years after pro-democracy protests prompted the military to oust the previous president after two decades in power.
Since Algeria announced the election date earlier this year, there has been little suspense about the result.
Though he is expected to be named the winner once the results are finalized, military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Saturday after voting that he hoped “whoever wins will continue on the path toward a point of no return in the construction of democracy.”
With vote counting underway Saturday evening, the question is less about who will win and more about how many voters stayed home.
Tebboune’s backers and challengers all urged voters to come out to cast their ballots after boycotts and high abstention rates in previous elections marred the government’s ability to claim popular support.
But throughout the day, many polling places in Algiers sat mostly empty, apart from scores of police officers manning their posts. Voters weren’t queuing outside in the summer heat waiting to cast their ballots.
However, polling places were kept open until 9 p.m. on Saturday after officials extended the voting period to accommodate concerns that people may not have voted during the day in certain parts of the country due to the heat. As of 5 p.m., voter turnout was 26.5 percent in Algeria and 18.3 percent for precincts abroad.
Preliminary results are expected late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it’s the continent’s second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world’s population.
The campaign — rescheduled earlier this year to take place during North Africa’s hot summer — was characterized by apathy from the population, which continues to be plagued by high costs of living and drought that brought water shortages to some parts of the country.
“Uncle Tebboune,” as his campaign framed the 78-year-old, was elected in December 2019 after nearly a year of weekly “Hirak” demonstrations demanding the resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Their demands were met when Bouteflika resigned and was replaced by an interim government of his former allies, which called for elections later in the year.
Protesters opposed holding elections too soon, fearing candidates running that year each were close to the old regime and would derail dreams of a civilian-led, non-military state. Tebboune, a former prime minister seen as close to the military, won. But his victory was stained by boycotts and Election Day tumult, during which crowds sacked voting stations and police broke up demonstrations.
Throughout his tenure, Tebboune has used oil and gas revenue to boost some social benefits — including unemployment insurance as well as public wages and pensions — to calm discontent. To cement his legitimacy, Tebboune hopes more of the country’s 24 million eligible voters participate in Saturday’s election than in his first, when only 39.9 percent voted.
Many of the last election’s boycotters remain unconvinced about elections ushering in change.
Activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have railed against how authorities continue prosecuting those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups.
Some have denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.
“Algerians don’t give a damn about this bogus election,” said former Hirak leader Hakim Addad, who was banned from participating in politics three years ago. “The political crisis will persist as long as the regime remains in place. The Hirak has spoken.”
Twenty-six candidates submitted preliminary paperwork to run in the election, although only two were ultimately approved to challenge Tebboune.
Neither political novices, they avoided directly criticizing Tebboune on the campaign trail and, like the incumbent, emphasized participation.
Abdelali Hassani Cherif, a 57-year-old head of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) made populist appeals to Algerian youth, running on the slogan “Opportunity!” Youcef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist running with the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), campaigned on a “vision for tomorrow.”
Both challengers and their parties risked losing backing from would-be supporters who thought they were selling out by contributing to the idea that the election was democratic and contested.
Walking near a vote center in downtown Algiers, longtime FFS supporter Mhand Kasdi said his party had betrayed its ideals by putting forth a candidate for the first time since 1999.
“It is giving its backing to a rigged election,” the 55-year-old gas station manager said, adding that Aouchiche and Hassani “are going to help make the regime’s candidate look good.”
Voting in his hometown Saturday, Aouchiche called on Algerians to vote for him “to give young people the confidence to put an end to the despair that drives them to take the boats of death in an attempt to reach the other side of the Mediterranean,” referencing many who elect to migrate to Europe in search of opportunity rather than remain at home.
Andrew Farrand, the Middle East and North Africa director at the geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said both challengers were more aimed at the 2025 legislative elections than the 2024 presidential contest. Because Algerian law funds political parties based on the number of seats they win in legislative elections, they hope campaigning positions them for a strong 2025 performance.
“It’s a long game: How can I mobilize my base? How can I build up a campaign machine? And how can I get into the good graces of the authorities so that I can be in a position to increase my seats?” he said. “We’ve seen that in their choice not to overtly criticize president … paired with a very strong message to Algerians to come out and vote.”
Israeli raids strike border villages amid fears of fresh escalation
- Army chief of staff threatens further ‘offensive measures’ inside Lebanon
BEIRUT: Escalating hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in recent days have raised fears of a wider conflict, with a senior Israeli army official warning that his forces are preparing to take “offensive steps” inside Lebanon.
Israeli media reported on Saturday that several rockets fell in the Meron area in the north of the country.
Hezbollah also targeted a strategic military base near Safed, according to reports.
Signs of military escalation emerged on Friday as the Israeli army used concussion missiles in intensive raids centered on an area south of the Litani River.
Israel is demanding Hezbollah halt its military action in the area, particularly the launching of rockets, so that settlers in the north can return to their homes.
FASTFACT
Hezbollah has exchanged near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said that Israel had conveyed a message throuh intermediaries “that it is not interested in a ceasefire in Lebanon, even after reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.”
On Saturday, Israeli army Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said that his forces are preparing to take “offensive steps inside Lebanon.”
