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Turkey steps up attacks on Syria’s Kurds amid Iraq operation

Ankara is using the cover of Ukraine’s war to weaken the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and associated groups in the region. Turkey’s military has launched a spate of strikes on Kurdish-run parts of northeast Syria over the past week as world attention is focused on Ukraine. At least four artillery …

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Will Erdogan sustain balance between West, Russia as Ukraine war drags on?

If the West and NATO remain united during the long war in Ukraine, Turkey’s policy of straddling between Kyiv and Moscow would be unsustainable. “It is the only game in town,” a Turkish ambassador said in a self-aggrandizing fashion at an international conference recently. Turkey secured the first and only …

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Anti-Iran fever heats up as Iraq’s political deadlock continues

As Iran-backed groups block the formation of Iraq’s next government, frustrated voices are getting louder about Iran’s meddling. Recent efforts to form a new Iraqi government have all failed to yield results despite the formation of a majority bloc of Muqtada Sadr’s Shiite group, Masoud Barazani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party and …

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Rockets launched at Israel from Lebanon, Gaza

One rocket was fired from Lebanon yesterday and two rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip Friday night. The IDF fired dozens of artillery shells toward targets in southern Lebanon after a rocket was fired into northern Israel yesterday, near the border town of Shlomi. IDF spokesperson Brig. …

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US watchdog says Afghanistan belongs on religious freedom blacklist

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom also recommended the State Department designate Syria as a “country of particular concern” and place Egypt, Iraq and Turkey on a special watchlist for religious freedom offenders. Religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan have sharply deteriorated in the eight months since US troops withdrew …

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War in Ukraine tests Algeria’s wheat reserves amid inflation, drought

Wheat supplies should be sufficient for the rest of 2022. But the country will eventually be compelled to secure additional quantities at higher prices As the Russian military intervention in Ukraine continues to disrupt access to food commodities, Algeria is expected to have sufficient wheat reserves to last for the …

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Leaders of Egypt, Jordan and UAE meet to discuss Jerusalem tensions

The leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have met in Cairo to discuss the tensions in Jerusalem. A statement after the talks said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el- Sissi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the …

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Analysis-Under military’s watch, Sudan’s former ruling party making a comeback

Since Sudan’s military staged a coup six months ago many former allies of toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir have been allowed to rejoin the civil service while others have been freed from jail in an apparent push to form a government and reassure donors. The rehabilitation of the Islamist National Congress …

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Iran’s Revolutionary Court Sentences 2 Science Students to Prison for Opposition to Republic

A court in Iran has sentenced two award-winning science students to 16-year prison terms for opposing the Islamic Republic and endangering national security. Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi , who study astronomy at Sharif University of Technology, were sentenced on Monday in the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on charges …

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Russia and US Uranium

In March 2022, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced several bills calling for a ban on Russian uranium as a way to cut off funds for the war in Ukraine and also boost domestic uranium production. Although environmentalists applaud the Russian uranium ban, they are concerned that an expansion of domestic …

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