Archives for July, 2017

An Iranian woman uses a mobile phone as a bank clerk proceeds her request at the Export Development Bank of Iran in the capital Tehran on July 27, 2015. Iran's central bank chief said that Iran has assets of $29 billion in overseas banks that could be unlocked under a nuclear deal struck on July 14, far less than reported estimates of over $100 billion. AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Without reforms, Iranian banking crisis looms

As he prepares to begin his second term, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is faced with the prospect of a major banking crisis.

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

Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT) - RTR24RIO

Iranian MPs request to visit imprisoned opposition leader

After news that Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi are reportedly suffering from serious illnesses, some are calling for their release.

Pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers walk with placards in Kurdish and Turkish during a protest against a state crackdown, which has seen dozens of lawmakers and mayors jailed over suspected links to militant separatists, in Diyarbakir, Turkey July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX3CYDA

Turkish parliament expels more pro-Kurdish lawmakers in absentia

Turkey has stripped two more pro-Kurdish lawmakers of their seats in its ever-widening dragnet as pro-Kurdish politicians and their supporters take to the streets of Diyarbakir.

Israeli, Turkish chefs hope food can bridge divide

For Israeli food blogger David Dudi Califa, a victim of the IS attack in Istanbul a year ago, the best reply to terrorism is to cook with love.

A Peshmerga fighter stands next graffiti of the Islamic State (IS) group flag on a wall in Zummar city in the northern Iraqi Governorate of Nineveh on December 18, 2014, as they continue to battle Islamic State group fighters near the border with Syria. Kurdish forces backed up by US-led warplanes have recaptured a large area in Iraq near the Syrian border in an offensive this week against Islamic State jihadists, a US commander said. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/

Arab Sunni areas of Iraq see demands to join Kurdistan Region

The secessionist wing in Iraqi Kurdistan is working on using demands from some Sunni Arabs to join the region to support the upcoming referendum and independence.

A Yazidi boy, twelve year-old Imad Tammo rescued from Islamic State militants by the Iraqi army, is seen in Sina neighbourhood outside of Duhok, Iraq July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX3CVCQ

Yazidi boys forced to fight for IS still need psychological help

Hundreds of Yazidi boys indoctrinated by the Islamic State have managed to escape, but without professional treatment, their trauma continues.

Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a meeting with party members at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 30, 2017. / AFP / MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Knesset’s summer session ends in disgrace

A vicious debate in the Knesset over the nationality bill guarantees further turbulence into the fall.

People read the newspapers with cover stories of Osama bin Laden, in Riyadh, May 3, 2011. Bin Laden was killed in a U.S. special forces assault on a Pakistani compound, then quickly buried at sea, in a dramatic end to the long manhunt for the al Qaeda leader who had been the guiding star of global terrorism. REUTERS/Mohammed Mashhor (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: SOCIETY MEDIA) - RTR2LXUQ

Al-Qaeda strikes back

Al-Qaeda's attempted assassination of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in 2009 appears to have ultimately brought the prince down in 2017.

Egyptians shout solgans against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the funeral of Syed Tafshan, who died in clashes with residents of the Nile island of al-Warraq island, when security forces attempted to demolish illegal buildings, in the south of Cairo, Egypt July 16, 2017. Picture taken July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX3C1PO

Following deadly clashes, Nile island residents keep up fight against evictions

The residents of al-Warraq island in Cairo woke up July 16 to see police and army forces implementing a government decision to remove all unlicensed buildings and illegal use of state-owned land.

Palestinian men pray outside the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3CYQ1

Fatah leverages Temple Mount crisis to confront Israel

Israel is concerned over Fatah officials' call for continued mass protests stemming from recent events at the Temple Mount.

Palestinian Christians, Muslims come together over Al-Aqsa protests

Palestinian Christians are participating alongside Muslims in demonstrations and sit-ins in Jerusalem in a show of solidarity for their cause.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem July 23, 2017. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX3CK7R

Netanyahu's power drunk government

Instead of listening to Israel’s security experts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps provoking the Palestinians and escalating tensions.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX3CVT2

Visiting Lebanon PM seeks to temper Washington’s anti-Hezbollah zeal

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is fighting back against aid cuts and new sanctions.

A cleric speaks on his mobile phone on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72O

Women gain foothold at Iran's seminaries

In Iran, institutional change in favor of women’s participation at seminaries is moving ahead at an exceptional pace.

Turks savor small doses of heartwarming news

Though Turkey's various crises continue to bubble, the recent news wasn't all bad.

Pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers hold placards in Kurdish and Turkish during a protest against a state crackdown, which has seen dozens of lawmakers and mayors jailed over suspected links to militant separatists, in Diyarbakir, Turkey July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX3CYCO

Turkey’s Kurdish movement seeks to mobilize street protests

Turkey’s main Kurdish political movement has called for street protests against government oppression but faced a stiff police blockade on the first day of the initiative.