According to Bloomberg, residents in popular neighborhoods are now forced to agree to pay rents that are 40% higher for contractual periods of two years. Faced with rents they can no longer afford, some residents say they have had to move away even years after the tournament ended.

Many hotels have also been forced to evict long-term residents and make way for teams and officials, leaving residents with few options in a country where the expatriate population represents 88% of the total population amid low homeownership rates.

This helped transform the property market after more than seven years of sluggish demand when entire buildings remained vacant as new residential, commercial, and hospitality supplies flooded the market.

Rents in the first quarter rose 3.3%, buoyed by a recent surge in demand, according to data compiled by ValuStrat, while average prices on The Pearl - an artificial island popular with white-collar expats - rose 19%. Housing was also the second largest contributor to the June inflation rate of 5.4% in Qatar, where costs rose faster than in any other Gulf country.

FIFA alone has booked thousands of hotel rooms and ancillary buildings for players, staff, and other officials. Local organizers also struck deals with property owners to allocate about 60,000 apartments to the masses.

Most one-bedroom apartments in The Pearl are being offered for rent for more than $1,000 per night during the tournament. These apartments are currently rented for an average of 9,500 riyals ($2,580) per month, according to ValuStrat, up from 8,000 riyals in the fourth quarter.

A Qatari government official said the country's rental property market "satisfies a range of preferences and budgets, and that as the" demand for accommodation increases during the World Cup, landlords and tenants are required by law to observe the terms and conditions of their rental agreement.

For his part, the CEO of Commercial Bank of Qatar, Joseph Abraham, said last month, "The recent rises in rents are transient and relatively temporary due to the World Cup and its associated effects." After the World Cup, he said, "the pressure from rents on the inflation index will go down as supply is outnumbered again."

Despite the recent rise, the Qatar Central Bank's real estate price index is 30% lower than in 2015.

Iranian forces shot dead a border courier named Hazhar Faraji in Sardav Sooraw region of Bana in Iran, KolbarNews reported.

Iranian army arrested and tortured a border courier in Nodsha village of Marivan district, after the arrest of an environmental activist in Sanandaj and another activist in Marivan by Iranian security forces and their fate remains unknown.

A worsening economic situation in Iran has starved many people and obliged as young as 14 to work in back-breaking conditioning by carrying heavy goods over the steep and harsh mountains of the Kurdistan region.

When passing goods from the Kurdistan region of Iraq into Iran, the couriers are harassed by the Iranian security forces and sometimes shot.

 

 

Dozens of Basra residents took to the streets and blocked several main roads between the area of Kiziza, Zuber and Baghdad, Iraqi media reported.

In Dhi Qar, protesters blocked the Olive Road in Nasiriyah, citing electricity problem and saying that they worsen every summertime.

Electricity was cut for the third time in southern Iraq's Basra, Maysan, Ziqar and Wasit provinces last night, provinces with globally record high tempratures, due to the failure of the Zuber power plant, and a fire in part of the plant caused by overload.

On Friday, Iraqi electricity spokesman Ahmad Musa said to high pressure and heat caused an explosion at a 132-KV substation at the Basra power plant, causing general blackouts in most southern provinces.

Simmering temperatures have obliged Iraq’s to use more energy than any other time in a year, putting large burdens on power plants across Iraq. A rapidly increasing population and slow update at power infrastructure has made power outages more frequent in Iraq.

Although, Iraq announced some major stepping at linking its electricity infrastructure with the Gulf’s, and importing electricity to fill its domestic needs, yet power outages are common across the country.

 

Iraqi Resources Ministry spokesman Hatem Hamid said the Iraqi government has been protesting against the construction of the Jizera dam on the Tigris River for ten years, but Ankara has ignored the protests and demands of the Iraqi government, and construction is ongoing on the dam.

Suppose the dam on the Tigris River is completed. In that case, Iraq's water share will be reduced by 56 per cent, which will further complicate Iraq's water shortage problems, Hamid added.

