Archives for July, 2020

Iraq’s government says families of nearly 560 killed in protests to be compensated

The Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of three members of the Iraqi security forces it said were responsible for two protester deaths overnight Sunday.

Kuwait to allow international travel again, but not from everywhere

Kuwait will allow citizens and residents to travel to and from the country starting Saturday, but people from India, Iran and some other nations will still not be allowed to enter.

Torture on the rise in Erdogan’s Turkey

Reports of human rights atrocities in Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey are growing, with victims speaking out on forced disappearances and murder.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan displays an banknote of the old Turkish Lira at a news conference in Ankara October 3, 2008. Turkey will return to its old currency, the Turkish Lira, on January 1, after a major money reform four years ago that saw the introduction of the New Turkish Lira. The banner in the background reads "The Turkish lira is coming". AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s lira slides as Central Bank raises inflation forecast

Despite state bank efforts to bolster Turkey’s currency, the lira fell to its lowest point since May against the dollar this week, prompting fears of a renewed currency crisis.

An Iraqi policeman, wearing a protective mask and gloves due to the COVID-19 pandemic, stands by a water sprinkler on a hot summer day in Baghdad on July 7, 2020. (Photo by SABAH ARAR / AFP) (Photo by SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqis face record-breaking heat, electricity cuts

Protests against the government and frequent power outages are continuing amid Iraq's highest temperatures on record.

MANAMA, BAHRAIN - NOVEMBER 25: Buildings are under construction to accommodate the influx of business as the banking industry continues to grow November 25,2002 in Manama, Bahrain. The country is the home port for the United States Navy's 5th Fleet, the battle group that patrols the Gulf. The kingdom is a crucial link in any war with Iraq. The Navy has had a base there since 1948. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Bahrain to allow private employers to hire foreigners after four-month suspension

Beginning Aug. 9, employers in the private sector can resume hiring workers from abroad.

Leader of the Italy's populist Five Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, gives a speech on March 1, 2018, in Rome, as he present his would-be cabinet team ahead of elections on March 4.
The 5-Star Movement has named its team of ministers if it is asked to form a government after March 4 general election, an unusual move aimed at stealing a march on its rivals and showing voters it is ready for power. / AFP PHOTO / Filippo MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, Italy talk economic ties in videoconference

The latest sign of friendship between Turkey and Italy comes amid otherwise tense Turkey-Europe relations, largely due to Turkey's plan to drill in Greek and Cypriot waters.

Iran Health Ministry says COVID-19 deaths are higher than reported

Iran’s deputy health minister warned that the actual numbers of deaths from the coronavirus are higher than what the public is being told.

A picture shows a residential building, damaged during the 14 months of fighting between the UN recognized Government of National Union (GNA) and Marshal Khalifa Haftar, in a southern neighbourhood in the capital Tripoli on July 9, 2020. - The battle for Tripoli has created devastation in the industrial zones and suburbs around the capital, where small and medium entreprises have been badly damaged. In post-Kadhafi Libya, young and vibrant entrepreneurs are trying to make a difference despite the mammoth ch

Libya’s ground fighting leads to surge in civilian casualties: UN

Between April and June, more than 100 civilians were killed and over 250 were injured due to an escalation in ground fighting and by explosive remnants and airstrikes.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 29: In this photo illustration, social media apps are seen on a mobile phone on July 29, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's parliament passed a new law Wednesday, to regulate social media content. The law will require foreign social media companies to have an appointed Turkish-based representative to deal with any concerns authorities have over content. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Is it time for Turks to bid farewell to YouTube, Twitter, Netflix?

Social media is already considered a right in Turkey, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new social media censorship bill is likely to increase participation on a multitude of platforms.

Hezbollah, Israel jostle in Syria, Lebanon

Conflict between Israel on the one hand and Iran and Hezbollah on the other have been playing out this month in Syria and Lebanon.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 20: The golden Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine dominates the Temple Mount on which it stands, and at right, the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine October 20, 2005 in this aerial view of Jerusalem's Old City. The picture is taken facing east. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)

Israeli worshipers storm police barricades at Western Wall

More than the 1,000 visitors permitted to visit the Western Wall showed up on the fasting day of Tisha B’Av, leading to scuffles and removal by police.

Egyptian designer creates virtual runway for fashionistas at home

COVID-19 restrictions led Egyptian fashion designer Farida Temraz told put on an online fashion show July 20, a first for Egypt.

Former Iraqi insurgents, members of the Sunni Anbar Awakening, guard a meeting between Sunni and Shiite tribe leaders and clerics in al-Duwanem, southwest of Baghdad, 25 September 2007. The aim of the meeting is to bring back life to the town after it was cleared from al-Qaeda. The formation of the Sahwat al-Anbar, or Anbar Awakening, the grouping of Anbari tribes and former insurgents opposed to Al-Qaeda, traces back to last year, when Al-Qaeda in Iraq conducted its campaign of murder and intimidation thro

Iraqi lawmaker calls for arming tribes amid attacks on Sunni communities

As several Islamic State attacks in Sunni provinces took out local commanders and a community leader in July, a lawmaker from Salahhuddin province has called for the arming of tribes in his region.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - JULY 11: Israeli Protester holds a fake bill with a photo of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she protests against the Government's economy response to the cororna virus crisis on July 11, 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following a rise in the cases of COVID-19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered many businesses to shut, causing people to protest about a perceived mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and to call for the compensation promised by the gover

Neo-liberal Netanyahu turning socialist

On the backdrop of the deepening economic crisis and loss of popularity, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abandons his free market vision in favor of handouts to all Israeli citizens.

Egyptian judge Mohamed Shirin Fahmi (C) reads out a verdict and sentence as he presides over the retrial of members of the Muslim Brotherhood on charges of espionage with the Palestinian group Hamas at the Tora courthouse complex in southeastern Cairo on September 11, 2019. - An Egyptian court on September 11 sentenced senior Muslim Brotherhood figures to life, a judicial source said. The defendants included the Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater who were both handed life sent

Filmed confessions of Brotherhood members stir controversy

Rights lawyers are demanding Egypt’s Ministry of Interior to be held liable after releasing videos of suspects involved in an alleged Muslim Brotherhood plan to undermine the state’s security.