Tips for the Brookings and the public about our reaction to coronavirus (COVID-19) “
Learn more about Brookings’ global reaction to coronavirus (COVID-19) “
Kuwaiti leader Sheikh Sabah at age 91
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, kuwait’s leader who took advantage of his decades as the nation’s most sensible diplomat rich in oil to approach Iraq after the 1990 Gulf War and find answers to other regional crises, died on September 29.
On 30 September, the country rested the deceased leader and funeral rites closed to the public due to COVID-19 problems. His successor and brother, 83-year-old emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, led the rites after being sworn into parliament pleding to paint for the prosperity, stability and security of the OPEC member state.
Bahrain to normalize with Israel
On September 11, Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel, allowing the last Arab country to do so as a component of a broader diplomatic impulse through President Donald Trump and his administration to further alleviate the relative isolation of the Jewish state in the Middle East and locate unusual floor with countries with that percentage of American mistrust in Iran.
Trump announced the deal on the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks following a phone call he made with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain’s king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Israel in the following two months.
First direct flight from Israel lands in Bahrain
The first known direct advertising flight between Israel and Bahrain landed in the island kingdom on 23 September, a week after the signing of an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations.
Knowledge of the flight showed that an Israeli airline Airbus A320 landed at Bahrain International Airport after a flight of approximately three hours from Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport. Hours later, Bahrain declared that the flight was carrying a delegation of Israeli officials.
Saudi Arabia gives final verdict in Khashoggi case
A Saudi court delivered definitive verdicts on September 7 in the case of Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still lives in the kingdom, announced pardons that saved five of the convicted.
As the trial comes to an end in Saudi Arabia, the case continues to overbden the foreign position of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose affiliates have been sanctioned across the United States and the United Kingdom for their alleged involvement in the brutal murder. , which took position at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi dissidents shape and push to reshape
A Saudi dissident organization, most commonly in exile, announced on 23 September the formation of a party to push for political reform in Saudi Arabia, challenging de facto Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who to overburden any dissent.
The world’s largest oil exporter and America’s best friend is an absolute monarchy, an elected parliament, or political parties. Previous attempts at political organization in the Gulf State in 2007 and 2011 were suppressed and its members arrested.
Mecca will open for prayer and pilgrimage.
On 22 September, Saudi Arabia declared that Muslims would be allowed to make the pilgrimage smaller all year round from four October, as the kingdom began to lift restrictions on Islam’s holiest site for seven months due to coronavirus.
State media reported that the government planned to allow up to 6,000 visitors per day to the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which will only be open to Saudi citizens and citizens in this first phase.
Afghan and Taliban peace talks resume in Doha
Negotiators of the Afghanistan-Taliban peace talks held their first direct assembly on 15 September in Doha, their spokesmen said, as the parties to the conflict consult to expand a timetable and timetable on how to negotiate a peace agreement while the United States withdraws its troops.
Talks between the two sides were to begin some time after an agreement between the United States and the Taliban in February, but only began after months of delays, caused in part by the Taliban’s continued offensives in the war-torn country and a war of words on liberation. prisoners.