Arabic press review: Former Tunisian MP critical of president arrested
Security forces arrest former Tunisian MP
Security forces in Tunisia arrested the former member of parliament and media figure Rached Khiari on Wednesday, after he'd spent more than a year on the run.
Khiari was detained in the city of Ben Arous in the north of the country, according to Mosaique FM radio in Tunisia. His lawyer, Mokhtar Jemai, said of the arrest that his client was "kidnapped while he was in a cafe in the El Aouina district, with his assistant".
In April 2021, the first investigative judge at the Permanent Military Court of First Instance in Tunis brought several charges against Khiari, calling for him to appear before the court.
The charges included "acting in a way that weakens the spirit of the military system of the army" and "conspiring against the state’s internal security".
Khiari had entered into a political conflict with the fiercest enemies of Ennahda, the country's largest party in the dissolved parliament, then later widened his criticism to include President Kais Saied.
Khiari accused Saied of high treason and submission to interference from foreign countries.
Saied has ruled by decree since last summer, when he brushed aside parliament and the democratic 2014 constitution in a step his foes called a coup, moving towards "one-man rule" and vowing to remake the political system.
US sells weapons to Kuwait worth $400m
Kuwait has obtained approval from the US State Department to buy weapons worth about $400m, according to the country's Al Qabas newspaper.
The agreement means the emirate becomes the third Gulf nation recently, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to strike a major deal to buy US weapons.
James Holtsnider, charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Kuwait City, said that "Kuwait is a strategic and critical ally for his country from outside Nato," reported Al Qabas.
"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and the national security goals of the United States by helping to improve the infrastructure of a major non-Nato ally", said Holtsnider.
The diplomat described Kuwait as "an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East".
"This deal, if completed, will improve Kuwait's ability to confront current and future regional threats," he added.
The agreement includes munitions for the Eurofighter Typhoon plane, which had been requested by the Kuwaiti government, alongside 60 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, a 2,000-pound general-purpose bomb, and 501 bombs of 1,000 pounds, the newspaper said.
On Tuesday, the US State Department revealed a possible deal to sell Patriot missiles and related equipment to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $3.05bn.
The department also confirmed that it had agreed to a future deal to sell air defence systems to the UAE for more than $2bn.
Anger in Libya after fuel truck explodes
The explosion of a fuel truck in southern Libya has sparked widespread popular anger after it resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries, most of them serious, to dozens more, London's Al-Quds Al-Arabi has reported.
The newspaper said the blast in the city of Bint Baya on Monday had prompted Libya's rival governments to act, out of fear of an escalation of events.
Municipal sources in the city said angry demonstrators from the families of victims forced the closure of the municipality building and burned a car in front of the entrance, due to its poor performance in dealing with the disaster, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported.
A group of angry youths also closed the road linking the cities of Sabha and Awbari on Tuesday evening, halting cars heading to the oil fields in the area. The protesters cited deteriorating living conditions, services and a long-term lack of fuel in the region.
Meanwhile, the two governments in Libya competed to provide medical care for the injured.
The government appointed by the House of Representatives in Tobruk in February tried to calm the anger by transporting many of those injured by the blast to Egypt.
A spokeswoman at the Sabha Medical Centre said that except for four critical cases, Al-Galaa Hospital in Benghazi had started transferring all of the city's 32 cases to Egypt.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, prime minister of the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, announced that plans had been made to transport the victims to Tunisia, Spain and Italy.
Arrangements included issuing the necessary orders to take care of those accompanying the patients and to provide them with appropriate housing.
On Wednesday, a Tunisian medical team arrived at the Burns & Plastic Surgery Hospital in Tripoli to assist national cadres in providing medical care.
Russian money drives property sales in Dubai
The property market in Dubai surged by 60 percent during the first half of this year, due to an increase in investors’ demand, especially from Russians fleeing from western sanctions against their country, according to a report published by thenewkhalij website.
Better Homes, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) property company, said the first six months of 2022 witnessed a 60 percent increase in the volume of residential property transactions, with an increase of 85 percent in the value of sold properties.
The largest number of buyers were from India, Britain, Italy, Russia, France, Canada and the UAE.
According to data published by Better Homes, the number of Russian buyers surged by 164 percent in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year.
In the same period, the number of buyers from France increased by 42 percent and from Britain by 18 percent.
The number of Indian buyers decreased by eight percent, while the number of Italian buyers declined by 17 percent.
Better Homes said sales of luxury properties rose by 87 percent in the first six months of 2022, compared with the first half of last year.
*Arabic press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
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