JERUSALEM (NYTIMES) – After a fourth Israeli election in two years appears to have ended in another stalemate, leaving many Israelis feeling trapped in an endless loop, there was at least one surprising result Wednesday (March 25): An Arab political party has emerged as a potential kingmaker. Even more surprising, the party was Raam, an […]

CAIRO — An enormous container ship became stuck while traversing the Suez Canal late Tuesday, blocking traffic through one of the world’s most important shipping arteries and threatening to add one more burden to a global shipping industry already battered by the coronavirus pandemic. The ship, which was heading from China to the port of […]

AL-OMAR, SYRIA (AFP) – Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces remain as dangerous today as when they were ousted from their last Syrian bastion two years ago, Kurdish forces warned on Tuesday (March 23) as they marked the anniversary. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said counter-terrorism efforts today were “more difficult than face-to-face […]

RIYADH (BLOOMBERG) – Saudi Arabia is seeking more help from the US to defend its oil facilities, underscoring the kingdom’s concern about recent missile and drone strikes that it’s linked to arch-rival Iran. The requests were put to President Joe Biden’s administration since January, according to a Saudi official, who asked not to be named […]

JERUSALEM (REUTERS) – Israelis vote on Tuesday (March 23) on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival in a fourth election in two years, with the veteran leader hoping his role in a rapid Covid-19 vaccine campaign will win him another term. Opinion polls show the race too close to call. On trial on corruption charges […]

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel presents himself as a global leader who is in a different league than his rivals — one who can keep Israel safe and promote its interests on the world stage. But strains in his relations with two important Arab allies, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, have […]

JERUSALEM — When Yona Schnitzer, a 32-year-old Israeli content editor, heard about the latest Israeli election — Israel’s fourth in two years — he felt a surge of anger at how the government had collapsed yet again, and questioned the point of taking part. “My initial reaction was,” Mr. Schnitzer said, “‘I can’t believe this […]

TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libya’s new government includes five women, with two in key portfolios – a first for the country but nonetheless criticised by activists as insufficient and as not living up to a United Nations commitment. Libya descended into conflict after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011, with […]

ISTANBUL (REUTERS) – Turkish police detained three top district officials of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) among 10 people held in an operation targeting Kurdish militants, state media said on Friday (March 19), after a court case was opened to close the HDP. A Turkish prosecutor filed a case with the Constitutional Court on […]

LONDON (AFP) – Britain on Monday (March 15) announced targeted sanctions against six members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, including Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, for “repressing the Syrian people or benefiting from their misery”. The measures, which comprise travel bans and asset freezes and come on the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising […]