Suicide bombing in Turkey, pre-election tensions in Egypt – here’s the Middle East this week.
Pre-election tensions in Egypt.| Suicide bombing in Turkey | Pre-election tensions in Egypt. Here’s the Middle East this week:
From hope to host
Morocco’s semi-final run to the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar was thrilling. They captured the hearts and hopes of millions around the globe.
FIFA announced Morocco as one of the six countries from three continents selected to host the World Cup in 2030. It’s game on.
Attack in Ankara
In Turkey, people had seen similar scenes all too many times: windows shattered, doors ripped apart, and debris spread across the street, as soldiers, policemen, ambulances and armored vehicles converged.
Two suicide bombers carried out an attack on the day President Recep T. Tayyip Erdoan was to open Parliament in Ankara. Turkish officials say the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is the prime suspect. In the course of the investigation, over 90 people have been arrested.
Egypt is on the verge of an election
There’s been a firestorm in Egypt this week – literally and figuratively. A huge fire broke out in the city of Ismailia at a complex of police. The cause is unknown but sources told Al Jazeera it could be a part of an attack ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is running for a third consecutive term in this election. He’s expected to win, as the opposition says it faces harassment. The backdrop to all this happening is a severe economic crisis that is curtailing Egypt’s regional ambitions.
A second shot for Syria’s students
Omar al-Dabaan, then 12, was only 12 years old when the Syrian Army attacked his school. He awoke from the blow of regime forces firing rounds of artillery fire, only to find his friends’ bodies scattered in the schoolyard.
That was in 2018, and al-Dabaan hasn’t been back to school since. But he’s now studying again, through the Masarat Initiative, which has been delivering the entire Syrian curriculum online so children like al-Dabaan can gain an education.
To Hague and hold
Abir Moussa, the leader of Tunisia’s largest opposition party Ennahdha and a leader in the Free Destourian Party, was arrested last week. Rached Gahannouchi began a hunger striking.
Family members of several of the dozens detained since President Kais Saeid’s rule took a more repressive turn two years ago, are now gathered at The Hague, to seek justice at the International Criminal Court.
Now, let’s try something new
Imagine chomping down on a carrot – that came out of a 3D printer. Two Qatari students are making that scenario more plausible: Their device uses UV lights and artificially-grown vegetable cells to mass print vegetables.
The pair hopes that this can be a solution for world hunger.
![3D printed carrot [Photo courtesy of Mohammed Annan]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WhatsApp-Image-2023-09-26-at-2.37.03-PM-1695983346.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C554)
Briefly,
Quote of the week Teenager Omar al-Dabaan is getting a second chance at completing his studies despite Syria’s ongoing war.
“Sometimes we would be in school when the bombing starts, so school stops for a week […] Without schooling, we will not benefit from anything … After I get my high school certificate, I’ll go after my dream and study civil engineering.” | Teenager Omar al-Dabaan is getting a second chance at completing his studies despite Syria’s ongoing war.