Tag - middle-east

 
 

MIDDLE EAST

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (right) speaks during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2024
IMF and World Bank warn Gaza and Red Sea chaos imperils global economy
The Israel-Hamas war and its knock-on effects could impact the world the longer the fighting drags on, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.
Jordan's King Abdullah II looks on as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks following a meeting in Washington on Monday. Biden said he's pushing for a six-week pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow for the release of hostages, saying those conditions could lay the groundwork for a broader peace.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024
Biden pushes for six-week pause in Israel-Hamas hostage deal
Biden’s comments were his most detailed yet about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which the U.S. is helping to facilitate.
An Israeli soldier stands by as a mobile artillery unit fires, near the Israel-Lebanon border on Jan. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024
France poses Hezbollah withdrawal for Israel-Lebanon truce
The plan aims to end fighting between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel at the border.
Yemeni security forces stand guard upon the arrival of the United Nations' special envoy for Yemen ahead of a meeting with local officials in the city of Taez on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024
Red Sea crisis puts Yemen peace process on hold
As recently as December, painstaking negotiations were gaining ground.
Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2024
Gaza mediators search for 'final formula' for Israel-Hamas cease-fire
It remains unclear if Israel or Hamas are willing to soften their hard-line positions despite Palestinian group's "positive" response to initial framework.
A Palestinian woman walks with a child at Mar Elias refugee camp in Beirut on Jan. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
UNRWA funding cuts put Lebanon's Palestinian refugees on alert
"It's difficult to imagine that Gazans will survive this crisis without UNRWA"
Smoke rises over buildings in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip following Israeli bombardment on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
Palestinians hope Blinken visit hastens truce before Rafah strike
Blinken's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lasted about two hours.
Houthi tribesmen gather to show defiance after U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
U.S. promises more Mideast strikes while trying to avert wider war
Officials framed the U.S. strikes as a necessary and inevitable response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan a week ago.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (third from left) visits a navy base in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. U.S. President Joe Biden is being urged to attack Iran directly, but that may not be the right solution.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2024
Biden’s air strikes won’t work, nor would hitting Iran
Deterrence, especially as it pertains to air strikes, isn’t only about what U.S. does, but also what Iran thinks.
Indian commandos stand guard with a group of detained pirates after the Indian Navy freed an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024
As navies focus on Red Sea Houthis, Somali pirates may rebound
Attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked around 200 incidents a year from 2009 through 2011 — there have already been three in 2024
A Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4 undergoes preparations to conduct further strikes against Houthi targets on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024
U.S. and U.K. hit dozens of Houthi sites in bid to end ship attacks
Targeting Houthi sites at 13 locations in Yemen, the allies escalated their effort to destroy the militant group’s ability to attack Red Sea shipping.
U.S. President Joe Biden exits Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2024
U.S. hits Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq with wave of strikes
Aircraft including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the U.S. struck 85 targets at seven locations linked to Iran’s Quds Force.
People distribute bags of flour to Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on behalf of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in November. The agency has come under fire after a few of its employees were accused of supporting terrorism.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2024
Hold UNRWA accountable — but don’t harm those in need
Some 30,000 UNRWA employees serve 5 million people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, with 13,000 of them working in Gaza alone.
Western strategy in the Middle East has been a failure, leaving the region less stable than ever, exemplified by the conflict in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2024
Why 'the rest' are rejecting the West
Western strategy in the Middle East has been a failure, leaving the region less stable than ever.
Japan remains largely unresponsive as the U.S. moves toward the escalation of retaliatory strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen and other Iranian-supported militants in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2024
As the U.S. and Iran inch toward war, Tokyo bickers about political factions
Japan remains largely unresponsive as U.S. moves toward retaliatory strikes in the Middle East, and possibly war.
U.S. President Joe Biden has come under intense pressure from Republicans to take strong action, up to attacks directly on Iranian assets or territory.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2024
The world waits as Biden telegraphs attack on Iran-backed groups
The U.S. has accused Iran of funding groups that have attacked American bases and personnel in the region.
Gunmen attend the funeral of three Palestinians killed during an Israeli raid in a hospital, in Jenin, West Bank, on Jan. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2024
Disguised Israeli forces kill 3 militants in raid on West Bank hospital
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the deaths and called on the United Nations to guarantee protection for health centers.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (left) speak with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas during the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in Washington on Jan. 17. Gillibrand was one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's guests at discussions that took place in earlier this month.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2024
Saudis resume U.S. defense talks after pause from Gaza war
Crown prince met U.S. senators for the revival of talks of a pact that would have included a tie-up with Israel.
Families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants gather with supporters for a demonstration demanding an immediate deal as they block off a road near the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
U.S. vows to act after drone strike, endangering Gaza hostage talks
An attack Sunday by Iran-backed militants was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war began, and marks a major escalation.
A Palestinian girl sits on bags of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
In dossier, Israel accuses 190 U.N. staff of being 'hardened killers'
Over 10 countries, including major donors the United States and Germany, have halted their funding to the agency, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals