Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area. France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to …
Read More »Syrian victims of chemical warfare file international lawsuit against Assad
Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area. France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to …
Read More »Iran dismissive of US, EU proposals over nuclear deal
Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and other major powers to discuss ways to salvage the unravelling 2015 nuclear deal, insisting Washington must first lift all its unilateral sanctions. “Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, …
Read More »In wake of Khashoggi report, US sanctions certain Saudi officials and contemplates halting arms sales
The Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans on Friday targeting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. U.S. President Joe Biden’s actions in the first weeks of his administration appear aimed at …
Read More »Fergana Valley tasty destinations for tourists
The Ferghana Valley (also transliterated as Fergana or Farghana) is historically the main Silk Road route between Kashgar and Samarkand. It is a relatively fertile, populous and prosperous area though much of the surrounding country is mountains, steppe or desert. Two rivers, the Naryn and the Kara Darya, flow into …
Read More »Blackwater implicated in Libya embargo breach, aiding Haftar
Erik Prince, the private security executive and supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, “at the very least” helped evade an arms embargo on Libya, according to excerpts from a United Nations report seen by Reuters. Independent U.N. sanctions monitors accused Prince of proposing a private military operation – known …
Read More »Erdogan eager to circumvent US Iran sanctions
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Sunday he saw a window of opportunity for Iran and the United States on sanctions after recent statements, adding he wanted U.S. sanctions on Tehran to be lifted, the Turkish presidency said. Tehran said on Sunday the United States …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Libyan minister narrowly escapes murder plot
Libya’s powerful interior minister in the UN-recognized government on Sunday escaped an assassination attempt on a highway near the capital Tripoli, an official from his inner circle told AFP. The convoy of Fathi Bashagha “was fired on from an armored car while he was on the highway. His police escort …
Read More »Turkey trying to resume F-35 purchases, with US lobby help
Turkey has hired a Washington-based law firm to lobby for its readmission to the US F-35 fighter jet program after it was suspended over its purchase of Russian air defenses, a contract filed with the US Department of Justice showed. Ankara had ordered more than 100 stealth fighters and has …
Read More »Egypt endorses Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, Libya’s new PM
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met incoming Libyan prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh in Cairo on Thursday and offered his country’s support in achieving stability in its troubled neighbour,‮ ‬the presidency said in a statement. Egypt has welcomed the announcement of a new interim government – the latest U.N.-brokered effort to …
Read More »Biden makes long anticipated, long delayed Netanyahu call
U.S. President Joe Biden made a long-awaited first phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after a delay that had seen Washington deny it was snubbing Israel’s leader. There had been speculation that the Democratic president was signaling displeasure over Netanyahu’s close ties with former President Donald …
Read More »Blinken believes diplomacy is only solution to Iran nuclear standoff
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday “the path to diplomacy is open right now” with Iran over its 2015 nuclear deal but would not address whether the Biden administration has had any direct engagement with Iranian officials. “The path to diplomacy is open right now. Iran is …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Trump was planning Assad hit, KT McFarland charges
Former US President Donald Trump had to be talked out of assassinating Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017, according to a former adviser. KT Macfarland, former deputy national security adviser, said Trump insisted that he would “take him out” after seeing pictures of a Syrian regime sarin gas attack on …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Syrian air defence intercept Israeli planes over Damascus
Syria’s army said on Monday the country’s air defences had intercepted “Israeli aggression” over the capital, Damascus, in the latest stepped-up bombing of Iranian targets inside the country over the last two months. The Israeli military, which just began a surprise air force combat drill along the country’s northern border, …
Read More »Tensions brew between White House and Netanyahu
The White House on Friday denied that U.S. President Joe Biden was intentionally snubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by failing to include him so far in an early round of phone calls to foreign leaders since taking office on Jan. 20. The lack of direct contact between the Democratic …
Read More »France, Germany, UK up in arms over Iran’s uranium metal plan
