Archives for March, 2021

An elderly Palestinian man receives a shot of the Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in the West Bank city of Nablus on March 22, 2021. - Palestinian authorities started vaccinating the elderly and those with chronic illness. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian Authority ups COVID-19 vaccination drive

The PA has begun administering doses obtained through the World Health Organization and plans to receive more soon.

Mauritania's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed speaks during the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 27, 2018.

Mauritania resumes ties with Qatar following Gulf rift easing

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul in Istanbul on May 22, 2018. - Turkey's embattled currency, the lira, has hit new historic lows against the US dollar after Fitch ratings agency expressed concerns over the central bank's independence in the wake of comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Turkish markets rattled after surprise firing of central bank head

Turkey’s lira and main stock index slid about 9% Monday as markets reacted to the surprise removal of the nation’s central bank chief amid broader political turmoil.

Tunisian Egyptian feminist writer Nawal el Saadawi speaks during a radio show hosted by France Inter and daily newspaper Le Monde "8 mars, 8 femmes" (March 8, 8 women) on March 8, 2012 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / MARINA HELLI

Nawal el-Saadawi, renowned Egyptian writer, dies at 89

As a prominent Egyptian feminist, doctor and novelist who wrote more than 50 books on taboo social issues in a deeply conservative country, Saadawi fiercely campaigned for the end to the practice of female genital mutilation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) speaks during a press conference in the capital Riyadh on March 22, 2021, announcing an offer of a ceasefire with Yemen's Huthi rebels. - Saudi Arabia offered Yemen's Huthi rebels a "comprehensive" ceasefire, among a series of proposals aimed at ending a catastrophic six-year conflict. The proposals include "a comprehensive ceasefire across the country under the supervision of the United Nations", a government statement said. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

Intel: Saudi Arabia announces peace initiative to end Yemen war

Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan offered major concessions demanded by the Houthis in a bid to end the Yemen conflict.

A drone images shows Syrian demonstrators gathering during a protest in the village of Maaret al-Naasan in Syria's Idlib province on May 1, 2020, to protests against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, on a protest the previous day. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Several dead in northwest Syria fighting

Civilians were killed in both government and rebel territory on Sunday.

Women wearing face masks hold signs in Ankara, on August 5, 2020, during a demonstration to demand the government not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark treaty on preventing domestic violence. The protests were the biggest in recent weeks as anger grows over the rising number of women killed by men in the past decade since the Istanbul Convention. The treaty's official title is the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, agreed up

Biden calls Turkish exit from women’s treaty 'disheartening step backward'

The Biden administration has rebuked Turkey's "unwarranted" withdrawal from the landmark Istanbul Convention.

Washington Pulse

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Technion launches three nanosatellites

The Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and Israel Aerospace Industries sent three nanosatellites into space this morning.

The Iranian national flag is seen outside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters during the agency's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on March 1, 2021. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Iran's supreme leader says US promises on nuclear deal 'not reliable'

Iran’s supreme leader said the United States must first remove sanctions before Iran takes any steps in the nuclear deal.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu's fate rests on Arab votes

In the chaos of Israel's latest round of elections, the Arab vote could well decide who wins.

Smoke billows following a reported airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on March 7, 2021. - The Saudi-led military coalition mounted air strikes on Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital after it intercepted 10 drones launched by the Iran-backed rebels, state media reported. "The military operation targets Huthi military capabilities in Sanaa and a number of other provinces", the coalition was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia-led coalition ramps up airstrikes in Yemen after Houthi attacks

The United Nations said a grain port was bombed in Salif and six workers were wounded.

DONT USE - Gulf Pulse

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gives a press conference following a meeting with his Slovakian counterpart in Ankara, on March 16, 2021.

Blinken to hold bilateral talks with Turkish foreign minister at NATO meeting in Brussels

This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since US President Joe Biden took office.

Female voters, some mask-clad due to the coronavirus pandemic, wait before entering a polling station in El-Ayyat, during the first stage of the lower house elections, south of Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 24, 2020.

Egyptian women’s access to judiciary still limited

The Egyptian State Council approved the appointment of women as members to the council and the Public Prosecution office, in tandem with the launch of a social media campaign against a personal status draft law that activists say denies women’s rights to take control of their own decisions.

Salah Gosh and Kamal Hassan Ali

Will Egypt heed Sudan’s call to hand over fugitives linked to Bashir’s regime?

During a visit to Cairo, Sudan's prime minister asked Egyptian officials to extradite exiled Sudanese officials who worked with the Omar al-Bashir regime. Sudanese.

The tomb of Djed Amun-ef-ankh, a powerful businessman, is seen in the town of el-Bawity, Bahariya Oasis, 186 miles southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 24, 2016.

Importance of Egypt’s discovery of archaeological monastic buildings in Bahariya Oasis

Egypt announced a new archaeological discovery in the Bahariya Oasis with archaeological buildings dating back to the fifth and seventh centuries, where monks settled down.

An unmanned aerial vehicle carries e-commerce products as part of a demonstration performed by the companies who won the tender for this project, Hadera, Israel, March 17, 2021.

Israel to deploy drones on election day to facilitate voting by COVID-19 patients

The Central Elections Committee is putting in place several special measures, including drones, to ensure safe voting process for all Israelis, including those infected with the coronavirus.