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Politics

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After Jordan, Emirates also furious with Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only managed to get into a diplomatic row with Jordan, he also succeeded in angering the Emiratis.

A cameraman arrives at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),prior to a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna on March 4, 2021. - European nations will not go ahead with a planned resolution criticising Iran at this week's meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said on March 4, 2021. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds

According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord.

Turkish member of Parliament for the left wing political party Peoples' Democratic Party Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu (C) reacts as he is surrounded by MPs applauding and brandishing placards after he was dismissed following a vote at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party deputy known to focus on human rights abuses, was stripped of his parliament seat and a lawsuit was filed to close the party March 17.

Netanyahu courts Arab voters as 'Abu Yair'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a new strategy for the Arab public: cynically rebranding himself as "Abu Yair."

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Iran’s supreme leader authorized infowar campaign during US election

Rights group criticizes Jordan over debt imprisonment

Jordanian detainees look on through the window of a rehabilitation centre in Zarqa, 30 kilometres east of Amman, on July 11, 2018. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Lapid’s discrete campaign for premiership gains momentum

A man walks past election billboards of the Israeli Likud party (R to L) showing the face of Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu with the tagline "leader", and another showing Netanyahu with political opponent Yair Lapid with text in Hebrew reading "the next prime minister: Lapid or Netanyahu", in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on March 15, 2021, ahead of the election due later in the month. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID accelerates evolution of Gulf economies

Saudi female employees work at the customers service desk at a hypermarket, newly launched by the operator LuLu and run by a team of women, in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, on February 21, 2021. (Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP) (Photo by AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)

People hold a banner as they protest against the government and violence against women, a day after International Women's Day in Istanbul March 9, 2014. On March 8 activists around the globe celebrate International Women's Day, which dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century and has been observed by the United Nations since 1975. The UN writes that it is an occasion to commemorate achievements in women's rights and to call for further change. The banner reads, "8 march women unions". REUTERS/Osman Ors

AKP's views on sexuality create uproar

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dream of raising a "pious generation" fails to deal with taboo matters of sexuality.

Supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood wave Turkish and Egyptian flags during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, outside of the Eminonu New mosque in Istanbul August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12P99

Turkey accused of escalating violence in Egypt

Egyptians suspect Turkey of allowing Muslim Brotherhood affiliates to provoke violence in their country.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) meets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri in Cairo July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying no ceasefire was near as top U.S. and U.N. diplomats pursued talks on halting fighting that has claimed more than 500 lives. Dispatched by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Middle East to seek a ceasefire, Kerry held talks on Tuesday in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri. REU

US-Israel relationship at lowest point

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of US House Speaker's invitation to speak is viewed by some as a direct affront to President Barack Obama's international domestic interests.

Ensaf Haidar (C) takes part in a demonstration calling for the release of her husband, Raif Badawi, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa January 29, 2015. Ensaf Haidar, the wife of a Saudi rights activist, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes last year, said Thursday her husband's health had worsened after the first round of flogging and that he could not possibly survive the full punishment. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR4NIK2

Who is Saudi activist Raif Badawi?

The author talks about Saudi activist Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, as he has personally known him.

A woman shouts slogans during celebrations marking the fourth anniversary of Tunisia's 2011 revolution, in Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis January 14, 2015. REUTERS/Anis Mili (TUNISIA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY SOCIETY) - RTR4LGKF

Report designates Tunisia first 'free' Arab country in decades

Freedom House has ranked Tunisia as a "free" country, despite the political, economic and social challenges inherited from the dictatorship era.

Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas march during a parade marking the sixth anniversary of the death of former Hamas interior minister Saeed Seyam, in Gaza City January 18, 2015. Seyam was killed by an Israeli air strike during the three-week offensive Israel launched in 2008 and 2009. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4LUN5

Hamas unwilling to jeopardize Palestinian reconciliation

The Hamas-Fatah crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached a stalemate, with Hamas hesitant to take control of the Gaza Strip and risk being accused of undermining the Palestinian unity government.

A US-made Apache Longbow helicopter flies in front of a control tower at Ramon Air Base in southern Israel. A U.S.-made Apache Longbow helicopter flies in front of a control tower during a presentation to the media at the Israeli Ramon Air Base in southern Israel April 10, 2005. REUTERS/Pawel Wolberg/Pool - RTR7PVR

Congress may re-examine special arms deals with Israel

The US policy of giving Israel a Qualitative Military Edge policy over its neighbors has been called into question now that they are fighting on the same side against the Islamic State.

What does Iran’s choice of UN envoy reveal?

Iran's appointment of Gholamali Khoshroo as its UN envoy signals a desire for broader engagement with the West.

A picture shows the Iranian flag fluttering in front of a capsule, codenamed Pishgam (Pioneer), containing a live monkey at an unknown location on January 28, 2013, which Iranian news agencies said returned alive after travelling to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight. Iran took a "big step" towards sending astronauts into space by 2020, successfully launching a monkey above the Earth's atmosphere, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television. AFP PHOTO/IRNA/STR (

Rouhani moves space program back to ministry

Despite claims by conservative media outlets, President Hassan Rouhani's administration has not closed Iran's space program but returned its direction to the original ministry.

Syrian ethnic Kurds demonstrate after Friday prayers in the Syrian town of Qamishli May 6, 2011. The banner reads "We call for a new constitution in which all sects and nationalities in the country can participate". REUTERS/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR2M2TY

Will 'Kurdish Spring' redraw Middle East map?

A critic looks at “Kurdish Spring: A New Map for the Middle East,” a new book by David Phillips that could become a main reference on the Kurdish struggle.

Israeli Meretz party members Nitzan Horowitz (2nd from R), Zehava Galon (C) and Issawi Frej (c-L) take part in a visit of the "Al-Shuhada" street in the West Bank city of Hebron on February 25, 2014 in support of Palestinians who were forced out of the old quarter at the outset of the second Palestinian intifada by the Israeli army to allow for Jewish settlers to move securely in the area. Today also marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers by Jewish extremist Baruch Go

Zionist Camp, leftist Meretz battle over base

Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Gal-On is campaigning to preserve her party's constituency, which is turning toward the Zionist Camp list in hopes of an electoral upset.

The head of the Israel Police, Major General Yohanan Danino, attends the Interpol European Regional Conference on its opening day in Tel Aviv on May 9, 2012. Israel, which is hosting the May 8-10 Interpol European parley for the first time, joined the France-based organisation in 1949, a year after the foundation of the Jewish state, initially as part of the Asia region, where it is geographically located. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/GettyImages)

Sex scandals shake Israeli police

In the last 18 months, seven top Israeli police commanders have been forced to resign — four under sexual misconduct charges — leaving the police force shattered and leaderless.