Hey guys! Check out what happened this week in the Middle East and North Africa 🌍.
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🇸🇦🇾🇪 The Saudi-led peace plan to end the war in Yemen has been ‘provisionally’ accepted by the Houthis, although they are still demanding unchecked flights from Sanaa airport to unlimited destinations before giving the final approval.
The Saudi peace plan includes a ceasefire ⚔️, the reopening of Sanaa airport to a number of regional and international destinations 🛫, and easing restrictions on trade into Yemen through seaports (including those under Houthi control) ⚓️.
🇨🇳 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited six Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to consolidate China’s bilateral relationship with each of them. It seems China may be…
🇸🇦 Replacing the US’ unconditional support for Saudi Arabia: Yi met with Mohammed Bin Salman during his official visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss their strategic partnership, where he vowed to support Riyadh’s leadership role in the region and the Saudi initiative to end the Yemeni conflict.
🇮🇷 Playing for both teams: China also signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with Iran, where China pledged to invest $400 billion in the economy and defence over the course of the agreement and Iran offered a steady supply of oil in exchange.
👉🏻 It was only a matter of time before the Biden Administration’s crackdown on human rights violations in both the Middle East and China would lead them to find common ground.
🇵🇸🇺🇸 The US have pledged $15 million to Palestine to help with their COVID-19 response effort in the West Bank and Gaza, representing a turning point in US-Palestine relations after Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and cut almost all aid to Palestinians.
🇺🇳 On a similar note, the UN officials have called upon Israel to recognise its responsibility as an ‘occupying power’ to inoculate Palestinians, according to international law🧑🏽⚖️. However, Israel insist that, as per the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority are responsible for the public health of Palestinians under the principles of self-determination.
🇦🇪 The UAE launched a new COVID-19 vaccine plant in Abu Dhabi under a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42) and Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm. The plant will have a production capacity of 200m doses per year and will start manufacturing later this year 💉.
🌍 🇪🇬 A container ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days, halting billions of dollars in trade and leading to multiple ships being re-routed around the southern tip of Africa. The waterway was re-opened on Monday after the ship was freed 🚢, but the situation triggered many, many memes.
🇱🇧 According to Human Rights Watch, military officers in Tripoli tortured and forcibly disappeared 35 anti-lockdown protesters, who are facing ‘’unsubstantiated terrorism charges’’ before Lebanon’s military courts, which under international law should not have jurisdiction over civilians.
🇾🇪 Just a few hours ago, Yemen received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca), which will be given to health workers and other vulnerable people.
Congrats! You’re all caught up with this week’s most important international affairs news in the Middle East and North Africa 🌍. We will be back with more next week 👋.
✏️ Written by Zoe Ciaccio, Isabel Hendy, and Fara Maruf.
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