Archives for January, 2021

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry after giving a joint statement prior to their meeting at his Jerusalem office on July 10, 2016.
Shoukry met Netanyahu in Jerusalem for talks on reviving peace efforts with the Palestinians, in the first such visit in nearly a decade and the latest sign of warming ties.

/ AFP / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel quiet as Egypt advances talks with Palestinians

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has not commented publicly about speaking with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, nor on the French-Egyptian initiative for a mini international peace conference.

This picture taken on April 13, 2020 shows a view of the golden sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun (reigned between 1342-1325 BC) as it lies for restoration at the restoration lab of the newly-built Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt approves Pharaonic exhibition in 5 US, European cities

Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus around the world, Egypt is trying to revive the tourism sector by planning to take remarkable archaeological pieces on a tour around five prominent cities in Europe and the United States.

A Palestinian man wearing a protective face mask as a preventive measure against the nivid coronavirus, walks inside a closed wedding venue in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 22, 2020. - Authorities in Gaza today confirmed the first two cases of novel coronavirus, identifying them as Palestinians who had travelled to Pakistan and were being held in quarantine since their return.
The United Nations has warned that a COVID-19 outbreak in Gaza could be disastrous, given the high poverty rates and

2020 was a bad year for Gaza hotel-turned quarantine centers

Hotels in the Gaza Strip were unable to host New Year's Eve parties as they turned into quarantine centers due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has led them to incur great losses that bode ill for the sector.

Journalists watch the arrival of the Qatar envoy ahead of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the city of al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on January 5, 2021. - Saudi Arabia will reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar, US and Kuwaiti officials said, a major step towards ending a diplomatic rift that has seen Riyadh lead an alliance isolating Doha. The bombshell announcement came on the eve of GCC annual summit in the northwestern Saudi Arabian city of Al-Ula, where the dispute was already

Gulf unity deal further isolates Iran

Healing the Gulf Cooperation Council rift is a parting gift for Trump and a welcome gift for Biden in dealing with the Islamic Republic.

Intel: Biden to pick Brett McGurk for top White House Middle East role

Picking the former defeat-ISIS envoy to oversee US Middle East policy sends a strong signal to Turkey.

Turkey calls for 'common sense' amid post-election unrest in US

Turkish state media reported the government's response to the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

Iran’s Rouhani demands justice for downed plane victims

Despite yearlong persistent calls from families of the victims, Iran has not yet put to public trial those who shot down the Ukrainian airliner.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) review a guard of honor during an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on August 7, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine deports suspected Gulen supporters to Turkey

Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced the deportation Wednesday of two suspects from Ukraine over alleged ties to a terror group in what human rights advocates condemn as illegal renditions without due process.

A Sudanese man waves his national flag as he takes part in a demonstration called for by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) to denounce the July 29 Al-Obeid killings, in the capital Khartoum on August 1, 2019. - Thousands of Sudanese demonstrators rallied on August 1 against the killing of four students, as protest leaders and ruling generals were set to resume talks to thrash out remaining issues on transitioning to civilian rule. Tragedy struck Al-Obeid on July 29 when four high school students

Sudan joins Abraham Accords to recognize Israel

The United States will help cover Sudan's more than $1 billion in arrears to the World Bank in exchange.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem on December 22, 2020. (Photo by Yonathan SINDEL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YONATHAN SINDEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s Netanyahu seeks another delay in corruption trial

Lawyers for the prime minister say the latest coronavirus lockdown in Israel has left them unable to prepare for next week's hearing.

Uighurs living in Turkey stage a demonstration to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly ethnic unrests of 1997 in Gulja, China's far-western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, in Ankara on February 5, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Erdogan’s China woes: the vaccine and the Uighurs

Turkey’s reliance on China for a COVID-19 vaccine has stirred anxiety in nationalist and Islamist quarters that Ankara might give concessions on the Uighur issue in return.

An Iranian woman wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, walks on a street in the capital Tehran, on December 30, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran reports first case of new COVID-19 strain

The infected individual reportedly returned from the United Kingdom recently.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: One of the control towers stands at LaGuardia Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it is delaying flights into multiple airports due to staffing concerns related the government shutdown on January 25, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. After unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendants recently warned of a growing concern for the safety of both traveling passengers and employees due to the continued governm

Air traffic controllers in New York receive 9/11-like threat to US Capitol over Soleimani killing

A digitized voice warned via radio that an airplane would hit the US Capitol on Wednesday.

A picture obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim on January 4, 2021, shows the South Korean-flagged tanker being escorted by Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy after being seized in the Gulf. - "A Korean ship was seized in Persian Gulf waters by the Revolutionary Guard's navy and transferred to our country's ports," Fars news agency said without naming the vessel. "This tanker had a South Korea flag and was seized over oil pollution and environmental hazards," it added. (Photo by - / TASNIM NEWS

South Korean delegation heads to Iran over seized ship

Iranian forces detained the 20-member crew of a South Korean-flagged oil tanker that Iran's IRGC said had violated environmental protocols.

In this picture taken on December 25, 2020 a flag of the European Union can be seen fluttering outside the European commission headquarters in Brussels. (Photo by François WALSCHAERTS / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS/AFP via Getty Images)

European Union to 'redouble efforts' to revive Iran nuclear deal

The announcement follows Iran ramping up uranium enrichment and comes in the waning days of US President Donald Trump's administration, as incoming President Joe Biden has raised the possibility of reentering the deal.

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PA shuts down Palestinian Airlines, shuttering hopes for airport

The Palestinian Authority decides to shut down the Palestinian Airlines, which is seen as a symbol of sovereignty, citing financial burdens and maintenance costs of its only two aircrafts.