Archives for July, 2022

A billboard by Israeli anti-occupation group Peace Now, welcomes US President Joe Biden, in the coastal city of Tel Aviv

Palestinians say US economic push no substitute for peace

Agence France-Presse

Debris from a destroyed car litter the street at the scene of an explosion near a grocery store, following bombardment at in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv on April 18, 2022.

US: Iran aims to send drones to Russia for use in Ukraine

White House releases intel linking Iran to Russia's war on Ukraine just days before President Joe Biden is set to meet Israeli, Arab leaders.

A large screen shows a news program featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the opening of the virtual BRICS Summit.

Iran weighs benefits of BRICS membership

While joining the bloc has its upsides, it will be extremely difficult for Tehran to get full benefits from BRICS without the complete lifting of Western sanctions.

A general view taken on January 6, 2015, shows the Mellitah Oil and Gas terminal on the outskirts of Zwara in western Libya.

Reports: Libya denies cutting gas exports to Italy

Italy wants Libya to boost its gas exports to Europe in an effort to reduce the continent’s energy dependence on Russia.

A giant poster featuring Iranian director Jafar Panahi is displayed in front of the Berlinale Festival Palace.

Iran arrests three filmmakers over protests

Iran arrested Jafar Panahi after he was looking into the case of two other filmmakers accused of involvement in anti-government protests.

United Nations Security Council members have agreed to extend for six months a system for bringing aid through Turkey and the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, shown here in July 2022, into war-ravaged Syria

UN agrees to extend cross-border Syria aid by six months

Agence France-Presse

Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, here seen posing during an interview in Tehran in 2010

'In love with my country': Arrested Iranian director Jafar Panahi

Agence France-Presse

A picture taken on February 18, 2017, shows a general view of a bridge in the Iranian city of Ahvaz during a sandstorm.

UAE, Iran to cooperate to fight dust storms

Dust storms in the region have been severe.

Israeli Minister of Transportation Merav Michaeli arrives to attend the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, on June 20, 2021.

Israeli leftist parties enter elections with weak hand

The way things look now, joining the coalition didn’t do any good for Meretz and the Labor parties, who have so far failed to enlarge their electoral support.

Karen Elliott House

Live Q&A on the future of US-Saudi relations

Saudi expert Karen Elliott House discussed Biden's recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and the future of US-Saudi relations during a live webinar on July 22.

An army cadet looks through the window of a bus parked outside Sri Lanka's presidential palace in Colombo.

Flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka as Emirates, Etihad keep flying

Sri Lanka is experiencing mass unrest over its deteriorating economic situation.

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik (L).

Culture

Rabbis forge special bond in Islamic world

Istanbul-based Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States connects Jewish communities in some 20 predominantly Muslim countries and regions across Africa, Asia and Europe, in an effort to enable them to sustain their faith and thrive in their homelands.

This photo shows the inside of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Feb. 7, 2019.

Europe’s top court reprimands Turkey for jailing philanthropist

Today’s decision by Europe's top rights court on Osman Kavala, who has kept behind bars for four and a half years in pre-detention and sentenced to life, inches Turkey closer to suspension of its voting rights or even membership in the Council of Europe.

An undated image of the FSO Safer.

Analysis

World looks away as oil disaster looms off Yemen’s coast

Time is running out to prevent what Yemen envoy Tim Lenderking warns will be a "massive oil spill the likes of which the world has not seen."

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, seen here in this photograph from 2010

Dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi arrested: media

Agence France-Presse

In the Studio Project’s live performance in Istanbul on June 30.

Culture

Syrian musicians carve out small space in Istanbul’s live music scene

Istanbul’s Syrian-run small art spaces have become a conduit of connection between locals and the refugee population through music amid high running anti-refugee sentiment across the country.