Opinion: Palestine will outlast Blair and his grotesque 'Board of Peace' Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s latest reported intervention in the Middle East would be astonishing coming from any supposed mediator. Coming from Blair, it feels almost grimly on brand. Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s former ambassador to the United Nations, says he learned from a ministerial-level source that Blair asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to remove references to “ Palestine ” from its school curriculum.
Rights groups press lawmakers to scrap provision to merge US and Israeli militaries Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 18:07 The controversial defence bill measure would permanently integrate US and Israeli military tech advancements Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on 28 July 2026 (Israeli Government Press Office/AFP) Off On Thursday, 56 civil rights and advocacy groups urged Congress to scrap a defence bill provision that would strengthen US-Israeli military technology ties, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Section 219 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) intends to insitute frameworks for joint ventures, licensing agreements and US-based co-production partnerships. It passed in the House of Representatives in July and is pending Senate approval.
Palestine will outlast Blair and his grotesque 'Board of Peace' Submitted by Soumaya Ghannoushi on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 16:23 As Gaza reconstruction stalls, the former UK prime minister stands accused of attempting to rewrite the country's history Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, pictured in 2023, has denied a report that he sought to have the word ‘Palestine’ removed from Palestinian textbooks (Charles McQuillan/AFP) Off Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s latest reported intervention in the Middle East would be astonishing coming from any supposed mediator. Coming from Blair, it feels almost grimly on brand. Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s former ambassador to the United Nations, says he learned from a ministerial-level source that Blair asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to remove references to “ Palestine ” from its school curriculum.
Blair Institute denies former UK PM asked PA to remove 'Palestine' from school textbooks Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 11:03 Former UK prime minister's institute denies MEE report that Trump's Board of Peace sent Blair to make request US President Donald Trump (R) and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair pose during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on 13 October 2025 (Yoan Valat/AFP) Off The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) has denied an exclusive Middle East Eye report that the former UK prime minister asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to remove any mention of " Palestine " from school textbooks. In an interview with MEE, Jeremy Greenstock, who was the UK 's ambassador to the UN between 1998 and 2003, said that US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace had sent Blair to ask the PA to replace "Palestine" with the Jewish designation of "Samaria". Blair was appointed to the founding executive board of the Board of Peace for Gaza by the Trump administration in January.
Xi’s Egypt visit tests Cairo’s balancing act Submitted by Eli Siegel-Bernstein on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:57 Chinese leader's visit produced new agreements and deeper Cairo-Beijing ties, but a Huawei bid for Egypt's AI infrastructure hangs over its relationship with Washington Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, 2 September 2026 (Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Reuters) Off Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held talks in Cairo on Wednesday, closing out Xi’s first visit to Egypt in a decade with a series of signed agreements, memoranda of understanding, and a joint statement on bilateral ties. The visit, timed to the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, coincided with the joint Egyptian-Chinese “Eagles of Civilisation” air exercise, launched 22 August to strengthen military ties between the two countries’ air forces. It also followed a report that Chinese tech giant Huawei had bid to supply Egypt with more than 2,000 artificial intelligence (AI) computing chips for a data centre.
Iranian lawmakers have drafted a new draft bill designed to intensify online censorship and limit Internet access in the country. The Cyberspace Regulation Plan is a revised version of an earlier draft bill that was abandoned after triggering fierce criticism in the country of some 90 million people.
UK must reject attempts to derail settlement trade ban Submitted by Ben Jamal on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 16:17 If the Burnham government can resist pressure from pro-Israel groups, this could mark the first step in a broader boycott campaign - one long sought by Palestine advocates British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband is pictured in Wicklow, Ireland, on 2 September 2026 (Paul Faith/AFP) Off There are mounting rumours that the UK government is planning to introduce a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Such a ban has been a core demand of the Palestine solidarity movement for many years, as a key basic step towards ending UK complicity with Israel’s violations of international law . That it is now close to achievement is a product of two factors.
UAE President and Trump hold phone call over Middle East developments US President Donald Trump and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed regional developments and bilateral cooperation during a phone call, the UAE state news agency WAM reported on Thursday. The call between the two leaders touched on "ways to further strengthen ties" in support of their "mutual interests".
Netanyahu says Israel working to overthrow Iran’s government In an interview with Israeli channel i24NEWS, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his country is working towards overthrowing Iran’s government. "All of our systems under my direction are working to overthrow this regime and defeat it," he said. Netanyahu also added that he was "very much satisfied" with what he saw after visiting Israeli soldiers in Gaza earlier that day, adding that Israel now controls over 60 per cent of the besieged strip.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry misleading and dangerous said shrinking the United Nations’ purpose to little more than “avoiding a war between superpowers” is both misleading and dangerous.
White House posts map of Hormuz Strait renaming it as 'Trump Strait' The White House released a map on Wednesday showing the Strait of Hormuz as "Trump Strait", with a caption saying "it's got a nice ring to it". The picture posted on X included the face of the US president on the map as well as an earlier quote from a post on his Truth Social platform, that read: "Now that we have it under U. S.
Washington DC [US], September 3 (ANI): US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of renaming the Strait of Hormuz to the "Trump Strait", questioning the designation of the critical waterway in a social media release. In a statement published on his social media platform, Trump remarked, "Now that we have it under U. S.
Qatari PM speaks to Lebanese, Turkish, Egyptian foreign ministers Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke to his counterparts in Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt on Wednesday to discuss the latest regional tensions following renewed US strikes on Iran. Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on social media that Al Thani held separate phone calls with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. The leaders discussed de-escalating tensions in the region, bilateral cooperation relations and restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Reform UK bans, admits, then bans MEE journalist from party conference Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 19:16 Multiple journalists who have written articles deemed critical of Reform have been denied access to the party's conference Reform UK leader Nigel Farage arrives to vote in the Clacton by-election, at a makeshift polling station in a primary school in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, on 13 August 2026 (AFP) Off Party conference season is a defining fixture of British political life. At these grand annual events, political parties gather their rank and file activists, refresh their visions and try to project energy, vitality and momentum to the country they hope to lead. This last point is why British political parties attract and admit the press.
Joint Egyptian-Chinese statement: Palestinian cause is central in Middle East Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reiterated that the Palestinian question remains at the core of the Middle East issue in a joint statement on Wednesday following Xi's state visit to Cairo. In the statement, the two heads of state also reaffirmed support for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. The visit coincided with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Trump suggests renaming Strait of Hormuz 'Trump Strait' US President Donald Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz the "Trump Strait" in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday, despite control of the waterway remaining contested amid the US war on Iran. "Now that we have it under U. S.
US a ‘source of regional insecurity’, Iran’s chief negotiator says Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the US is a “source of regional insecurity” during a meeting with Hamas’s head of communications on Wednesday, according to Iran's Fars news agency. Ghalibaf also called on the US to “honour their commitments” by implementing the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed in June. He stated that Iran is not rejecting negotiations after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that any deal with the country “isn't worth the paper it's written on”.
