Archives for December, 2020

Germany and Finland repatriate children from Syria's al-Hol camp

There have been several repatriations of people from the camp for Islamic State families this year.

US brings new charges in Lockerbie bombing case

A former Libyan intelligence officer was charged in relation to the airplane bombing after current Libyan officials provided information to the US Department of Justice.

Saudi passengers observe a safe distance as they wait their fligts at terminal 5 in the King Fahad International Airport, designated for domestic flights, in the capital Riyadh on May 31, 2020, after authorities lifted the ban on flights within the country. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia pauses international umrah, flights over new coronavirus strain

The kingdom has also suspended entry through its land and seaports for one week.

The El Al Boeing 737 aircraft carrying the Israeli delegation lands at the Bahrain International Airport on October 18, 2020, to formalise US-brokered normalisation deal between the two states. - Israel and Bahrain will officially establish diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama, an Israeli official said, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)

El Al to make first flight from Israel to Morocco

The Israeli airline will take a US-Israeli delegation from Tel Aviv to Rabat following Israel and Morocco agreeing to establish relations.

Iran suspends flights from UK after new virus strain emerges

Iranian officials have grown alarmed over the new strain of the coronavirus that appears much more contagious.

Can 'experimental marriage' decrease divorce rate in Egypt?

An Egyptian lawyer proposed an initiative for couples in Egypt to sign a contract with a set of rules to avoid quarrels that lead to divorce.

A demonstrator holds a picture of HDP lawmaker Leyla Guven during a protest against the detention of three opposition lawmakers, in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 6, 2020. - Turkish police on June 4, 2020 detained three opposition lawmakers after the parliament stripped them of their jobs, triggering furious charges that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is seeking to further consolidate authoritarian rule. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey sentences former opposition MP to 22 years in prison

A Turkish court Monday sentenced Leyla Guven, a deputy with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who was stripped of her parliamentary seat and legal immunity in June, to more than 22 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.

A Hanukkah menorah is seen as Israeli entrepreneurs celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah for the first time at a hotel in Dubai on December 10, 2020. - Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem after the 165 BC Jewish victory over the Hellenistic Seleucid armies of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, who had outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered Jews to worship Greek gods and adopt their customs. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi returns from Emirates

Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef paid a historic visit this weekend to the United Arab Emirates, inviting several ministers to visit Jerusalem.

United Arab Emirates

International aid arrangement targets vulnerable Palestinians

A UN-backed humanitarian aid plan seeks to support 1.8 million Palestinians as a worsening coronavirus pandemic and settlement threat looms.

A picture taken on December 5, 2019, shows a general view of the headquarters of al-Jazeera Media Network, in the Qatari capital Doha. - Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has travelled a long and bumpy road from the early 2000s when it was best known for airing tapes of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. It now cultivates a loyal youth audience on social media alongside the satellite channels which have won it both acclaim and scorn. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty I

Al Jazeera journalists reportedly hacked with Israeli-made spyware

Thirty-six Al Jazeera staff members were targeted in an attack that some have blamed on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A member of the Iraqi security forces inspects the damage outside the Zawraa park in the capital Baghdad on November 18, 2020, after volley of rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital breaking a month-long truce on attacks against the US embassy. - According to the Iraqi military, four of the rockets landed in the high-security Green Zone, where the US embassy and other foreign missions are based. Another three rockets also hit other parts of Baghdad, killing one girl and wounding five civilians. All seven r

Rockets target US Embassy in Baghdad ahead of anniversary of Soleimani killing

At least one Iraqi civilian was injured in the strike, the US State Department said.

Co-chairmans of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Pervin Buldan (C-R) and Mithat Sancar (C-L) hold a press conference with their parliament members as they boycott the first sessiom of the Grand National Assembly's 27th term following the arrest of 82 people, including members of their party, outside the Parliament building in Ankara on October 1, 2020. - Turkish prosecutors on October 1 issued arrest warrants for 82 people, including a mayor and several former lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish H

Turkey’s Kurdish party target of tug of war between Islamists, ultra-nationalists

As Turkey's ruling party and its nationalist ally face a deeper legitimacy crisis, pressure on Kurdish politics is intensifying.

Members of the Syrian government forces stand guard at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Deir Ezzor on September 10, 2017, as they continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across Deir Ezzor province. / AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-Iran militias in Syria soak merchants for cash at checkpoints

The checkpoints of the Syrian regime and the pro-Iranian militias along the main road between Deir-ez-Zor and al-Bukamal are imposing royalties on merchants and local residents in their areas of control.

Gideon Saar (C), Israeli Member of Knesset for Likud, accompanied by his wife Geula Even Saar (L), leave a polling station after casting his ballot during a primary election vote to elect the party chairman, in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, on December 26, 2019. - Saar is the only challenger for incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Likud party leadership ahead of the scheduled general elections in 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-settler Saar: the new hope of Israel's center-left

Likud-rebel Gideon Saar is against a Palestinian state and is close to the ultra-Orthodox politicians, yet voters from the center-left camp support him in the polls.

Iraqi banks undertake overdue reforms

Iraqi banks have undertaken reforms, coinciding with the Iraqi government's measures to reform the economy.

A man is pictured in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 20, 2020 after it was re-opened for prayers following strict COVID-19 restrtictions. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian spirits sag as coronavirus steals Christmas

Taybeh, the only village in Palestine where the entire population is Christian, is having a dreary holiday season with residents confined at home due to the pandemic.