https://www.middleeastmonitor.com Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:13:14 +0000 en-GB Middle East Monitor 30 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com 32 32 116394717 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230503-i-am-not-ending-my-hunger-strike-until-they-approve-my-asylum-request-or-i-die/ Wed, 03 May 2023 16:05:52 +0000 , Middle East Monitor , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=633604 For ten days, Fathi Okil has only drunk a saltwater mix. South Korean authorities have sent an ambulance five times to where he is camped out in front of the Interior Ministry, but he just sends them away. "I am not leaving and I am not stopping my hunger strike until they approve my request for political asylum or I die," he tells MEMO. A former printing technician, Fathi arrived in Seoul in May 2014 after being arrested at a protest outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo as demonstrators took to the streets to protest the army's take-over of power. "I visited South Korea in 2002," Fathi says on why he chose the East Asian nation after he was […]]]> 633604 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230430-winners-and-losers-in-sudan-on-proxy-wars-and-superpower-rivalries-in-the-global-south/ Sun, 30 Apr 2023 13:04:21 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=632272 The world is changing. In fact, it has been undergoing seismic change that long preceded the Russian-Ukraine war, and the recent US-Chinese tensions in the Taiwan Strait. In fact, the US debacle in Iraq and the Middle East, and the humiliating retreat from Afghanistan were only signs of the decline in US power. Leading US neoconservative strategists have once argued in "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces, and Resources For a New Century" that aggressive intervention policies were meant to keep emerging great powers, like China, out of areas designated as US geopolitical domains. They sought to "preserve and extend (US) position of global leadership (through) maintaining the pre-eminence of US military forces." They failed, and the future seems to head in […]]]> 632272 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230415-the-limits-of-chinas-global-power/ Sat, 15 Apr 2023 12:15:47 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=629247 China's rise has been the talk of the global village, with its impressive economic performance, ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and frenzied diplomacy, ranging from the Ukraine conflict to Africa and the Gulf. But is there more to this "rising China" narrative? Despite the oft-advertised strengths, China's significant limitations often go unnoticed. Failures to appeal ideologically in the international arena and military disparities with the US are serious constraints. Ideology matters The significance of ideology cannot be overstated, especially when powers seek to exert their influence internationally that resonates with people from all walks of life. For example, the US has consistently tapped into the liberal lexicon when framing its interests, incorporating values such as freedom, liberty, human rights, […]]]> 629247 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230326-xis-chilling-remarks-a-multipolar-world-offers-challenges-and-opportunities-to-the-middle-east-and-africa/ Sun, 26 Mar 2023 08:38:57 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=624663 The final exchange, caught on camera between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian host and counterpart, Vladimir Putin, sums up the current geopolitical conflict, still in its nascent stages, between the United States and its Western allies on the one hand, and Russia, China and their allies, on the other. Xi was leaving the Kremlin following a three-day visit that can only be described as historic. "Change is coming that hasn't happened in 100 years and we are driving this change together," Xi said while clasping Putin's hand. "I agree," Putin replied while holding Xi's arm. 'Please take care, dear friend," he added. In no time, social media exploded by sharing that scene repeatedly. Corporate western media analysts […]]]> 624663 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230105-report-downed-iran-drone-in-ukraine-contained-us-parts/ Thu, 05 Jan 2023 15:56:17 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=603961 An Iranian drone shot down in Ukraine last year was found to contain parts made by 13 US companies, according to a Ukrainian intelligence report obtained by CNN. The investigation found discovered that 40 out of the 52 components that made up the Iranian-made Shahed 136 "suicide drone" were produced by US companies. The remaining 12 parts were manufactured by companies in Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and China. Yesterday the White House said it was looking into curbing Iranian drone production through increased sanctions and export controls and has been in contact with the private firms whose parts were found in the drones. "We are assessing further steps we can take in terms of export controls to restrict Iran's access […]]]> 603961 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221229-the-long-overdue-china-arab-summit-highlights-beijings-increasing-assertiveness/ Thu, 29 Dec 2022 13:08:21 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=602941 On 9 December, Saudi Arabia hosted the first Arab-China summit, a rare event marking Beijing's new approach to relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The summit which brought together all Arab states and China came five months after another summit that saw President Joe Biden meet with his Arab counterparts. However, while many observers witnessed the success of China's President Xi Jinping, they saw the failure of President Biden's visit. Biden visited Saudi Arabia last summer lobbying for Israel but achieved very little for the United States. Xi, on the other hand, came to the region armed with a new vision