Archives for February, 2021

Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks to reporters during a roundtable at the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC on April 16, 2019. - Kalin voiced hope that the United States would extend a waiver for Turkey on sanctions against buying oil from Iran. He also said that Turkey was explaining to the United States its purchase of a major arm system from Turkey, a decision that has rattled relations between the NATO allies. (Photo by Shaun TANDON / AFP) (Photo cred

Biden administration makes first call to Turkey

National security adviser Jake Sullivan ran through a panoply of regional issues in a call with his Turkish counterpart.

Members of the "Syrian National Army", an alliance of Turkey-backed rebel groups, ride in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in the town of Sarmin, about 8 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on February 24, 2020, as they take part in a military offensive on the village of Nayrab following an artillery barrage fired by Turkish forces. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, proxy fighters accused of 'illegally transferring' Syrians for prosecution

Human Rights Watch documented the transfer of at least 63 Syrians to Turkey for prosecution on charges including membership in a terrorist group.

merav michaeli 1 (002).jpg

Israeli Labor picks gender warrior Michaeli as its new leader

Polls indicate that the election of gender-equality activist Merav Michaeli to head the struggling labor party was a good pick.

Gaza counts Mamluk-era mosque among ancient treasures

Gaza’s venerable Al-Thafar Damri Mosque is a reminder of the prestigious history of the Islamic civilization during the Mamluk period.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY EMMY VARLEY Egyptian Hanna Fathy, an advocate of a biogas project in Egypt, inspects a solar panel installation on his rooftop in Cairo on November 20, 2009. In an attempt to help curb the city's stifling pollution and meet their energy needs too, a few Cairo families have begun to recycle waste -- now that the nation's pigs are gone -- by generating biogas from rubbish. AFP PHOTO/CRIS BOURONCLE (Photo credit should read CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt to begin project to convert sand into solar panels

Egypt signed with a Chinese company a cooperation protocol to locally manufacture sand-to-cell photovoltaic solar panels, in the first such project in the region.

Israel multiplies warning on renewing nuke deal with Iran

Two senior ministers, Tzachi Hanegbi and Yuval Steinitz, are warning against the United States pushing for a JCPOA-similar agreement with Iran.

PA begins virus vaccinations after receiving batch from Israel

The Palestinian Authority began vaccinating medical teams on Tuesday after the first batch of vaccines was delivered by Jerusalem.

Pentagon sends aircraft carrier Nimitz home from Middle East

The USS Nimitz spent more than 270 days at sea conducting exercises with the Indian navy and seeking to deter Iran from retaliating for last year's killing of Qasem Soleimani.

Turkish police clash with students as Bogazici protests near one-month mark

Turkish police cracked down on protests in Istanbul and Ankara, as demonstrations continued over the controversial appointment of a government-linked rector to head one of Turkey’s top universities.

Qatar announces new aid grant to Palestinians in Gaza

New assistance will help with electricity and alleviating poverty and will be delivered with Israeli coordination.

UAE ambassador confident US F-35 deal will be fulfilled

"You can't … take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more," Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said Monday.

United Arab Emirates

A Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) flag is pictured as Kurdish and Italian associations attend a rally against the visit of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on February 5, 2018 in Rome.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Pope Francis on February 5, with a protest ban imposed in central Rome as feelings run high over Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria. Nevertheless a sit-in protest by 200 people, organised by a Kurdish association in Italy, was scheduled to take pla

US-backed Syrian Kurdish unity talks to resume amid mounting distrust

Although talks are set to resume this week, the prospects of a Syrian Kurdish unity deal seem more elusive than ever, with plenty of sticking points threatening to sink the effort.

Youth unemployment reaches alarming level in Turkey

The unemployment rate among young people in Turkey is estimated to have reached about 40%, experts say, warning of social unrest and political repercussions.

This illustration picture shows social media applications logos from Linkedin, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter displayed on a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia on May 28, 2020. - Trump is expected to sign an executive order on May 28, 2020, after threatening to shutter social media platforms following Twitter's move to label two of his tweets misleading. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Twitter adds warning label to Turkish minister's anti-LGBT tweet

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu's tweet accused "LGBT perverts" protesting in Istanbul of disrespecting Islam.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. - The Iranian navy began a three-day exercise in the Sea of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz yesterday, deploying an array of warships, drones and missiles. One of the exercise's objectives is to devise "tactical offensive and defensive strategies for safeguarding the countr

Iran says crew of seized South Korean ship free to leave

Tehran says it made a "humanitarian decision" to release the sailors aboard a Korean ship it seized in the Persian Gulf, though the Hankuk Chemi will remain in Iran as an investigation and talks over oil funds withheld by Seoul continue.

A health worker displays a vial of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, in a vaccination centre for medical health workers, at the basketball court of Argentine club River Plate, bellow the grandstand of the Monumental stadium, in Buenos Aires on February 2, 2020. (Photo by Juan MABROMATA / AFP) (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehran to begin vaccinations as Iran remains divided over Russian shot

Iran’s president is hopeful that his country’s vaccination drive will kick off in the coming weeks despite growing criticism from the Iranian medical community against the Russian vaccine.