Jizera Dam is the last dam of the series of Dams that Turkey builds on the Tigris River. The Jizera Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant, built on the Tigris River in the Cizre district of Şırnak, will have an installed power of 240 MWe and an annual electricity generation capacity of 1 billion 208 million kilowatt-hours.

The Dam will be the second largest hydroelectric power plant to be built on the Tigris River after the Ilısu Dam, which is near its completion and has dramatically reduced the river's southward flow Iraq relies on for its freshwater needs.

The migrants had tried to leave for Italy, and Turkey has become the main transit route for Iraqis going for a better life in Europe. The Federation of Iraqi Refugees said that five people were arrested on charges of smuggling and trafficking in migrant lives.

Many immigrants end up in unwanted situations and become victims of fraud. Fifty-six migrants and two Turks were arrested in Mugla district on charges of smuggling and trafficking in migrants' lives, along with 34 Syrian migrants, including women and children, detained in Marmara Region.

On August 6, 56 refugees were rescued in the Marmaris area after being deported by the Greek coast guard when their vessel arrived at the Greek borders. At the same time, two other refugees were arrested who were trying to cross to Greece.

Earlier on Monday, the Iranian Mehr news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry official saying that a breakthrough had not yet been reached to pave the way for a possible final text of the nuclear agreement. 
 
The agency stated that the official's comments, whose name was not revealed, came in response to the Wall Street Journal, which suggested preparing the final text of the agreement in Vienna "in the next few hours."

"Given that discussions continue on many important issues, we are not yet at a point where we can talk about finalizing the text," he added.

However, the Iranian official stressed that "if the other side takes the appropriate decisions, we can quickly end the negotiations, but we have not reached this stage yet."

Russia's delegate to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Sunday that negotiations on Iran's nuclear program "are going in the right direction," adding that "the final text (of the agreement) is not European, but rather common, while the Europeans coordinate its multi-source ideas."

Earlier, Ulyanov had said that he met the European coordinator for negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal, Enrique Mora, again on Sunday in the Austrian capital, indicating progress. And Ulyanov added, on Twitter, "It seems that we are making progress .. let's remain optimistic."

Indirect Iranian-American talks are continuing with European mediation in Vienna. Several experts from France, Britain and Germany have joined the negotiating delegations and Iranian experts.

Little remains of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, under which sanctions were lifted on Tehran in return for restrictions on Iranian enrichment activities that the West fears could lead to the making of atomic bombs.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement and reimposed sanctions. For its part, Tehran violated the agreement's restrictions in several ways, including rebuilding its enriched uranium stockpile.

After repeated failures to reach an agreement, the US and Iranian delegations deaded to Vienna for a possible deal; nevertheless, the recent developments don't suggest a breakthrough. 

Enrique Mora, the Spanish European mediator in the nuclear negotiations between Iran and Washington, announced in a tweet on Twitter today, Wednesday, that he is on his way to Vienna to discuss returning to the nuclear agreement.

“The goal of returning to Vienna is to discuss the text submitted by Josep Borrell, EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and mediator of the talks, on July 20,” Al-Hadath reported.

Borrell did not reveal the details of the text he submitted on July 20, which was announced a few days ago, when a summit between Washington and Tehran collapsed in Doha.

“Only the Iranian and American parties will participate in the talks in Vienna, and that the three European countries (France, Britain and Germany), in addition to Russia and China, will not participate in the talks,” Al-Hadath reported citing senior European officials.

For his part, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced today that the head of the Iranian negotiating delegation, Ali Bagheri Kani, will travel to Vienna in the coming hours to participate in the indirect negotiations mediated by Mora.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity today, told Reuters that Rob Malley, the US special envoy on Iran's affairs, will go to Vienna for talks this week.

Axios quoted today a US official as announcing his country's return to negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran in Vienna, amid expectations he described as "low."

Russia continues to starve the EU from its energy and building closer ties with Tehran, the EU and the US have ever more incentives to struck a deal with the Islamic Republic.