France, Germany and Britain on Friday condemned Iran’s decision to produce uranium metal, which they said was in breach of commitments made by Tehran to the international community. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said this week that Iran had followed through on its stated plan to make uranium metal, which Tehran …
Read More »S-400 dispute escalates, Turkey won’t backdown to US pressure
Turkey will not turn back from its acquisition of Russian S-400 defense systems despite U.S. sanctions, it said on Thursday, but added it would seek to resolve issues with its NATO ally through dialogue. In December, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara for acquiring the S-400s on grounds they threaten its …
Read More »IAEA uncovers evidence of Iran nuclear weapons programme
UN inspectors have unearthed fresh evidence that Iran had undertaken work on nuclear weapons without declaring such activities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. “Samples taken from two sites during inspections in the fall by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) contained traces of radioactive material,” the report …
Read More »Egypt planning new launch satellite for December 2021
Mohammed El-Qousi, head of the Egyptian Space Agency, said that Egypt is preparing to launch a satellite in December 2021, in addition to other projects to establish space science in the country. He said that Egypt had an ambitious plan to build space systems and infrastructure, as well as strengthen …
Read More »Constitutional committee for Syria reconvenes in Geneva
Delegations from Syria’s government, opposition and civil society began a new round of meetings in Geneva on Monday aimed at revising the constitution of the war-torn country. The fifth round of the so-called Constitutional Committee came days after UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council …
Read More »UN claims breakthrough in Libya peace talks
The top UN official for Libya said Saturday that an advisory committee for representatives of Libya’s different regions has proposed a way forward for choosing a transitional government that would lead the war-torn country to elections late this year. The talks in Geneva, structured around the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, …
Read More »Erdogan confident over resolve NATO F-35 dispute
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped positive steps will be taken on Turkey’s role in the F-35 jet programme once U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, describing Ankara’s exclusion for purchasing Russian defences as a “serious wrong”. Last month, Washington imposed long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey’s defence industry over …
Read More »UN Security Council wants Syria held accountable over repeated chemical attacks
Syria’s former permanent representative to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, drew on his nation’s literary heritage during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday. He addressed the council as its members discussed the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people, and its failure to comply with …
Read More »Libya wants foreign forces out, asks UN Security Council
Members of the Libyan Dialogue Forum called on the United Nations Security Council to prevent all forms of foreign armed presence and expel mercenaries and foreign bases from Libya. In a statement published by Africa News, 36 out of 74 members called on all Libyan political elites to work together …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Israeli missile strike on Syria targets Assad’s allies
Israeli missile strikes on Syria killed at least six Iran-backed fighters on Friday, a war monitor said. The dead were all foreign paramilitaries fighting alongside Bashar Assad’s forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right said. The missiles, which were fired from Lebanese airspace, hit positions held by Iran-backed militias in …
Read More »Turkey extends law keeping Turkish troops in Libya
Turkey’s parliament extended for 18 months a law that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. The bill renewed a one-year mandate that came into force in January following a security and military agreement with the UN-backed administration in Tripoli, in western Libya. The Turkish decision Tuesday comes in …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Turkey pulling out military personnel in face of Assad regime
Turkey has evacuated seven military observation posts in northwest Syria, pulling back troops from territory controlled by the Syrian government to areas held by insurgents and Turkey-backed rebels, a Turkish source said on Friday. Turkey had set up a dozen military posts in the region in 2018 as part of …
Read More »All Turkish factions unite against US sanctions
Turkey’s parliament showed rare near unity on Tuesday in condemning U.S. sanctions over its procurement of Russian defence systems, and said the country will not hesitate to protect itself in the face of threats. On Monday, Washington imposed the sanctions targeting NATO member Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industry (SSB), its …
Read More »Iran designates Erdogan poem as threat to territorial integrity
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday Tehran could move past a diplomatic quarrel with Turkey over a poem recited by President Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Azerbaijan, which Tehran had called a threat to its territorial integrity. Iran summoned Turkey’s envoy last week after Erdogan recited an Azeri-Iranian …
