https://www.middleeastmonitor.com Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:06:58 +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/20230801-after-30-years-in-his-post-lebanese-central-bank-governor-steps-down/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:41:28 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=656932 Controversial Governor of the Lebanese Central Bank, Riad Salameh, has stepped down after 30 years in office, news agencies reported, noting he is facing charges of money laundering, fraud and embezzling public funds. The 73-year-old's term ended yesterday, as Lebanon's financial losses stood at in excess of $72 billion, more than three times its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, the World Bank said. Late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri appointed him to the post in 1993 and he maintained the stability of the Lebanese Lira stable at 1,500 against the dollar, but Lebanon's economy has now almost collapsed and the World Bank has warned that it is facing one of the worst economic crises of the last 150 years. Salameh accused […]]]> 656932 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230606-eu-plans-to-channel-more-funds-to-western-africa-to-prevent-migration/ Tue, 06 Jun 2023 12:44:00 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=642824 The EU plans to channel more funds to Western African countries to prevent irregular migration heading to the bloc, an official said on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports. Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, presented a new action plan for the Western Mediterranean and Atlantic migration routes. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, she said the EU needs to strengthen its cooperation with African countries to address challenges deriving from migration and to counter people smuggling. Johansson praised the cooperation with Moroccan authorities to get "the situation under control" after the number of migrants trying to enter the EU through the Canary Islands surged in 2020 and 2021. Under the draft, the EU will set up "joint investigation teams" with […]]]> 642824 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230531-israels-nso-has-new-owners-but-espionage-continues/ Wed, 31 May 2023 08:47:56 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=641125 Israeli cyber company NSO Group, owner of controversial Pegasus spying software, is under new ownership, but it continues to spy on international activists and officials, Arab48 reported yesterday. Two and half years after it was blacklisted by the US administration and despite many complaints against it by activist groups and officials, NSO continues operating and spying on people. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that it has been forced to restructure by its lenders. "The Israeli cybersecurity company blacklisted by the US for its sale of hacking tools to authoritarian regimes, is under new ownership after lenders forced a change of control with plans to keep its controversial spyware business going," the Wall Street Journal reported. Novalpina Capital private equity fund bought the NSO Group […]]]> 641125 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230523-explainer-the-probes-into-lebanon-central-bank-chief-salameh/ Tue, 23 May 2023 18:27:02 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=639142 Lebanon has been verbally informed of a German arrest warrant against Lebanese Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, who is being investigated for money laundering and embezzlement in his home country and abroad but denies any wrongdoing, Reuters reports. The move by Germany comes one week after France issued its own arrest warrant and just days after Interpol issued a Red Notice for the 72-year-old Governor. Here's what you need to know about the cases: Europe investigates  Investigations began with a Swiss probe into whether Salameh and his brother, Raja, illegally took more than $300 million from the Central Bank between 2002 and 2015. Since then, European countries including France, Germany, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein have initiated their own investigations into whether tens of millions of dollars of […]]]> 639142 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220728-protests-in-belgium-against-israels-participation-in-cycling-race/ Thu, 28 Jul 2022 09:08:03 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=569741 Belgian and Luxembourgian associations in solidarity with Palestine organised a protest in several Belgian cities against the participation of an Israeli team, Israel Premier Tech, in the Tour de Wallonie cycling race, which is sportswashing apartheid, according to the Palestinian News Agency WAFA. The participants called for intensifying the boycott against Israel as a means of supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people to establish a free and democratic Palestinian state, in accordance with United Nations resolutions. They also stressed that the Israeli occupation distracts attention from its racist policies through sports, aiming to normalise its crimes and rhetoric, noting that the occupation and its leaders should be held accountable before the International Criminal Court (ICC), and that the occupation […]]]> 569741 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220513-15-european-countries-urge-israel-to-stop-plans-for-more-illegal-settlements-in-west-bank/ Fri, 13 May 2022 18:41:33 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=555370 Fifteen European countries, on Friday, urged Israel to stop plans for more