Archives for December, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a UN Security Council session

Blinken hopes Trump picks up work on Saudi-Israel deal

Agence France-Presse

US soldiers inspect the site of reported Turkish shelling days earlier on an oil extraction facility on the outskirts of Rumaylan, in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province on October 28, 2024. Following an attack on October 23 at the state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) near Ankara, Turkey's defence ministry had announced strikes against sites linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq and Syria. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Im

Pentagon says 2,000 US troops in Syria, not 900

The shell games continue in Washington over how many American troops remain in the aftermath of the war against the Islamic State group.

Emergency services personnel inspect the rubble of a destroyed school building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, after Yemeni rebels fired a missile

Yemen rebels say Israeli strikes kill 9, after missile attack

Agence France-Presse

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

US envoy works to reconcile rival Kurds in Syria as Turkey masses forces near Kobani

With the collapse of the Syrian regime in an offensive led by the Sunni militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its Turkey-backed allies, Syrian Kurds need to forge a common front as the new power constellation takes shape.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In Paris, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Erdogan Sisi met in Cairo on Dec. 19

Turkey’s Erdogan in Egypt, holds first meeting with Sisi after Assad's fall

The Turkish and Egyptian leaders focused on Syrian reconstruction, humanitarian aid to Gaza and strengthening bilateral relations.

Guterres also raised the prospect of the international community making a first step to easing sanctions in force on Syria

UN chief sees 'flame of hope' in Syria, calls for end to Israel strikes

Agence France-Presse

A Syrian man prays on July 12, 2017, at a cemetary in Khan Sheikhun

Interview

Syria’s hidden stash of chemical weapons hangs over post-Assad transition

Destroying what remains of the Syrian regime's chemical arsenal is a top concern for the United States and its partners following Bashar al-Assad's sudden ouster.

Gregory Koblentz

Gregory Koblentz

Director of Biodefense Graduate Program, George Mason University

Najah Mardini, the mother of detained Syrian dentist and former national chess champion Rania al-Abassi, hopes she will be able to hold her daughter and grandchildren once again

Painful wait in Saudi for family of detained Syrian chess champion

Agence France-Presse

People celebrate the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and Baath Party rule, Umayyad Square, Damascus, Dec. 8, 2024.

Analysis

Turkey in post-Assad Syria: Balancing PKK, jihadist threats & opportunities

Although pleased with the rebel takeover in Syria, Ankara wants to avoid the instability that gripped Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Jamila Jabr's son died in combat in 2012

Defeat of Syria's Assad stirs a mother's bitterness

Agence France-Presse

A youth speaks to a boy filling up buckets with water from a hose near tents at a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City

Israel accused of 'acts of genocide', 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza

Agence France-Presse

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

From BRICS to dwindling oil revenues, 2024 was mixed year for Gulf

The ongoing conflict in Gaza, big international investment deals, low oil revenue and increased curtailing of democratic rights dominated Gulf politics and economy in 2024

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE energy giant gets green light for $16B takeover of German firm Covestro

ADNOC agreed in October to buy Covestro for 14.7 billion euros (then around $16.3 billion), including its debt, in its biggest-ever takeover.

United Arab Emirates

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey, Israel on collision course in Syria over incursions, Kurdish support

Ankara is concerned that Israel may seek to solidify its territorial gains in Syria, leveraging regional instability and pro-Israel US policies.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) shakes hands with D-8 Secretary General Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Cairo, Dec. 19, 2024.

Iran president pays rare visit to Egypt in latest sign of thawing ties

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Cairo to attend a summit of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation.

Yemeni firefighters douse oil tanks with water at a power station hit in an Israeli airstrike in the Houthi-run capital, Sanaa, Dec. 19, 2024.

Israel strikes Yemen ports, power stations in retaliation against Houthis

Dozens of Israeli fighter jets struck three ports and two power plants in Sanaa, the capital.