Archives for November, 2020

An Iraqi woman stands at passport control as she waits to have her passport stamped at the Arar southern Iraqi border crossing with Saudi Arabia on November 11, 2009. A group of Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims left their homes in the city of Karbala to join an overland tour that will taken them to the Saudi holy city of Mecca where they will take part in the annual Hajj or pilgrimages. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq-Saudi border crossing reopens after 30 years

The Arar crossing has remained closed since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu makes a press statement at his party's headquarters in Ankara, on September 16, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Erdogan mum as mob boss threatens Turkey’s main opposition leader

In an open letter filled with obscenities and threats of physical violence, a prominent leader in Turkey's mafia accused Kemal Kilicdaroglu of treason in concert with Kurdish militants and foreign powers.

A picture taken during a guided tour organised by Egypt's State Information Service on February 11, 2020, shows Egyptian policemen at the entrance of the Tora prison in the Egyptian capital Cairo. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's secret police arrest second prominent human rights activist this week

Karim Ennarah is the third member of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights to be detained this year.

Greece, UAE sign political, defense agreements

The Greek prime minister's visit to the United Arab Emirates comes amid tensions both states have with Turkey.

Firsat Sofi (R), the governor of Arbil, gives mask to people to protect themselves against the coronavirus COVID-19, on June 4, 2020 in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Erbil governor dies of coronavirus; his 'legacy of service will endure,' PM Barzani says

Local and foreign offices praised the late governor and called his death a great loss for the KRG.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

A picture shows the seal of the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production bearing the initials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after they were disconnected at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on January, 20, 2014 as Iran halted production of 20 percent enriched uranium, marking the coming into force of an interim deal with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/IRNA/KAZEM GHANE (Photo credit should rea

Iran fed uranium gas to prohibited centrifuges at underground site, says UN

US President Donald Trump proposed attacking the site in a meeting with advisers last week.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, speaks during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez (out of frame), in Havana, on November 6, 2020. - Cuba and Iran's foreign ministers met in Havana on Friday to reinforce their mutual support in the face of crippling US sanctions. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s Zarif says Biden could lift Iran sanctions in no time

Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism about Joe Biden’s presidency, noting that Washington’s return to the Iran nuclear deal could take place without preconditions.

A man takes the temperature of worshippers ahead of the Friday prayer at Kocatepe Mosque on August 7, 2020, amid the crisis linked with the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish health experts warn new COVID-19 measures don’t go far enough

The Turkish government has introduced partial curfews and other measures to curbing rising COVID-19 cases in the country, while health experts call for a full lockdown and more transparency in pandemic data.

A picture taken on November 18, 2020 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows the Israel-Syria border, on November 18, 2020. - Israeli warplanes struck Syria Wednesday, hitting Iranian targets and killing 10 Syrian and foreign fighters in what the Israeli army called a retaliatory attack after explosive devices were found near one of its bases on the occupied Golan Heights. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel reportedly bombs southern Syria

Syrian opposition sources said the airstrikes targeted Iranian militias near the capital Damascus.

A jeep drives in a street flooded with open sewers and covered with scattered rubbish in Yemen's third city of Taez, on September 19, 2020. - Human Rights Watch warned of "deadly consequences" as a result of the obstruction of aid in war-torn Yemen, where the humanitarian effort has already been badly hit by the coronavirus crisis. Interviews with 35 humanitarian workers, 10 donor officials and 10 Yemeni health workers revealed a complex web of restrictions that hinder the flow of aid. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BA

Aid groups in Yemen say Houthi terror designation would deepen crisis

The Trump administration is weighing whether to designate the Iran-aligned rebel group as a foreign terrorist organization.

A Palestinian youth pushes an elderly man next to the Ibrahimi mosque (background), also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on August 7, 2020, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel advances plan for elevator at Tomb of the Patriarchs

The nongovernmental organization Emek Shaveh, however, is appealing against plans to build a path and an elevator at the entrance to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the Palestinian city of Hebron.

Russian peacekeepers patrol at a checkpoint near Shusha along the Goris-Stepanakert road on November 17, 2020. - The first civilians are driving through the six-kilometre Lachin corridor, which is Armenias sole land link with Nagorno-Karabakh following the Moscow-brokered peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed region. Safe passage of people and goods is ensured by Russian peacekeepers. (Photo by Andrey BORODULIN / AFP) (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Erdogan seeks fresh military mandate for Azerbaijan

Turkey’s government has obtained a broad parliamentary mandate for military deployment in Azerbaijan, signaling intentions beyond the joint cease-fire-monitoring center agreed with Russia.

Israel celebrates first visit of Bahrain foreign minister

Israel and Bahrain's foreign ministers met in Israel today as ties between the two countries warm at a rapid pace.

Egyptian actress Basma Hassan poses prior to walking the red carpet for the screening of the film "Mica", on the fourth day of 4th edition of the Gouna Film Festival, in El-Gouna, Egypt on October 26, 2020. (Photo by Ammar Abd Rabbo / El Gouna Film Festival / AFP) / XGTY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / EL GOUNA FILM FESTIVAL / AMMAR ABD RABBO - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of t

Egyptians blame film festival as virus rates rise

As a small number of attendees of the El-Gouna Film Festival report coming down with COVID-19, many Egyptians demanded that organizers Naguib and Samih Sawiris be held accountable.

TOPSHOT - Members of the Amhara militia, that combat alongside federal and regional forces against northern region of Tigray, ride on the back of a pick up truck in the city of Gondar, on 08 November 2020. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP) (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Ethiopian armed conflict may affect Nile Dam dispute

The armed conflict in Ethiopia could affect the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam file and slow down construction of the dam, which Egypt sees as a big threat to its water security.

This picture taken on November 17, 2019 shows the Malaysia-flagged oil tanker Bunga Kasturi sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal in the canal's central hub city of Ismailia on the 150th anniversary of the canal's inauguration. - One hundred and fifty years after the Suez Canal opened, the international waterway is hugely significant to the economy of modern-day Egypt, which nationalised it in 1956. The canal, dug in the 19th century using "rudimentary tools" and which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, w

Suez Canal reduces fees, will add art for cruise ships

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority has reduced transit fees for cruise ships in a bid to attract more traffic and boost the country’s sagging tourism sector.