"The Coordination Framework has refused to involve people in the political disputes," Mousavi added. 

"There are political parties that want to impose themselves through force, but the door of the Coordination Framework is open to all parties that are in favor of negotiations and understanding because there is no other option other than dialogue and forming a new government. 

After the Sadrists stormed the Parliament building in Baghdad and impeded the normal political process when the Coordination Framework tried to vote for the prime minister, Muqtada al-Sadr refused negotiations with the Coordination Framework. 

Al-Sadr instructed his followers to evacuate the Parliament building in 72 hours, and the speaker of the Parliament suspended the council of representatives' meetings indefinitely. 

On Wednesday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said China could not prevent world leaders from visiting Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries said Wednesday that there is "no justification" for China to use Nancy Pelosi's visit as an "excuse" to conduct military exercises.

"It is normal for our country's representatives to make international visits. China's escalatory response would increase tension and destabilize the region," the ministers of the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom added a statement.
On Wednesday, Pelosi left Taiwan after a two-day visit that raised tensions with China.

Before that, Pelosi met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, where the latter stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the two countries and thanked Pelosi for her presence to provide US support to her country. "Pelosi has been a huge inspiration to our country," she added.

Taiwanese president also imitated the American guest with a scarf to express her country's thanks and stressed that any aggression against her government "will have an impact on the Pacific and Indo-Pacific region," stressing, "We will do what is necessary to strengthen our defenses, and are committed to security and stability in the region."

For her part, Pelosi, who visited Taiwan as part of her Asian tour, said that Democrats and Republicans are united in support of Taiwan, stressing, "Our relations with Taiwan are strong, and we will work to strengthen them in various fields."

The American government is required by law to defend Taiwan when it is threatened.

She also stressed, "We will not abandon our support and friendship for Taiwan," noting that "the story of Taiwan is a source of inspiration for democracies... and American solidarity with Taiwan is essential and important." "Washington pledged to stand by Taiwan 43 years ago, and I am here to confirm that," she added.

Pelosi added, "Our goal is for Taiwan to always enjoy freedom and security, and we will not back down from that. We want the situation in Taiwan to remain as it is now, and we do not want change by force."
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives announced that her delegation came to Taiwan out of "peace for the region" after her visit unleashed Beijing's anger and sparked a diplomatic storm.

"We come out of friendship to Taiwan, and peace to the region," Pelosi said during a meeting with Tsai Chi-chang, deputy speaker of Taiwan's parliament.

"Taiwan is one of the freest countries in the world," Pelosi said.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives stressed that there is a good opportunity for cooperation between the two countries in the field of the chip industry.

Pelosi visited the seat of the Taiwanese parliament earlier Wednesday and stressed the desire to strengthen parliamentary relations between the two countries.

On Tuesday, China summoned the US ambassador to it to protest against Pelosi's "heinous" visit to Taiwan.

Speaking with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng expressed his country's "strong protests" against Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island that China considers part of its territory.
"This move is very heinous in nature, and the consequences are grave," Xie quoted the official Xinhua News Agency. "China will not stand idly by."

"Taiwan is Chinese Taiwan, and eventually Taiwan will return to the bosom of the motherland," Xie told Burns, according to the Chinese agency.

The Pelosi visit, the highest-ranking US official, elected to arrive in Taiwan in 25 years, escalated tension between the world's two largest economies, as Beijing considered it a major provocation.

Shih warned that the United States would "pay the price for its mistakes," and urged Washington to "immediately address its wrong actions and take practical measures to undo the negative effects of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan," according to Xinhua.

Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, defying stern warnings and threats from China.

While it is understood that the White House opposes Taiwan, including Pelosi's Asian tour, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that Pelosi "has the right to visit Taiwan."

The Chinese army announced that it is on "high alert" and "will launch a series of targeted military operations" in response to the visit, announcing plans for a series of military exercises in the waters around the island starting Wednesday.

More than 20 Chinese military aircraft entered the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, officials in Taipei said, in a dangerous escalation during Pelosi's visit.

