Archives for September, 2014

Fears in Lebanon rise over Western plans to defeat IS

Lebanese officials are concerned that a Western-led offensive against the Islamic State will not succeed in destroying the organization but simply move it closer to Lebanon’s border, and ultimately into the country itself.

Turkey's Family Ministry shames singles in new ad

Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Ministry evokes comparisons to Islamist radicals after using the image of headless figures in a controversial campaign “to battle aloneness.”

A Turkish soldier stands guard as Syrian Kurds cross the border fence into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, September 19, 2014. Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday fleeing Islamic State fighters who advanced into their villages, prompting warnings of massacres from Kurdish leaders. Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized villages in northern Syria over the past two days and are besieging the mainly Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani i

Can Turkey set up buffer zone inside Syria?

The idea of a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border has been revived again, but faces serious feasibility questions.

A woman prays inside a damaged church in Maaloula August 21, 2014. Residents of Maaloula, a Christian town in Syria, call on other Christian groups and minorities to stand up to the radicalism that is sweeping across Syria and Iraq. The town was regained by Syrian Army forces in April from Islamic militants, and several months later life is slowly returning to the town. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR43A30

Iraq’s minorities demand weapons, training

Following the advances made by the Islamic State in Iraqi areas with large minority populations, there are widespread calls for arms and international protection.

Palestinian shoppers browse in a supermarket at a newly opened shopping mall in Gaza City July 20, 2010. The mall, the first of its kind in Gaza, opened to the public last week and contains about 15 shops, including a supermarket and clothing stores. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR2GK60

Support grows for Gaza's boycott of Israeli goods

The recent Gaza war has seen a boost in support for a local boycott of Israeli goods, but short of alternatives, it is hard to envision how such a boycott campaign will work.

More than 3,000 Gazan children wounded in war

Many of the Palestinian wounded have had their limbs amputated and face struggles as the Gaza Strip rebuilds.

Free Syrian Army fighters hold their weapons as they walk in the Aleppo countryside May 26, 2014. Picture taken May 26, 2014. REUTERS/Nour Fourat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3R1HJ

Syrian rebels deny truce deal with Islamic State

The Syrian Revolutionary Front has rejected media reports that it signed a nonaggression pact with the Islamic State, but there are efforts being made in south Damascus to reach a local truce.

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands before speaking after a military briefing at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR46M8H

US continues to curb its involvement in Middle East

US President Barack Obama's speech on attacking the Islamic State reflects the US regional strategy on Iraq, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: partial engagement only, since radical Islam and conflicts in the Middle East are first and foremost a regional problem.

Israel's Education Minister Gideon Saar delivers a speech during the official launch of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) in Brussels November 16, 2010. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: EDUCATION POLITICS) - RTXUPFM

Saar no match for Netanyahu

Interior Minister Gideon Saar must bear in mind that a political vacuum always fills up, especially when taking into consideration that there are two figures still in the Likud Party who could vie the seat of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A group of Palestinians prepare to throw roses in the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Gaza City on September 18, 2014 in mourning over the loss of fellow Palestinians who had boarded a boat to Europe that sank off Malta last week. In one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks on record, the boat, with 500 people on board, was intentionally capsized by traffickers as it made its way from Egypt to Italy. Only 10 people are known to have survived, among them four Palestinians from the 100 Gazans believed to ha

Escaping Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians drown

Details are emerging concerning the migrant boat that sank this week near Malta's shores, loaded with Palestinian children and families who tried to escape misery in Gaza for a new life in Europe.

General view of the famous Al-Zahawi cafe, a meeting point for intellectuals and bohemians of the Iraqi society at the beginning of the century, in central Baghdad June 5, 2003. [The city is struggling back to life more than seven weeks after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein, but chaos still ensues. ] - RTXM0PV

Iraq cultural scene deteriorates further

In light of the deteriorating security situation, Iraq is facing a dire cultural reality, while the Ministry of Culture is engaged in building cultural houses and palaces.

A Jordanian soldier stands guard in his tank as Jordanian army vehicles carrying Syrian refugees drive towards it at the Jordan-Syrian border near Mafraq February 18, 2013. According to the Jordanian Armed Forces sources, around 89,000 Syrian refugees fleeing from the violence in their country have crossed the Jordanian border since the beginning of 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3DYZ6

IS threat prompts effort to boost Middle East arms deliveries

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., wants to step up military aid to Jordan.

Alevis dance during a prayer in a Cem house in Istanbul April 3, 2008. A court struggle to end mandatory religious instruction in Turkish schools has united Turkey's largest religious minority Alevis and has called into question the ruling AK Party's democratic commitments. Picture taken on April 3, 2008. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY) BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - RTR2ACQU

European court warns Turkey to respect parents’ convictions

The European Court of Human Rights decided Turkey must reform religious education in schools to ensure respect for parents’ convictions.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish businessmen during a meeting of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul September 18, 2014. Erdogan said on Thursday forecasts are for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 3 percent this year. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR46PXF

Erdogan’s war against New York

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares war on credit-rating agencies and The New York Times.

An African migrant walks on the pavement as buildings are seen in the background, in south Tel Aviv July 17, 2013. Israel's supreme court on Monday struck down a year-old law that meant African migrants could be held in detention for up to three years without charge. Picture taken July 17, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX13NKU

The gentrification of Tel Aviv

In 1948, several hundred families were sent to settle a piece of land on the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv, but today the land is valued at billions of shekels and the residents battle a real-estate tycoon over eviction.

Palestinians throw roses in the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Gaza City on September 18, 2014 in mourning over the loss of fellow Palestinians who had boarded a boat to Europe that sank off Malta last week. In one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks on record, the boat, with 500 people on board, was intentionally capsized by traffickers as it made its way from Egypt to Italy. Only 10 people are known to have survived, among them four Palestinians from the 100 Gazans believed to have been on board. AFP

Smugglers threw asylum seekers into Mediterranean

One of the few survivors of the ship that was deliberately sunk off Malta by smugglers, drowning up to 500 people, recounts her story.