Archives for October, 2015

Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by the forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Old Aleppo's Kadi Askar area, Syria, August 1, 2015. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTX1MOEZ

What the Aleppo offensive hides

The battle for Aleppo may be a long and costly battle for Syrian regime forces due to the size of the city, the remaining large civil population and the multitude of players.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pictured during a meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry in Berlin, October 22, 2015. Kerry hopes to persuade Netanyahu to tone down his rhetoric, days after the Israeli leader linked a Muslim leader to the Holocaust. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri? - RTS5L3C

Holocaust comments gaffe won't harm Bibi

Even if Israeli media treated with satire, rather than drama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comment on the Holocaust and Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, he scored some points again with his electorate.

Stateless in Gaza

Israel has yet to transfer civil and social powers to the Palestinian Authority, thus leaving 40,000-50,000 Palestinians in Gaza stateless and without legal status.

Why Lebanon's 'You Stink' movement lost momentum

The Lebanese popular movement to fight corruption in the political class has faced a number of setbacks.

Religious events in Iraq become show of force

Religious events in Iraq have come to serve as opportunities for sects to make a show of force, as tensions persist in the country.

A Palestinian labourer works on a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Har Gilo, near Jerusalem March 18, 2013. Israel's new housing minister said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming cabinet would keep expanding Jewish settlements to the same extent as his previous government. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTR3F59U

Palestinians fired in retaliation for protests

Israeli employers are dismissing Palestinian workers in settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, a trend with dire consequences for Israel's economy.

Israel, Palestine both stand to lose by cutting economic ties

If President Mahmoud Abbas follows through with threats to end the Palestinian Authority's economic cooperation with Israel, there will be wide economic repercussions for both sides.

Could Egypt be key to political solution in Syria?

The Russian air operation in Syria, the US suspension of its training program for new Syrian rebels and its rapprochement with Iran call for an Egyptian mediation to end the war in Syria.

Is Palestinian public leaving its leadership behind?

Both Fatah and Hamas are facing a crisis as they know that engaging in a new intifada will destroy their rule in favor of the independent young generation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the West Bank city of Ramallah October 21, 2015. Ban urged Palestinians and Israel on Tuesday to step back from a "dangerous abyss" as he arrived on a snap visit to the region at the head of international efforts to quell three weeks of violence. REUTERS/Alaa Badarneh/Pool - RTS5FEH

US sends 'message' to Abbas with $80 million aid cut

The State Department has notified Congress that it's cutting FY 2015 assistance to the Palestinians by 22%.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University June 19, 2009. Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders' fault. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGI

Rouhani thanks Khamenei for nuke deal 'stamp of approval'

In a letter, President Hassan Rouhani says the supreme leader's letter provided a "stamp of approval" for the nuclear deal, though others believe Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's "conditions" provide the antidote to a bad deal.

The Dome of the Rock (L) located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalemís Old City is seen during sunset May 29, 2015. Picture taken May 29, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX1F3SU

Israel-Palestine peace process 'kidnapped by religious zealots'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must each separate himself from the religious parties near him, or else the conflict will escalate into unprecedented levels.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu talks during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul, Turkey, October 14, 2015. Davutoglu told Reuters on Wednesday some of the suspects in a suicide bombing that killed 97 people in Ankara had spent months in Syria and that they could be linked to Islamic State or to Kurdish militants. "We are working on (investigating) two terrorist organisations, Daesh (Islamic State) and PKK, because we have certain evidence regarding the suicide bombers having links with Daesh, but

Would you like your terror straight up or as a cocktail?

Turkey's Justice and Development Party hopes to boost its image by casting aspersions and creating terror conspiracies.

What's happening on Gaza-Israeli border?

Tensions have escalated along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, as Gazans head there daily to throw stones at Israeli soldiers, in parallel with the uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Iranian drug addicts prepare heroin for injection near the Zeytoun (olive) drug rehabilitation center in south Tehran February 23, 2004.The Zeytoun center is run by a former addict called 'Forouhar' who weaned himself off drugs in the [United States]. Senior police officers have recently estimated that the Islamic Republic has some two million addicts and their forces struggle to contend with huge consignments of drugs smuggled over the porous border with [Afghanistan].
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Tehran tries to make its addicts go to rehab

Iran's policy of forcibly transferring street addicts to government-run rehabilitation camps appears to falter.

A woman passes through concrete blocks that were placed by Israeli police last week, in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTS52BK

The truth about 'united' Jerusalem

Israeli center-left politicians are still forced to defend themselves from accusations of wanting to split Jerusalem, even though the Palestinian neighborhoods in question could be separated from the city without hurting the state.