On Wednesday, North Korea criticized what it described as the "brazen interference" of the United States in China's internal affairs over the visit of the US House Speaker to Taiwan.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said Pyongyang would "fully support" Beijing's position, blaming Washington for raising regional tensions.

"The blatant interference of the United States in the internal affairs of other countries and its deliberate political and military provocations are the main reason for disturbing peace and security in the region," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

The Pelosi visit comes at a delicate time. As Russian forces advance incrementally on Ukrainian territory, the Chinese have been provoked to move on to Taiwan. 

The US has many reasons to believe that China had prepared to reunite Taiwan with China using forces. The West is busy repelling Russia from Ukraine and looking for an alternative energy route to its energy as Russia continues to punish the continent for its sanctions on Moscow.  

In a televised address tonight, Wednesday, Muqtada Al-Sadr told the Iraqi people that "A Sadrist revolution has begun and the Sadrists are a part of the nation and the homeland, and even if among the Sadrists there is somebody whose is corrupted and has been tried (already serviced in office but has failed), the revolution would not accept him.  

Al-Sadr has repeatedly said that people who have served in the past shall not serve again. His remarks angered Nuri al-Maliki, the former Iraqi premier and leader of the Daawa party who wishes to run for the office of the prime minister again. The Sadrists rebuked his candidacy, and after al-Maliki's leaked audio recordings, al-Sadr asked him to leave politics once and for all. 

Following al-Sadr's speech, Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of the rule of law coalition, tweeted that serious dialogue is the hope to resolve the issues and return the situation to the right path and respect for the constitutional institutions.

Meanwhile, Nasr Coalition leader Haider al-Abadi whose also a member to the CF expressed his support for Sadr,  saying his speech is consistent with their demands in several ways, calling on all parties to coordinate to serve the people, reform and support constitutional institutions through the democratic and peace process. 

"I have never claimed that we are not corrupt and we are above doubts," al-Sadr added. The Sadrists have claimed to end endemic corruption that has become a serious challenge facing the country and preventing its development. 

Al-Sadr vowed to bring the corrupt officials to justice through "democratic and peaceful means," after saying that when the courts acquit corrupt officials when delivered to them. 

After more than ten months, the Iraqi parties have failed to form a government mainly because the Sadr movement, in contrast to the Coordination Framework (CF), wants a government dominated by his party, a move that the Coordination Framework parties see as a coup.

In July, the Sadrist MP withdrew from the council of representatives and claimed to have paved the way for other parties to form the government. Their resignation made the CF parties a majority as the CF PMs replaced the Sadrist MPs. When the Coordination Framework named Mohammed Shia' Sudani as its candidate for the prime minister, the Sadrists disapproved of Sudani and stormed the parliament before voting him into office. 

Al-Sadr refuses to negotiate with the coordination framework that now commands the majority in the parliament. He called for dissolving the parliament after his supporters stormed the building in late August. "Talking with the Coordination Framework is useless," a-Sadr explained in his speech. 

"I am ready to die for reform," al-Sadr told his audience. His latest moves and speech indicate that he wants another election and would not negotiate with the other parties. 

On August 2, the United States media reported that Al-Qaeda leader Abu Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan.

"There were drones flying over Kabul for the past few days, and there were explosions heard but people did not know what it was until the killing of Al-Zawahiri was made public," a Journalist in Afghanistan told KurdSat English. 

 

Earlier, Pajhwok Afghan News reported an airstrike in Kabul's Sherpur neighborhood and cited the interior ministry that there were no casualties. 

The Al-Qaeda chief was killed in Kabul's Sherpur locality, a diplomatic enclave where most of the Taliban leaders live. 

This raises questions regarding the Taliban's commitment to the Doha Agreement, in which it promises not to allow its territory to be used to threaten other nations. 

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said al-Zawahiri's presence in Kabul "grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries."

