Archives for April, 2018

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 10: Mohsen Rezaei, a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander and two-time presidential candidate (in uniform), stands during Friday Prayers during a Qods (Jerusalem) Day rally, an annual pro-Palestinian event, in Tehran, Iran, on July 10, 2015. Rally-goers turned out in cities across Iran, chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," as Iran negotiates the final rounds of a nuclear deal with six world powers in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

Ex-IRGC chief: Iran to leave nuclear weapons treaty if US ditches deal

Former military commander Mohsen Rezaei has said that if the United States reneges on the nuclear deal, Iran could exit the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Participants attend a round table with international delegations at a conference to discuss ways of cutting funding to groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris, France, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool - RC1775AF2BE0

Iraq targets terrorism financing with blacklist

Iraq has gained international support for its efforts to cut terror funding sources as it gathers data on companies and individuals for inclusion in the UN's sanctions list.

A Palestinian demonstrator holds placard during a protest against a promise by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to re-locate U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, in the West Bank near Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC1261704EA0

Why US must also open East Jerusalem embassy

Opening a US Embassy in Jerusalem could actually advance peace, if it is accompanied by the opening of a US Embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem.

TOPSHOT - Syrian onlookers gather around rescue teams clearing the rubble in the morning of April 10, 2018 at the site of an explosion of unknown origin which wrecked a multi-storey building the previous night in the war-battered country's northwestern city of Idlib.
The cause of the explosion in the jihadist-held city, which killed more than a ten people and wounded 80, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, was not immediately clear. / AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KAD

Assad's forces expected to move on to Idlib

The Syrian regime appears ready to target militants in Idlib, but the area is also filled with civilians who have fled there to escape the violence in so many other parts of the country.

Birds fly on a foggy day near the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem's Old City on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, Jerusalem, January 2, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC1FAC4E2C00

Will Israel accept UAE donations to East Jerusalem?

Former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan appears to have caught Israel by surprise with an announcement of a $70 million donation from the UAE for the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.

United Arab Emirates

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, speaks to journalists during a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 21, 2018. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Talk of PLO restructuring emerges ahead of top Palestinian council meeting

The PLO is set to ax staff and departments with duplicates in the Palestinian government, but this economic measure seems to carry a political message.

A supporter holds a portrait of Selahattin Demirtas, detained leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 8, 2016, in the absence of Demirtas and other HDP lawmakers who were jailed after refusing to give testimony in a probe linked to "terrorist propaganda". REUTERS/Umit Bektas - D1BEULQHGVAA

Turkey's top Kurdish politician to run for president from behind bars

Turkish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party is nominating its jailed former leader Selahattin Demirtas as its candidate in the upcoming snap elections.

An Iranian woman watches the six presidential candidates
for Iran's elections attending a live debate on state TV in Tehran on April 28, 2017.
Iran will air live debates on state television ahead of May's presidential election, the interior ministry, reversing a decision to show recorded versions that had triggered an outcry. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's TV censors draw ridicule, protests

The Iranian state broadcaster’s censorship style reached new heights of ridicule and criticism when it blurred an Italian soccer team's logo.

Can new startup law revitalize Tunisia’s economy?

Tunisia’s startup scene has grown in the past several years, but some question whether a new law aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs can have a significant impact amid numerous economic woes.

Iran lashes out at US-French dealmaking

Iran lashes out at Trump and Macron’s floating of the idea of a “new deal” that will address the future of the Iranian nuclear program and other issues.

Members from Jewish religious parties attend a session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem December 15, 2010. The session was held to debate a bill that if passed into law, would allow the state to certify the validity of all conversions to Judaism conducted by the Israeli army without the Chief Rabbinate's approval. The bill passed its preliminary reading on Wednesday. The political debate over the legislation underscored divisions on religious issues within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya

Netanyahu on collision course with US Jews over conversion to Judaism

A special commission is proposing to limit the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s involvement in conversion to Judaism, establishing a special authority for this issue.

Egypt enraged at Netanyahu over Gaza

Egypt blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for sparking the latest escalation on the Gaza border by sabotaging Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

Egypt's extended state of emergency raises eyebrows, questions

Experts examine whether Egypt's repeated renewal of a state of emergency is legal, or even necessary.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SARAH BENHAIDA
A Palestinian man works in front of a laptops at Unit One start up in Gaza City, on April 18, 2015. Israel controls all of Gaza's cable communications which are routed through the Jewish state, and also controls the bandwidth of its Internet lines, meaning that it has the technical ability to completely sever the territory's digital link to the rest of the world. In the perpetually-connected world of technology, having electricity is also crucial but far from certain

Secrecy behind Palestinian cybercrimes law stirs suspicion

Civil society organizations are wondering why the government will not show them the final changes to a draft cybercrimes law expected to be ratified within days.

Ankara backtracks on freedom to commemorate Armenian murders

The 2018 commemoration of the Armenian massacres was memorable for the ban on using the word "genocide" and a big drop in attendance.

Israel's activists turn food waste into tasty meals

With 33% of all food produced annually in Israel ending up as waste, a number of organizations and volunteers are determined to repurpose it to feed the needy.