Archives for May, 2023

An Iraqi oil employee checks pipelines at the Bai Hassan oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk in 2017

Iraq to resume Kurdish oil exports to Turkey Saturday: statement

Agence France-Presse

Sudan

Sudan's warring sides reach deal in Saudi to protect civilians, humanitarian aid

A senior Biden administration official warned on Wednesday that Washington may employ economic sanctions against Sudan's warring parties if they violate the humanitarian framework.

The US Justice Department has announced that it seized 13 web domains controlled by Lebanon's Hezbollah

US seizes 13 Hezbollah web domains

Agence France-Presse

Tlaib

US Congresswoman Tlaib holds event for Palestinian Nakba Day in Senate

The top Republican in the House tried to cancel the event to commemorate the Palestinian displacement of 1948, but Senator Bernie Sanders stepped in to help the outspoken congresswoman.

: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the opening ceremony of the Turkstream Gas Pipeline Project on January 08, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. The TurkStream project comprises two underwater gas lines, each with an annual capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters. Gas will initially flow to Turkey, while a combination of existing and new pipelines will subsequently take supplies via Bulgaria to Serbia and then on to Hungary. Russia is building TurkStream and doubling

Turkey's Kilicdaroglu accuses Russia of creating 'deepfakes' against opposition

The comments from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main challenger come amid increasing scrutiny by the opposition of the current government's ties with Moscow.

A man walks past a shop selling replicas of Ancient Egyptian statuettes, figurines, and canopic jars at the Khan el-Khalili bazaar area in Egypt's capital Cairo on June 3, 2021. - Pyramids, Tutankhamun masks, Nefertiti busts -- Egypt's souvenir craftspeople are pinning their hopes on a new lease of life, after tourism was battered by the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt: Leading textile executive pushes for low-interest loans to save industry

Textile manufacturing is Egypt’s second-largest industry, but it was severely impacted by the pandemic and now the country’s economic downturn.

An aerial picture shows people visiting the "Martyrs Cemetery" which was opened at the beginning of the Yemen conflict in the city of Taez on May 6, 2023. - Yemen has been shattered by a nearly-decade-long civil war which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and plunged the country into a severe humanitarian crisis. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran still smuggling weapons to Yemen despite Saudi deal, US says

US Special Envoy Tim Lenderking said Washington remains concerned by Tehran's continued military support for the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Workers at the Northern Oil Company carry out maintenance work at the pumping station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Iraq asks Turkey to resume oil exports as firms in Kurdistan region scale back

Turkey has still yet to restart oil flows from northern Iraq following a controversial court ruling despite efforts by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. The stoppage is threatening the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector.

A man in Tehran holds a local newspaper reporting on its front page the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties.

Iranian minister in Saudi Arabia to push piecemeal reconciliation

While the visit marked the first by an Iranian minister following the recent rapprochement deal, the two rivals seem to have missed the agreed-upon timeframe to reopen their embassies.

Iranians burn a Swedish flag during a protest in Tehran on January 27, 2023 against the burning of a Koran in Stockholm. - Swedish-Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a copy of the Muslim holy book in front of Turkey's embassy in the Swedish capital. Many Muslim countries have said they were outraged by the burning of the Koran, which Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned as "deeply disrespectful". (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Sweden-Iran ties strained even more after resolution to blacklist IRGC

Following the execution of Iranian-Swedish dual national Habib Chaab, the Swedish parliament adopted with an overwhelming majority a resolution calling to blacklist the IRGC.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters, who emerged from the Janjaweed milita of Dafur, are fightin in the capital Khartoum

Sudanese fleeing war find their homes occupied by fighters

Agence France-Presse

People protest against executions and detentions in Iran, in front of the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

What is behind Iran’s execution spree as Tehran hangs 10 prisoners this week?

The United Nations estimated that more than 200 people have been executed this year so far, as authorities battle internal protests.

Supporters wave flags and chant slogans while waiting for the arrival of CHP Party presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu during a campaign rally on April 30, 2023 in Izmir, Turkey. CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is holding campaign rallies across Turkey ahead of the countries May 14, 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. The Kilicdaroglu-led Nation Alliance is representing six opposition parties in next month's election against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 20-year rule. (Photo by Burak Kara/

Turkey Elections: Latest polls put Erdogan challenger on verge of first-round win

Polls place Kemal Kilicdaroglu on the verge of getting a majority in the first round, a chance further boosted after Muharrem Ince bowed out of the presidential race.

A plume of smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli strike east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 11, 2023. Israel announced it was targeting rocket launch sites of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Gaza's health ministry said five people were killed, a day after Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory left 15 dead. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: May 14, 2023, 12:00 am

Gaza cease-fire agreement reached between Israel, Islamic Jihad

Five days after the breakout of violence on the Gaza border, Israel and the Islamic Jihad reached a cease-fire agreement, mediated by Egypt.

An evacuee holding a sleeping toddler boards an Abu Dhabi-bound plane at Port Sudan airport

Weeks into conflict, Sudanese queue - and pray - to leave

Agence France-Presse

Fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government man a position near al-Jawba front line, facing Iran-backed Huthi rebels, in the northeastern province of Marib

Yemen peace push 'serious' but next steps unclear: Saudi envoy

Agence France-Presse