illegal settlements in the West Bank, according to an official statement, Anadolu News Agency reports. "We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Israeli Higher Planning Council to advance plans for the construction of more than 4,000 housing units in the West Bank," said spokespersons for the foreign ministries of France, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden. "We urge the Israeli authorities to reverse this decision," the statement added. "The new housing units would constitute an additional obstacle to the two-State Solution," it added. The statement said the Israeli settlements are in "clear violation of international law […]]]> 555370 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220321-luxembourg-fm-slams-europes-different-policies-for-ukraine-syria-refugees/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:12:22 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=544447 Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn criticised the discrimination between Ukrainian refugees and their Syrian counterparts. This came in statements made by the minister to Anadolu Agency, on the sidelines of his participation in the 2022 Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey. Asselborn added that his country considers what it is doing for Ukrainian refugees as a humanitarian duty, stressing the need to do the same for refugees from other regions as well. "It is unacceptable to treat people in Europe on the basis of their skin colour, language and religion," he added. READ: Israel's policy on Ukrainian refugees reveals its odious racism On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition […]]]> 544447 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201222-luxembourg-bank-helped-uaes-mbz-bypass-us-sanctions-attack-qatar-report-reveals/ Tue, 22 Dec 2020 15:22:20 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=443845 A report by Bloomberg News has uncovered further details of the sordid relationship between UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed and the Luxembourg-based private bank, Banque Havilland. A trove of emails, documents, legal filings reviewed by the American news agency, and interviews with former insiders, revealed that services provided by Banque Havilland to Bin Zayed, better known as MBZ, went beyond normal standard practice. MBZ, who the bank referred to as "the boss", was offered services that went beyond financial advice. According to the Bloomberg report, it included scouting for deals in Zimbabwe, setting up a company to buy the image rights of players on the Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City Football Club and helping place the bank's chairman at the time on the board of […]]]> 443845 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201215-bangladesh-china-submit-envoy-credentials-to-turkey-president/ Tue, 15 Dec 2020 14:56:44 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=442158 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today received credentials from envoys of five countries. Erdogan welcomed the new ambassadors of China, Japan, Luxembourg, Latvia and Bangladesh at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara. Liu Shaobin of China, Kazuhiro Suzuki of Japan, Angele Da Cruz of Luxembourg, Peteris Vaivars of Latvia, and Mosud Mannan of Bangladesh separately presented their credentials, according to Turkey's Presidency. Da Cruz previously served as charge d'affaires at the Luxembourg Embassy in Praia, Cape Verde, while Vaivars was Latvia's ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Mannan served as Bangladesh's envoy to Uzbekistan, the presidency said in separate statements. READ: US slaps sanctions on NATO ally Turkey over Russian air defence system]]> 442158 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200805-west-bank-annexation-may-spur-eu-states-to-recognize-palestine/ Wed, 05 Aug 2020 21:00:03 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=414007 Luxembourg warned Israel that if it fulfills its plan to annex parts of the West Bank, other European Union countries would recognize Palestine as an independent state, German daily Welt reported Wednesday, Anadolu reports. "So far, nine out of 27 EU countries have recognized Palestine as a separate state. Most of these EU countries, like Hungary or Poland, took this step while belonging to communist systems before 1989," said Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's foreign minister. "But I think that other EU countries, including large states, will agree to recognize Palestine's own statehood, if Israel soon annexes parts of the West Bank. There are internal considerations in this direction," he added. Asselborn urged the EU to take a unified stance on Israel's West Bank […]]]> 414007 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200317-eu-border-restrictions-will-hit-transfers-of-child-refugees/ Tue, 17 Mar 2020 20:26:08 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=392098 European border restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus will affect plans to transfer hundreds of children out of "dire and dangerous" refugee camps in Greece, a senior official for the United Nations children's fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. European countries including Finland, France, Portugal and Luxembourg, and the German city of Berlin, agreed in recent weeks to take unaccompanied minors from Greece after thousands of refugees and migrants arrived in the EU member state, including those fleeing violence in Syria. But some EU member states have now imposed checks at borders that are normally in a zone of