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  • Saudi Arabia to Stimulate Local Cyber-security Industry

    The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. The program aims to empower 40 startups within a period of three years, provide them with more than 6.5 million riyals (USD 1.7 million) in financial support and more than 500 hours of guidance and direction for enterprises seeking to expand in the cybersecurity sector.

  • Member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Charged with Plot to Murder the Former National Security Advisor

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2021, Shahram Poursafi, aka Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, Iran, attempted to arrange the murder of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, likely in retaliation for the January 2020 death of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qasem Soleimani. Poursafi, working on behalf of the IRGC-QF, attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 to carry out the murder in Washington, D.C. or Maryland.

  • World Hunger, Severe Food Insecurity Grew in 2021

    World hunger and severe food insecurity grew, making the world's goal of achieving "zero hunger" by 2030 even more unlikely. In fact, according to current projections from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 8% of the world's population will still be undernourished in 2030 -- just as much as when these goals were first set in 2015.

  • World Bank to fund $100 million in food insecurity aid to Sudan through WFP

    The World Bank has agreed to provide the U.N.'s World Food Programme with $100 million for an “emergency safety net project” to address food insecurity in Sudan, it said in a statement on Thursday. The programme, whose funding comes from the European Union, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and several other Western nations, aims to provide 2 million Sudanese with cash transfers and food.

  • Saudi Arabia: Increased security likely ahead of US President’s visit to Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Jeddah, July 15-16

    Saudi authorities will likely significantly increase security measures throughout Jeddah ahead of US President Joe Biden's attendance at the July 15-16 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC+3) summit. Biden will meet GCC leaders from Saudi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, and the head of states from non-GCC members Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq.

  • Lebanon: Family dispute apparent motive of Saudi dissident’s murder, security source says

    The murder of a Saudi dissident in Lebanon appears to be motivated by a family dispute, a security source has told Middle East Eye. Manea al-Yami was stabbed to death on Saturday in his home in Harek Hreik in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, an area under the security control of Hezbollah.

  • Israeli military officials sent to Qatar as US works to bolster security cooperation

    At least one location where Israeli officials have travelled is al-Udeid, a US air base and the forward operating headquarters of all US forces in the Middle East, also known as Centcom, the sources said. Israel was absorbed into Centcom last year, in a move that built on the 2020 normalisation agreements which saw Bahrain and the UAE establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Morocco and Sudan normalised relations with Israel soon after.

  • UAE-US ties set for boost, but without real security guarantees

    Abu Dhabi and Washington have reportedly drafted a new defense agreement that would enable US protection if the United Arab Emirates (UAE) comes under foreign attack. However, it is far from clear whether such a partnership would provide the UAE with the American security guarantees it desires. This follows Emirati discontent with the lack of clarity about US commitments in the region.

  • UAE moves closer to Israel, Turkey on trade, security

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is moving to step up economic and security engagement with Israel and Turkey as part of its efforts to expand its regional relations. A new trade agreement between Israel and the UAE will abolish almost all tariffs on exchanged goods. Meanwhile, consultations between top Emirati and Turkish defense officials are set to yield increased security cooperation.

  • Israel, Saudi Arabia make deal for security arrangements in Straits

    Israel is set to agree to new security arrangements allowing Egypt to transfer control of two islands in the Straits of Tiran to Saudi Arabia, US President Joe Biden is expected to announce on his trip to the region at the end of the month. There is currently a multinational force on the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which Saudi Arabia does not want there once they control the islands. Under a soon-to-be-announced deal, Israel will agree to have the forces stationed on what will remain Egyptian soil, several kilometers away.