Agriculture $5.5m initiative for food security in Mediterranean countries A new $5.5 million package of technical assistance to improve food security in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and the West Bank and Gaza has been agreed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The joint initiative, which will be launched in January, is […] December 21, 2022
People & Lifestyle Palestinian comedians strike a chord in occupied cities Palestinian American Amer Zahr is on a mission to heal through humour. In 2015 he started bringing fellow Arab American comedians from the United States to perform stand-up across occupied Palestinian cities including Nablus, Bethlehem and Ramallah. Seven years later, Zahr’s now annual Palestine Comedy Festival is still going strong. “Laughter is therapy,” he told […] September 1, 2022
Travel & Hospitality Palestinians urged not to use Israeli airport for concessions The Palestinian Authority urged Palestinians not to take advantage of concessions promised by Israel that would allow them to travel through Ramon airport in southern Israel, saying they should have their own airport. Israel’s Airports Authority this month said Palestinians from the occupied West Bank would be offered special flights from Ramon, near the Red […] August 25, 2022
Travel & Hospitality No flights yet from Israel for West Bank Palestinians A group of Palestinian passengers flew to Cyprus from an Israeli airport on Monday, but the flight was not organised under a promised arrangement easing travel restrictions for residents of the occupied West Bank, an airports authority spokesperson said. Israeli authorities agreed earlier this month, following pressure from the United States, to ease some of […] August 23, 2022
Banking & Finance Palestinians working in Israel strike over new payment methods Tens of thousands of Palestinians employed in Israel staged a one-day strike on Sunday in protest at a decision to pay their salaries into bank accounts rather than in cash. The new payment method was agreed between Palestinian and Israeli authorities looking for a more efficient and secure way to pay salaries, but workers fear […] August 22, 2022
Insight Agriculture Ukraine war drives Gulf to double down on food security As the war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices and disrupted supply chains, hard-hit MENA countries explore ways to protect themselves In Abu Dhabi clusters of fresh tomatoes are growing inside rows of climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of the desert – just one example of the lengths the arid region must go to […] May 12, 2022
King Abdullah joins Biden to defuse Jerusalem tension Jordan’s King Abdullah agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden on the need to prevent a repeat of recent confrontations in Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites that sparked concerns of wider conflict, state media said. In a phone call on Monday, Abdullah was quoted as saying the cornerstone of peace was a comprehensive Arab Israeli settlement based […] April 27, 2022
Jordan’s king agreed with U.S. Biden on need to defuse Jerusalem tension Jordan’s King Abdullah agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden on the need to prevent a repeat of recent confrontations in Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites that sparked concerns of wider conflict, state media said. In a phone call on Monday, Abdullah was quoted as saying the cornerstone of peace was a comprehensive Arab Israeli settlement based on a two-state solution […] April 27, 2022
Agriculture EU plans to counter Russia with food diplomacy in North Africa, Middle East The EU aims to address rising wheat and fertilizer prices and expected shortages in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East with “food diplomacy” to counter Russia’s narrative on the impact of its Ukraine invasion, EU diplomats and officials say. Food insecurity was causing “resentment” in vulnerable countries in these regions, while Moscow was […] April 12, 2022