control-free travel, and EU leaders were expected later on Tuesday to seal the bloc's external borders. OPINION: Death at the Greek border, […]]]> 392098 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200218-report-luxembourg-coordinating-eu-pushback-to-trump-plan/ Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:00:01 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=387246 387246 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191121-luxembourg-eu-must-recognise-palestinian-state-in-wake-of-us-shift-on-settlements/ Thu, 21 Nov 2019 11:42:28 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=373088 373088 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190929-luxembourg-eu-should-give-turkey-extra-financial-aid/ Sun, 29 Sep 2019 10:20:22 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=364134 364134 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190710-tunisia-prosecution-freezes-al-qarawi-brothers-funds/ Tue, 09 Jul 2019 23:54:45 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=352168 The Tunisian public prosecutor announced the imposition of a travel ban on media figure Nabil Al-Qarawi and his brother, Monday, in addition to freezing their bank accounts as a precautionary measure after being charged with money laundering. This statement was issued by the economic and financial judicial authority in Tunisia, which specialises in corruption cases. Nabil Al-Qarawi is the former owner of the private channel Nessma. He is also the president of Heart of Tunisia party, the new name of the newly established Social Peace party. The statement indicated that "the Public Prosecutor's Office has decided to press several charges against Nabil Al-Qarawi and Ghazi Al-Qarawi, including money-laundering, based on the research and investigations." The statement added that the examining […]]]> 352168 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190408-qatar-sues-luxembourg-uae-saudi-banks-in-manipulation-case/ Mon, 08 Apr 2019 17:42:21 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=337716 337716 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190327-luxembourg-court-delivers-setback-to-9-11-families-iran-claims/ Wed, 27 Mar 2019 21:53:44 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=335467 335467 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180517-luxembourg-summons-israeli-ambassador-over-gaza-massacre/ Thu, 17 May 2018 04:19:18 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=289894 289894 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171019-eu-countries-demand-compensation-for-israel-demolitions-in-west-bank/ Thu, 19 Oct 2017 08:04:00 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=261697 Eight European Union member states have demanded €30,000 ($35,400) in compensation from Israel for the confiscation and demolition of structures in the occupied West Bank. The official protest letter, described by Israeli paper Haaretz as "the first of its kind", is reportedly set to be delivered to senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials within a few days. The existence of the letter was first reported by French newspaper Le Monde. The Belgian government is said to be leading the way, joined by France, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland and Denmark. All eight countries are members of the "West Bank Protection Consortium", which coordinates humanitarian assistance to Area C – around 60 per cent – of the West Bank. Palestinians living in […]]]> 261697 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170428-praise-as-belgian-city-bans-dealings-with-israeli-companies/ Fri, 28 Apr 2017 15:50:45 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=230121 The Palestinian delegation to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg yesterday welcomed the Belgian municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek's decision to prohibit all forms of political, economic and cultural dealings with Israeli institutions and companies that violate international laws and Palestinian rights. On Wednesday, the municipal council of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek approved the decision which "gives a strong signal to politicians in Belgium to stop dealing with Israeli institutions that violate international law and contribute to settlement." In a statement seen by the Anadolu Agency, the mission said: [The decision] constitutes strong political and moral support for the Palestinian people, supporting them in their response to serious violations of international law by the Israeli occupation and Israel's refusal to comply with all UN resolutions […]]]> 230121 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161206-europe-discusses-cancelation-of-travel-ban-to-tunisia/ Tue, 06 Dec 2016 13:45:04 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=203311 EU member states Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are considering lifting the ban imposed on their citizens to travel to Tunisia, the Anadolu Agency reported yesterday. These remarks came during a press conference for their prime ministers held jointly with the Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed after a meeting held in the headquarters of the Tunisian government. Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel said that the three countries, known as the Benelux Union, are studying the lift of the travel ban, but reiterated "this needs a number of measures which should be discussed by officials in these countries." He also said that the stability of the security situation in Tunis would open the door for "the return of foreign investments […]]]> 203311