Archives for October, 2020

Denmark summons Iranian ambassador over controversial divorce reports

Danish media reported that imams are forcing Iranian women in Denmark to accept divorce terms, and Denmark's foreign minister thinks Iran may be involved.

Turkey's Erdogan holds talks with Qatar's ruler

The Turkish president also stopped in Kuwait to pay his respects following the death of the former emir.

Iran parades, tortures ‘thugs’ in show of ‘police power’

In recent days, the Iranian police have been conducting “maneuvers of power” in street parades, humiliating and torturing arrested “thugs” before the public eye.

This picture shows a general view of Kuwait's Parliament meeting during which Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was sworn in as the country's new Emir, in Kuwait City on September 30, 2020. - Kuwait today swore in its new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, after the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah, who died in the US at the age of 91. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP) (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Kuwaiti emir names new crown prince

Sheikh Mishaal al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah was previously deputy head of Kuwait's National Guard and is now next in line to become emir.

Turkish peasant women sow poppy seeds for opium in Turkey, 10/16/1974.(Photo by Express/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

British archaeology falls prey to Turkey's nationalist drive

The decision to seize seed collections from the British Institute at Ankara are linked to the Turkish president's wider Islamo-nationalist campaign.

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers(C) of the National Security Division, FBI Director Christopher Wray(2ndR),US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger(L) and Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office James A. Dawson(R) host a press conference on a national security matter at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on October 7, 2020. - Two members of an Islamic State cell dubbed the "Beatles" accused of killing several Western hostages a

Islamic State 'Beatles' charged with hostage-taking of Americans

The charges against El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey include hostage-taking resulting in death and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Iranian flags flutter during an inauguration ceremony for new equipment and infrastructure on February 25, 2019 at the Shahid Beheshti Port in the southeastern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman. - With the web of US sanctions tightening, Iran faces a host of challenges as it looks to an isolated port in the country's far southeast to maintain the flow of goods. The port in Chabahar, only about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Pakistan border and located on the Indian Ocean, is Iran's

India works to boost influence in Iran as Beijing-Tehran ties warm

India is seeking to remain involved in the development projects at Iran's ports, especially since Chabahar Port helps India gain access to an important geopolitical region.

The United Arab Emirates embassy is pictured in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 27, 2018 after its reopening, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. - The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. (Photo by Maher AL MOUNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read MAHER AL MOUNES/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Oman ambassador returns to Syria

With much of Syria now under Syrian President Basher al-Assad's control, some Arab states are slowly considering the reopening of foreign missions in Damascus.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises behind houses after shelling in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's main city of Stepanakert on October 7, 2020, during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran protests spillover shelling from Armenia-Azerbaijan war

Shells and rockets from the conflict from Nagorno-Karabakh region have reportedly landed in northwestern Iran, which does not back either side.

A picture taken on September 24, 2020 shows a partial view of the Brega oil port some 270kms west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. - Libyas state oil firm lifted force majeure on what it deemed secure oil ports and facilities on September 20, a day after strongman Khalifa Haftar said he was lifting a blockade on oilfields and ports. The blockade, which has resulted in more than $9.8 billion in lost revenue according to the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC), has exacerbated electricity and fuel sh

Libyan Central Bank warns of financial collapse if oil production not restored

Libya has lost $180 billion in oil revenues since 2013, according to the Tripoli-based central bank.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth walks past a barrier set up by Israeli police on the road in the religious Israeli city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, amid measures put in place by Israeli authorities in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, on September 8, 2020. - In March, Bnei Brak was an initial "rebel" against the government's coronavirus rules, compelling authorities to deploy soldiers to help police impose containment measures. But after infection rates peaked across the country, Israel on Monday impose

Israeli police, ultra-Orthodox clash over coronavirus restrictions

Clashes between the ultra-Orthodox and police have intensified over lockdown orders that, among other things, call for the avoidance of public prayers.

Men walk on a street of the village of Djojugh Marjanli in Azerbaijan's Jabrayil district which is said was damaged in shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, October 6, 2020. (Photo by TOFIK BABAYEV / AFP) (Photo by TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey eyes economic gains in backing Azerbaijan against Armenia

Turkey and Azerbaijan often describe their relationship as “one nation, two states,” but their economic exchanges have remained relatively small despite their close political and ethnic bonds.

A picture taken on October 3, 2020 shows sarcophaguses, excavated by the Egyptian archaeological mission which discovered a deep burial well with more than 59 human coffins closed for more than 2,500 years, displayed during a press conference at the Saqqara necropolis, 30 kms south of the Egyptian capital Cairo. - They were unearthed south of Cairo in the sprawling burial ground of Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Their exteriors are covered

Egypt discovers ancient coffins in major archaeological find

Egypt unveils a major archaeological discovery in the Saqqara necropolis, with 59 coffins dating back more than 2,500 years.

Corruption continues to threaten Iraq’s stability

Despite the prime minister's efforts, corruption remains a big driver of Iraq’s instability.

Palestinian demonstrators are separated by Israeli police barriers from Israelis celebrating Jerusalem Day, that marks the anniversary of the "reunification" of the holy city after Israel captured the Arab eastern sector from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War, outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on June 5, 2016.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community. / AFP / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHA

Ex-Shin Bet analysts recruited to fight coronavirus within Israeli-Arab society

It is difficult to understand why the Israeli authorities are recruiting ex-Shin Bet analysts to participate in an information campaign planned to combat the coronavirus in the Israeli-Arab community.

Al-Azhar coordinates with army to fight drugs in South Sinai

South Sinai is marred by the growing phenomenon of drug cultivation and traffic, and while the Egyptian police and army are launching intense security campaigns to remove and burn hundreds of drug farms, the state has turned to Al-Azhar to organize advocacy convoys to South Sinai to persuade the people that Islam prohibits the cultivation, trade and use of drugs.