Notations On Our World (Special Friday Edition): On Our World

Hello from The National in Abu Dhabi. Here's your morning newsletter with all the top stories from the Middle East and North Africa. Ali Al Abdili works on an Oud in Baghdad. EPA ISRAEL Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for the Palestinian village of Hawara to be “erased” amounts to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly disavow it, the US State Department said. The attack comes as senior figures at home and abroad are piling pressure on Mr Netanyahu over what they believe is his diminishing ability to control an unruly coalition. The top Israeli general in charge of soldiers in the occupied West Bank has accused settlers who rampaged through Hawara of carrying out a “pogrom” and spreading terror. Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday that officers had arrested a Palestinian suspected of planning to assassinate him. UAE The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched successfully this morning and is heading into space. A thrilled Sultan Al Neyadi spoke from inside the Dragon capsule once it reached orbit. "Thank God, we made it to space. I would like to thank my mum and dad, and our distinguished leaders," he said. The capsule is now travelling into space at about 7,500km per hour. Keep track of the latest updates here. Doctors in Abu Dhabi are fighting to save the legs of a Syrian girl and her brother after their limbs were crushed in the February 6 earthquake. IRAQ UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Iraqi officials in Baghdad yesterday to discuss ways to support the nation with post-conflict recovery and to adapt to the effects of climate change. The Iraqi man who threw his shoes at former American president George Bush said he would repeat the move as the country marks the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion. IRAN Iran could make enough fissile material for one nuclear bomb in “about 12 days”, a top US Defence Department official has said. President Ebrahim Raisi ordered authorities to investigate incidents in which noxious fumes have made pupils sick at girls' schools, which some officials suspect are attacks on women's education. Calls for the UK to list Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorists are running into concerns from officials about the effect on British citizens should Tehran retaliate. Iranians can now travel to Russia for up to six months without a visa, a sign of deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran. LEBANON The price tags of imported items on Lebanon's supermarket shelves displayed dollars yesterday ― an attempt by the ministry of economy to regulate flagrant price manipulation as the Lebanese pound continues to depreciate rapidly. Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound bounced back last night on the parallel market after the central bank said it would begin selling US dollars in cash at the improved rate of 70,000 pounds on its Sayrafa trading platform from today. TUNISIA Interior ministers from across the Middle East and North Africa met in Tunis yesterday to discuss recent challenges to regional security as part of the 40th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council. YEMEN A senior Al Qaeda figure was killed in an air strike in the Marib district of Yemen, a tribal official told The National. SUDAN A Sudanese protester has been shot dead by security forces during rallies against military rule in the greater Khartoum area, taking the death toll since a takeover in October 2021 to 125. SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabian and British defense ministers agreed yesterday to study future co-operation on combat air capabilities and potential industrial projects, the Saudi Press Agency reported. EGYPT Egypt's Cabinet decided to restore daylight savings time nearly a decade after it stopped the practice.

Politics Xi Jinping set to overhaul China’s economic policy team at watershed congress President expected to unveil sweeping changes to extend Communist party’s grip over finance and other sectors MARCH 2, 2023 by Joe Leahy and Sun Yu in Beijing and Cheng Leng and Andy Lin in Hong Kong