During an inspection tour in the Golan Heights, Halevi said the Israeli army is focused on confronting Hezbollah, and that a significant number of militants had been killed in attacks during the past month.
The Israeli army was “working to reduce threats to residents of the northern region and the Golan Heights, while also preparing for an offensive at a later stage,” he said.
Israeli media confirmed that several rockets fell in the Meron area after sirens sounded in the city of Safed.
The Israeli army said that it “detected the launch of 30 shells from Lebanese territory toward the north.”
Israeli mortar shells and incendiary flares struck the Labouneh area in the western sector, causing fires on the Khiam plain for the second consecutive day.
Israeli media reported that a building in Shlomi was hit, and a fire broke out in Liman in Western Galilee after eight rockets were fired in a single salvo from southern Lebanon.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes were directed at areas around the towns of Qabrikha and Bani Hayyan, and the Kunin forests.
Israeli surveillance aircraft maintained a continuous presence over the western and central sectors of the south.
Hezbollah said in a statement that it retaliated against Israeli attacks on Friday by targeting a command post occupied by forces from the Golani Brigade with volleys of Katyusha rockets.
The group also targeted other Israeli military sites, including Hadab Yaron and Al-Raheb, with artillery fire.
Hezbollah said it targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers around the settlement of Manot with rockets in response to attacks on the town of Kunin.
The Israeli air force said that raids on southern border villages on Friday night targeted rocket launch sites in towns including Beit Lif, Aitaroun, Dahra and Kfar Kila.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that more than 15 missile platforms had been hit, in addition to several platforms that were ready for immediate launch.
Adraee said that “after targeting the platforms, several of which were prepared for immediate launch toward Israeli territory, multiple shells were seen being fired from the platforms and landing within Lebanese territory.”
Hijab-wearing singer Ghaliaa Chaker looks to inspire
- Chaker, a keen motorbike rider who is part of an all-hijabi biker squad in Dubai, began composing and writing lyrics at 16
DUBAI: In a Dubai recording studio, hijab-clad Ghaliaa Chaker tunes her guitar and belts out original songs as she builds a career that is turning heads for more than just her music.
The 26-year-old Syrian, raised in the UAE, has become a social media sensation, with 437,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views on her YouTube channel.
She offers not only a unique sound but also an unusual look in a region where artists who wear the hijab, the head covering characteristic of Muslim women, are few and far between.
“I hope that I have paved the way for other” hijabi singers, Chaker said at the studio.
“It is a very beautiful thing to know that you have ... given a push to a girl who has many dreams and is unable to achieve them because she has never seen another girl do the same thing.”
Chaker, a keen motorbike rider who is part of an all-hijabi biker squad in Dubai, began composing and writing lyrics at 16.
She drew inspiration from Nedaa Shrara, a veiled Jordanian singer who won “The Voice,” the Arabic version of the popular TV talent show, in 2015.
Shrara had stirred controversy among Arab fans who were not accustomed to seeing a singer wearing the head covering.
But for Chaker, who says she often receives criticism online, Shrara was a symbol of “self-confidence.”
After seeing her, “I said to myself that I can do it too,” Chaker said.
Chaker’s first song, composed in English, was picked up by Dubai radio stations in 2018, marking the start of her musical career.
She now sings mainly in Arabic, at a time when the regional music scene is witnessing the rise of young talents with innovative sounds.
The green-eyed singer said the headscarf has never been an obstacle. “There is nothing I have wanted to do and not done because I wear the veil,” Chaker said.
However, the issue of women singing has always been controversial in conservative Islamic societies.
Although the Qur’an does not explicitly prohibit singing, or ban women from performing music, some religious scholars frown upon the idea, viewing it as immodest.
Chaker said her immediate family has always supported her, but relatives in Syria were “very surprised at first,” mainly because they feared how people would react.
She said she receives a lot of “negative comments” on social media, including from family and friends.
“It bothers me of course, but I try to remember the positive comments and how much people love my music,” she said.
Chaker traces her artistic influences to her early upbringing in Al-Ain, a former desert oasis and now a city in Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE’s seven sheikhdoms.
At home, her father blasted Arab singers such as Fairouz, an iconic Lebanese singer, and Egyptian diva Umm Kalthoum. Chaker’s mother preferred Western music, including Elvis Presley.
“The music mixture in the house was always rich,” she said, influencing her sound, which she describes as a mix of R&B, hip-hop, electro-pop, indie and jazz.
A multi-instrumentalist, Chaker credits her father with her love of the drums, guitar, and piano, all of which she plays.
She said that instead of gifting her toys as a child, he would buy her new instruments.
The Middle Eastern darbuka drum is “the closest to my heart because I often played it with my father, who loves it very much, and it is the basis of oriental rhythm,” she said.
In addition to Arabic and English, Chaker sometimes sings in Turkish, Armenian, and Persian.
The singer, who performed in the Lebanese capital Beirut in August, said she wants to take her music beyond the Middle East.
“It is vital to me that my music is heard in Europe, in America, in Australia, in the whole world, maybe even in Latin America,” she said, adding that she aspires to “collaborate with many artists from different countries.”
“It is time for the Western world to know how beautiful our music is.”