for the sake of China. Beijing wants deeper and stronger ties with the entire Arab […]]]> 602941 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221123-xi-vs-trudeau-how-china-is-rewriting-history-with-the-colonial-west/ Wed, 23 Nov 2022 19:30:31 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=596458 Though brief, the exchange between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia on 16 November has become a social media sensation. Xi, assertive if not domineering, lectured the visibly apprehensive Trudeau about the etiquette of diplomacy. This exchange can be considered another watershed moment in China's relationship with the West. "If there was sincerity on your part," the Chinese President told Trudeau, "then we shall conduct our discussion with an attitude of mutual respect, otherwise there might be unpredictable consequences." At the end of the awkward conversation, Xi was the first to walk away, leaving Trudeau uncomfortably making his way out of the room. For the significance of […]]]> 596458 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220808-china-and-the-us-are-in-dire-straits-over-taiwan/ Mon, 08 Aug 2022 13:41:47 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=572011 Immediately after the announcement that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan during her Asia tour, the complex relationship between China, Taiwan and the United States resurfaced. China warned the US that it would pay the price for this visit. Beijing and Moscow, which are allegedly bound by friendship with "no limits", responded similarly by describing Pelosi's visit as a provocation. Nevertheless, Pelosi was greeted enthusiastically by Taiwanese officials but not before Chinese Su-35 fighter jets crossed the straits, causing a great stir. Pelosi's subsequent meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen recalled the liberal remnants of post-Cold War American foreign policy discourse. The Speaker vowed to support democracy in the self-ruled island. On the eve of the visit, some […]]]> 572011 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220804-uae-stresses-respect-for-one-china-principle/ Thu, 04 Aug 2022 16:34:17 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=571514 The UAE, on Thursday, affirmed its support for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity amid tensions over the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which Beijing considers as its "breakaway province", Anadolu News Agency reports. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasised on the "importance of respecting the 'One China' principle,' while calling for adherence to relevant United Nations resolutions". The UAE expressed its concern over "the impact of any provocative visits on stability and international peace." The Ministry urged "prioritising diplomatic dialogue in an effort to ensure regional and international stability." Pelosi visited Taipei late Tuesday, a trip that drew angry responses from China. It has launched live-fire military drills around the island, and also suspended import of […]]]> 571514 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220211-somaliland-china-cannot-dictate-our-relations-with-taiwan/ Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:51:52 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=534409 China cannot dictate who Somaliland can have relations with as it is a sovereign nation and "born free", the foreign minister of the breakaway Somali region said today during a trip to Taiwan which has been condemned by Beijing, Reuters reports. Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war. Somaliland and Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory and likewise diplomatically isolated, set up representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020, angering Beijing and Mogadishu. Strategically situated on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland borders Djibouti, where China maintains its first ever overseas military base. China's […]]]> 534409 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210902-after-afghanistan-us-allies-must-feel-a-sense-of-abandonment/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 09:13:00 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=492105 Do any of America's allies still trust its commitment to them? After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, they must feel a sense of abandonment by the US. Critics point out that what happened in Afghanistan was decided by Washington without even consulting its allies. The former Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani had first-hand experience of this when the then US President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban last year without him. According to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the American pull out was "dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours." He described it as an "abandonment." He also questioned the West's wisdom in leaving Afghanistan altogether, calling […]]]> 492105 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210407-egypt-1bn-in-initial-losses-caused-by-suez-canal-blockage/ Wed, 07 Apr 2021 11:50:48 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=465130 Head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie said yesterday that the initial estimate of the losses resulting from Ever Given ship running aground amounted to $1 billion. State-owned Akhbar El-Yom newspaper quoted Rabie as saying that "the value of initial damages caused by the ship's stranding period in the canal was estimated at about $1 billion." The SCA president explained that "the investigation authorities obtained the black box of the delinquent ship, and work is underway to unload its content to find out the causes of the deviation." He confirmed that the navigation movement in the Suez Canal returned to normal, as 532 ships crossed the sea lane since the ship was back afloat, at a rate of 90 ships per day. OPINION: Was […]]]> 465130