Archives for July, 2020

TOPSHOT - A picture taken on November 25, 2017, shows the Rawda mosque, roughly 40 kilometres west of the North Sinai capital of El-Arish, after a gun and bombing attack.
Armed attackers killed at least 235 worshippers in a bomb and gun assault on the packed mosque in Egypt's restive North Sinai province, in the country's deadliest attack in recent memory. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt kills 18 militants in foiled Sinai attack, army says

Two Egyptian military personnel died and four were wounded in an operation in the Sinai Peninsula July 21.

A sign marks directions to the check-in for Royal Jordanian Airlines on March 21, 2017 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Passengers traveling to the United States from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries will be prohibited from bringing laptops, tablets and other portable electronic devices on board with them when they fly. The nine airlines affected by the US ban are Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar A

Jordan resuming domestic flights out of largest airport

Jordan is planning to resume domestic flights and international flights next month.

Intel: Key senator mounts bid to force Trump to declassify report on Soleimani strike

The top Democrat on the Senate’s Middle East panel isn’t dropping the fight to force the Donald Trump administration to declassify the legal justification for the January strike that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.

UAE says prayers to be at home for upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday

Countries in the region are beginning to issue restrictions pertaining to COVID-19 and the holiday.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 10: People gather for evening prayers outside Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia on July 10, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's top administrative court ruled to annul a 1934 decree that turned the historic Hagia Sophia into a museum. The controversial ruling opens the way for the structure to be converted back into a mosque after 85 years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan handed over the iconic structure‚Äôs control to the country‚Äôs Religious Affairs Directorate following a court rulin

Is this the end of Turkish secularism?

Radical Islamist ideas are not only winning out in Turkey, but getting cheerful approval from the last remnants of the secular establishment.

Hezbollah says its soldier killed by Israeli airstrike in Syria

Hezbollah previously said it would respond to any deadly attacks of its soldiers in Syria by Israel.

East Mediterranean tensions flare as Turkey seeks leverage in maritime border talks

Surveying activities by a Turkish ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have put Greek forces on high alert as Ankara seeks leverage in regional maritime border disputes.

Qatar mandates testing, home quarantine for international travelers

The new requirements for travel come as Qatar continues its phased reopening of the economy.

TOPSHOT - Displaced Syrian women walk at a camp in Kafr Lusin village on the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, on March 10, 2020. - When protesters in March 2011 demanded their rights and regime change, they likely never imagined it would trigger a reaction that has led to the 21st century's biggest war. Nine years on, President Bashar al-Assad is still in power and there to stay, more than 380,000 people have died, dozens of towns and cities razed to the ground and half of the c

Women journalists in northwest Syria brave daily dangers

Syrian female journalists face challenges and abuse just for being women.

Netflix Turkey cancels new series with gay character after government pressure

Netflix Turkey's decision to cancel a series with a gay character due to government pressure indicates that LGBTI+ society and rights are increasingly coming into the government's crosshairs.

Qatar Airways sues Saudi Arabia, UAE, others over airspace closure

Qatar's flagship airline is seeking billions in damages from the 2017 diplomatic crisis.

What China-Iran deal means for Washington

China's reported multibillion economic and security deal with Iran could be a double-edged sword.

Members of the LGBT community hold a banner reading in Hebrew "A homophobic Racist Has to Quit" during a rally against Israel's Education Minister Rafi Peretz following his remarks on gay conversion therapy, in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on July 14, 2019. - Members of the LGBT community hold a banner reading in Hebrew "A homophobic Racist Has to Quiet" during a rally against Israel's Education Minister Rafi Peretz following his remarks on gay conversion therapy, in the Israeli coastal city of Tel

Knesset moves to outlaw conversion therapy in Israel

Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties are angry with their coalition allies in the Blue and White for supporting a bill criminalizing conversion therapy for homosexuals.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: (AFP-OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Crown Prince Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi in the Oval Office of the White House on May 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Shaikh Mohammad is on a two-day visit to the U.S. (Photo by Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

Intel: Trump, MBZ talk ridding Libya of proxy fighters

During a phone call Tuesday, the US president and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince discussed diffusing the Libyan crisis as a new battle looms in the strategic city of Sirte.

United Arab Emirates

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends by a video conference a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey on the topic of Syria, in Moscow on July 1, 2020. (Photo by Alexey DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran talks long-term partnership deal with Russia

To mitigate the impacts of the unrelenting US “maximum pressure” policy, Iran seems to be seeking solutions in clinching long-term partnership deals with allies.

Demonstrators block a road during a protest in the southern city of Basra on July 14, 2020, as protesters gathered to denounce the lack of electricity and services. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's supreme leader to Iraqi PM: Iran does not interfere in Iraq-US relations

During Iraqi prime minister's trip to Iran, the two countries emphasized on building a constructive relationship based on mutual respect and national interests.