MENA Now Morning Briefing, October 27, 2020

*This daily morning briefing covers news as presented by the media, and does not present the views of MENA Now.

* All sources were drawn from publicly available online news sources

Lebanon Today

Hezbollah mobilizes reserves following large-scale Israeli military drill; https://bit.ly/3oukBwL

Second Round of Lebanon-Israel Maritime Talks Postponed; https://bit.ly/2G0J8bp

Report: Russian Delegation to Arrive Wednesday in Beirut; https://bit.ly/2TpizzX

Waste management company RAMCO threatened to stop its operations in Beirut, Kesrouan and Metn, in another sign of Lebanon's faltering economy; https://bit.ly/3mryNos

Lebanon court rejects new migrant worker contract to replace criticised kafala system; https://bit.ly/3dXY1Ih

NSSF demands LL4 trillion from Finance Ministry; https://bit.ly/2G2MCdF

Lebanon confirmed 796 more COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths Monday as 63  towns and villages were put under lockdown to curb the spread of the  virus; https://bit.ly/31LshRs

Regional Overview

Insulting Muslims is an abuse of free speech, Iran’s Zarif says; https://bit.ly/2HG9IYj

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Petroleum Ministry, National Iranian Oil Company, Tanker Subsidiary; https://on.wsj.com/3e7INAw

Libyans hold UN-backed talks after ceasefire deal between warring sides; https://bit.ly/2J1KC6m

Kurdish Officials Say They Foiled Attack on Diplomats in Northern Iraq; https://bit.ly/37NSHpF

Iraq protesters, police clash again one year after uprising started; https://bit.ly/3e6RD1h

Russian air strikes kill dozens of Turkish-backed rebels in Syria, monitor says; https://bit.ly/2HCFOEi

UN's special coordinator for Israeli-Palestinian conflict says Israel has frozen relations with Human Rights Office; https://bit.ly/31MxhFF

Iraq: Saddam Hussein’s right-hand man dies after years as fugitive; https://bit.ly/3e2tSqY