Archives for October, 2020

Staff at Iraqi forensics lab Medico-Legal Directorate in eastern Baghdad inspect samples on June 19, 2019. - The bones, recently exhumed from mass graves in the Yazidi stronghold of Sinjar in northwest Iraq, will be compared with blood samples from surviving members of the community to help determine the fates of those still missing after the Islamic State group's 2014 sweep across their villages. Entire families were massacred, boys recruited to fight and women and girls forced into "sex slavery" in what t

Neglected Yazidi mass graves finally exhumed in Iraq

Six months after the exhumation of the last Yazidi mass graves, those of the Yazidi mothers are being exhumed in Sinjar, which contain over 80 mass graves.

An Arab Israeli woman holds a child casting her vote in a ballot box during the country's parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Arab city of Tamra in northern Israel on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

New initiative in Israel for Jewish-Arab party

Center-left politicians and former Knesset members are advancing an initiative for a Jewish-Arab party.

Benny Gantz (C), Israel's Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister, receives US Defense Secretary Mark Esper (2nd-R) and his wife Leah (R), all mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod on October 29, 2020. (Photo by Paul HANDLEY / AFP) (Photo by PAUL HANDLEY/AFP via Getty Images)

After meeting Esper, Gantz says US committed to Israel’s security

It took three meetings between US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz to convince the latter to drop his opposition to the F-35 sale to the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Pentagon chief visits Israel, Bahrain with little fanfare

The quiet visit came less than a week after the defense secretary said the United States would like to see regional security cooperation with Israel to deter Iran.

US sells seized Iranian fuel, seeks forfeiture of missiles

The United States has sold and delivered the 1.1 million barrels of Iranian oil seized from four Venezuela-bound vessels in August.

Another mass grave discovered in Libya's Tarhuna

Libya's Tripoli-based government has issued arrest warrants for the Kaniyat militia that long controlled Tarhuna.

Tunisia implements new restrictions as virus cases soar

The North African country is experiencing an outbreak of the coronavirus after relatively low cases earlier in the year.

IN FLIGHT, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 08: An F-35B combat aircraft from the United States Marine Corp refuels from an RAF Voyager aircraft over the North Sea on October 08, 2020 in flight, above Scotland. The first air-to-air refuelling of F-35Bs from the newly-formed Carrier Strike Group took place as part of Operation Joint Warrior. Flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, the RAF, RN and USMC Pilots (USofA) were demonstrating the operational capabilities of NATO and the UK for current and future threats. Operation Joint

Intel: Trump administration notifies Congress of proposed F-35 sale to UAE

Lawmakers have introduced legislation intended to ensure the sale does not eclipse Israel's regional military edge.

United Arab Emirates

French coroners carry the second body of one of the three people killed at the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Basilica in Nice, southern France, on October 29, 2020 after a knife-wielding man slitted the throat of at least one of the victims, in what officials are treating as the latest jihadist attack to rock the country. - The assailant, who was shot and wounded by police, was identified as Brahim Aouissaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian migrant who arrived in Italy in late September and later travelled to France,

Turkey joins chorus of condemnation of Nice murders

After three people were killed by a suspected Islamist extremist in France’s coastal city of Nice, Turkey's president took a break from his row with Paris to condemn the violence.

A picture taken from a distance shows the French consulate in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on October 29, 2020. - A Saudi citizen wounded a guard in a knife attack at the French consulate in Jeddah today, officials said, as France faces growing anger over satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The assault follows another knife attack at a church in the French city of Nice that left three people dead and several others wounded, in what authorities are treating as the latest jihadist attack to rock t

Man stabs guard at French Consulate in Saudi Arabia

The nonfatal attack came the same day as the murder of three people in Nice, France, as tensions soar between France and much of the Muslim world.

Iranian diabetic patients dig for vital medicines amid corruption

The plight of Iranian diabetic patients has entered the public sphere as a shortage of vital insulin pens threatens their lives, a crisis authorities blame on US sanctions. The patients, however, link it to domestic corruption.

Jerusalem-born Americans can now list 'Israel' on passports

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that US citizens born in Jerusalem can now elect to list "Israel" as their birthplace on consular documents.

Iran tries to mediate cease-fire between Azerbaijan, Armenia

The fighting on Iran’s northwestern border has begun to alarm officials who are attempting to mediate a cease-fire between the two sides.

This picture taken on October 26, 2020 in Istanbul shows a French car Renault in the Istiklal street. - Turkish President joined calls for a boycott of French goods, on October 26, 2020, ramping up a standoff between France and Muslim countries over Islam and freedom of speech. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Erdogan’s boycott call against France more grandstanding than economic threat

The pressing economic grievances of the Turkish public and deep-rooted business links with France are likely to far outweigh any Turkish enthusiasm to boycott French goods.

A man drives a group of pupils to school in al-Qaim in the Iraqi Anbar province, opposite Albu Kamal in Syria's Deir Ezzor region, on November 13, 2018. - Iraqi troops have reinforced their positions along the porous frontier with neighbouring war-torn Syria, fearing a spillover from clashes there between the Islamic State (IS) group and US-backed forces. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's western Anbar province getting back on its feet, eyeing autonomy

Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province has in recent months completed a number of infrastructure works in the hope of attracting more investment as the US troops' presence winds down, amid debate over the possibility of carving out an autonomous region.

Syrians take part in the funeral of 10 fighters with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham rebel faction in Syria, in the northwestern city of Idlib, on October 26, 2020, following their death in a Russian air strike. - Air strikes by Syrian regime ally Russia killed 78 fighters from the turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction when they targeted a training camp in the Jabal Duwayli area in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI/AF

Are attacks on Syrian opposition signal from Moscow to Ankara?

As Turkey conducts simultaneous campaigns in different theaters — including assistance to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict — Moscow must be tempted to exploit the turbulence to extract concessions from Ankara.