 

"It's near a grocery store, near a bank, and a main street. It is an area where previous warlords, governors and ministers have lived under the previous government. It is not anywhere hidden," Blinken added. 

An Egyptian surgeon with a $25m bounty on his head, al-Zawahiri, helped coordinate the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US that killed nearly 3,000 people.

 

In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said al-Zawahiri's presence in Kabul "grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries."

 

The Taliban confirmed the attack in Kabul without naming al-Zawahiri, and condemned it as a "violation of international principles." 

Al-Zawahiri was killed on Sunday in the biggest blow to the group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

Today, August 2, US house of representative Nancy Pelosi arrived in the Island nation of Taiwan amid tightened tensions between the US and China.

Chinese local media reported that the Chinese military buildup near the Taiwan border has continued since the confirmation of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island. Pelosi left Malaysia, the second leg of her Asian tour, amid rising tension over her visit to Taiwan.

The visit risks triggering a global crisis between the world's most powerful economic and military powers. The US does not officially recognize Taiwan but is legally required to prove the island with means to protest its sovereignty.

China's People's Liberation Army has planned to carry out an exercise on the surroundings of Taiwan.

A site tracking aircraft around the world indicated that nearly 300,000 of its users are following the US Air Force plane, which they believe has the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on board, Bloomberg reported.

After Pelosi's plane touched down, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "Pelosi's visit to Taiwan had a significant impact on the political basis of Sino-US relations."

Taiwan commented on Pelosi's visit by saying, "We warmly welcome foreign guests, and we will make appropriate arrangements."

Before that, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense confirmed the military movements near Taiwan by saying, "We will deploy appropriate military forces in response to the threats. We have the resolve and ability to ensure our national security."

On Tuesday, according to reports, Chinese warships and aircraft repeatedly edged into the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

The United Daily News, Liberty Times, and China Times - the major national newspapers in Taiwan - quoted unidentified sources saying that Pelosi will go to Taipei and spend Wednesday night after that visiting Malaysia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on Pelosi's visit to Taiwan by saying, "We hope that America will understand the sensitivity of the situation, we will respond strongly if Pelosi visits Taiwan."

Military Watch had reported that China deployed the Aircraft Carrier Killer missile, the first gliding hypersonic vehicle after the US Navy moved its aircraft carrier groups to places close to Chinese territory for fear of a reaction Beijing on Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered that Pelosi was the one who decided to visit Taiwan or not and that China should not escalate the situation after that visit.
 
Politico quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying that European countries are preparing for the repercussions of the dangerous escalation between Washington and Beijing over Pelosi's visit.

An informed source told the magazine that the deteriorating war of words between the United States and China regarding Taiwan worries European countries due to the risks of a possible military escalation.

The sources stressed that the European Union considers any military confrontation between China and Washington an out-of-control conflict.

Vice President of the Munich Security Conference Boris Rogge warned European countries not to prepare for a US-Chinese confrontation scenario by supporting Taiwan and maintaining close contact with Beijing to calm tension.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday that Iraq is an important neighbor and they are closely monitoring the situation in the country.

He stressed that Iran will not interfere in Iraq's internal affairs, and that the conflict should be resolved through negotiations.

Days after supporters of Iraqi opposition leader Muqtada al-Sadr have resumed demonstrations in Baghdad for three days. They stormed the parliament and have camped inside the building.

Last night, the Iraqi army was mobilized into Baghdad to prevent the entrance of militias into the capital, as rivalling parties have come toe-to-toe over naming the next Iraqi prime minister.

Bashdar Hassan, head of the lawyers of the detainees in Badinan, told reporters that they will meet with the judicial council, the prosecutor general and the human rights commission to conditionally release the detainees and they are awaiting positive results.

The Badinan political prisoners are a group of activists, journalists and writers imprisoned and charged with endangering the national security of the Kurdistan region and working with foreign agents.  They were arrested by the Erbil security forces, and many of them were detained for a year without trail.

Although most of them have been releasing after serving their sentences, some of them are still in prison awaiting their release.