Archives for January, 2025

Spanish national Joaquin Navaro at the press conference in Algiers after his release

Spaniard kidnapped in Mali thanks Algeria after rescue

Agence France-Presse

A Palestinian woman walks past Israeli army vehicles during a military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank

Shooting, explosions in Jenin as Israel presses raid

Agence France-Presse

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) speaks during to the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 11, 2023. The UN nuclear watchdog said on September 11, it regretted that "no progress" had been made by Iran on outstanding issues, including reinstalling cameras to monitor Tehran's nuclear programme and explaining uranium traces. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Grossi: Trump open to new Iran nuclear deal, IAEA discussions underway

In an interview, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said his organization was continuing discussions with Iranian officials and hopes to engage with the Trump administration about working out a transparency agreement with Iran.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sudanese call on the army-backed government to extend the deadline to exchange banknotes

Sudan 'political' banknote switch causes cash crunch

Agence France-Presse

Torture survivor Mohammed Najib dreaded being taken by his jailers to a military hospital where he was beaten

Syria's military hospital where detainees were tortured, not treated

Agence France-Presse

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

UAE Foreign Trade Minister Zeyoudi expects 14% trade increase in 2024: Interview

This rise has been propelled by the country's growing non-oil trade and trade deals, the UAE minister told Al-Monitor.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Iraqi Muslim girls, who traditionally begin wearing the hijaba head covering worn in publicat the mandatory age of nine, take part in a ceremony organized at a stadium in Basra on December 19, 2024. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Iraq passes law that could legalize child marriage: What to know

The controversial amendments were passed alongside laws on land disputes and amnesty for some crimes.

Members of Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on January 21, 2025. Three people were wounded in a stabbing attack on January 21 in Tel Aviv, including one seriously, and the attacker was killed, Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom said. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Four wounded in Tel Aviv stabbing attack by tourist: What we know

Police says that the person who attacked four people with a knife in Tel Aviv is a Moroccan national who entered Israel with a US residency permit.

The French judiciary considers that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad (R) ordered and provided the means for a bombing in the city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a civilian

France issues new arrest warrant for Syria's Assad: source

Agence France-Presse

A picture shows copies of Iranian daily newspapers, including 'Sazandegi' (C) showing on its front page a picture of US President Donald Trump and a headline in Farsi reading 'Again Trump' at a newsstand in Tehran on Jan. 21, 2025.

How prepared is Iran to engage with the Trump administration?

Iran's upper echelons appear to be slowly bridging their gaps over potential dialogue with the new US administration, as the threat of the crippling "maximum pressure" policy looms large.

A view of the Pentagon on Dec. 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. Home to the US Defense Department, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest office buildings.

Trump's pick for Pentagon Mideast policy chief signals Iran strategy shift

Trump fired his longtime Iran envoy, Brian Hook, and revoked the security clearance of former national security adviser John Bolton. His pick to be the Pentagon’s next Middle East policy chief, Michael DiMino, has a history of opposing the idea of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Israeli forces in armoured vehicles conduct a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank

Israel launches deadly operation in West Bank's Jenin

Agence France-Presse

Elise Stefanik testifies before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 21, 2025

Trump's UN pick blasts 'anti-Semitic rot' in world body

Agence France-Presse

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination to be Ambassador to the United Nations on Capitol Hill on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Trump’s UN envoy pick Stefanik blasts organization’s 'antisemitic rot'

The Republican lawmaker also told senators she believes Israel has a biblical claim to the entire West Bank.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) and CNN Indian American journalist Fareed Zakaria.

Israel's Herzog warns against 'aura of optimism' over Gaza ceasefire

A truce brokered by Qatar and the US, structured in three phases, took effect on Sunday.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iranian army conducts drill on Afghan border following Trump's inauguration

The army said it deployed a new system for countering drones in an effort to boost readiness against militants and Iran’s enemies.