Eurasia

Former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi has called on Reformists to pick a candidate. Mehdi Karroubi, the 2009 presidential candidate who was put under house arrest for challenging the result of those elections, has urged Iranians to vote despite the shortcomings of the election process. According to his son Hossein, Karroubi …

Saudi authorities also said the kingdom’s air defenses intercepted an explosive-rigged drone targeting the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait. The Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport on Monday that the Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned rebels has not confirmed. “The Air Force …

Extensive logging led by Turkey in Iraqi Kurdistan has set off an outcry, fueling the already strong anger toward the Turkish military presence in northern Iraq. Turkey’s cross-border military operations against the outlawed Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq are under fire for their environmental damage, a fresh addition to …

Scrambling for a thaw with Washington, Ankara hopes to draw on the success of its military drones — battle-proven against Russian weaponry — to cast itself as a key partner in US efforts to contain Russia in eastern Europe and beyond. Having lost much leverage in its fraught ties with …

Al-Azhar weighs in on Egypt’s dispute with Ethiopia over the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. On June 4, Egypt’s Al-Azhar stepped into the controversy of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. During a speech, to mark the United Nations’ celebration of the World Environment Day, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb said that …

Egypt is seeking to expand its participation in the reconstruction of Iraq amid a growing alliance between Baghdad, Amman and Cairo. An Egyptian state company announced May 28 the restoration of four bridges in the Iraqi city of Mosul. The rehabilitation of the bridges was put up for international bidding, …

Even if the two sides eventually normalize ties, Damascus faces an uphill struggle to return to the Arab League. On May 26, Syrian Tourism Minister Mohammed Rami Martini became the first Syrian government official to visit Saudi Arabia since the civil war began in 2011. Martini’s trip fueled speculation about …

French President Emmanuel Macron has clearly decided to up the ante in a standoff with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, where France is backing Greece and Cyprus in their dispute with Ankara over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries. First, Macron ordered a temporary reinforcement of French aerial and naval …

Russia’s Arctic region is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, and it is only early July. The mercury hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of northern Russia last week, more than 30 degrees above the average for this time of year, and meteorologists are forecasting more blistering heat …