Read More »In parting gift to Erdogan, Trump enacts sanctions over S-400 missiles
The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, five sources including three U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies. The long-anticipated step, which is likely …
Read More »Trump teams slaps new sanctions on Iran, wants more from Biden
The Trump administration plans to tighten sanctions on Tehran during its final months in power, the top U.S. envoy on Iran said on Wednesday, as he urged President-elect Joe Biden to use the leverage to press for a deal that reduces the regional and nuclear threats posed by the Islamic …
Read More »Armenia seccedes land to Azerbijan as part of peace deal
Armenia on Sunday was due to begin handing over disputed territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Residents of the Kalbajar district in Azerbaijan that was controlled by Armenian separatists for decades began a mass exodus of …
Read More »Russia, Iran help Venezuela beat US sanctions regime
On Aug. 21, a tanker called the Otoman docked at the Jose oil terminal on Venezuela’s coast in the Caribbean to load 1.82 million barrels of heavy crude, according to the state oil company’s internal documents. Yet no tanker with that name is registered in major global shipping databases. Muddying …
Read More »Turkey claims major success in Azer-Armenian conflict
Turkey said on Tuesday that a deal to end more than a month of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh had secured important gains for its close ally Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia. The agreement, signed by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, follows six weeks of heavy fighting and advances by Azeri forces. …
Read More »US accuses Iranian hackers with fouling up elections
U.S. officials said late Friday that the Iranian hackers behind a wave of threatening emails sent to thousands of Americans earlier this month successfully accessed voter data. The statement, issued jointly by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), partially confirms the authenticity …
Read More »Erdogan admits to S-400 test in defiance of US
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defence systems that it bought from Russia and said U.S. objections on the issue did not matter. Washington says Ankara’s purchase of the Russian systems compromises NATO defences, and has threatened sanctions. An apparent firing …
Read More »Iran confident UN won’t impose arms embargo in response to US
Iran said it was self-reliant in its defense and had no need to go on a weapons buying spree as a United Nations conventional arms embargo was due to expire on Sunday despite strong U.S. opposition. “Iran’s defense doctrine is premised on strong reliance on its people and indigenous capabilities …
Read More »Turkey angers US with test run of Russian missile system
A missile was fired into the sky on Friday on Turkey’s Black Sea coast where the military was expected to test its Russian-made S-400 defence systems, according to local video obtained by Reuters, drawing a strong warning from the United States. The video, taken in the coastal city of Sinop, …
Read More »Pompeo joins condemnation of Turkey in Azer-Armenian conflict
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said Turkey’s involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has increased the risk in the region, reiterating his call for the issue to be resolved through diplomacy. Several hundred people have been killed in the deadliest flare-up of the decades-old conflict …
Read More »Azer and Armenia forces trade charges over broken ceasefire
Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces accused each other on Monday of launching new attacks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, increasing pressure on a humanitarian ceasefire intended to stop the heaviest fighting over the enclave for more than 25 years. Azerbaijan said its military positions had been shelled overnight. Nagorno-Karabakh, which is …
Read More »Bashar Al-Assad accuses Turkey of inflaming Azer-Armenian dispute
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan of being the main instigator in the deadliest fighting between Armenian and Azeri forces for more than 25 years. In an interview published on Tuesday that is likely to exacerbate international frictions over the clashes in the South Caucasus region, Assad …
Read More »No more drone tech for Turkey, Canada says
Canada has suspended the export of some drone technology to Turkey while it probes allegations the equipment was used by Azeri forces involved in fighting with Armenia, a senior official said on Monday. Project Ploughshares, a Canadian arms control group, says video of air strikes released by Baku indicates the …
Read More »Assad pitches Russian bases to maintain balance of power in Middle East
Syrian President Bashar al Assad said the continued presence of Russia’s major naval and air bases in his country help counter the influence of Western powers in the region as the battle to crush insurgents was winding down. In an interview with Russia’s Ministry of Defence TV channel Zvezda on …
Read More »US mediating Lebanon-Israeli maritime dispute
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute along the border between the two nations that have fought several conflicts. Still in a formal state of war, Lebanon and Israel have contested their land and maritime borders for decades, namely over …
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