January, 2021

• 14 January

  Three-way talks on Ethiopian dam reach new impasse

  Negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, in a long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, have reached a new impasse, the three countries said on Sunday. “We cannot continue this vicious cycle of circular talks indefinitely,” Sudanese irrigation minister Yasir Abbas said in a …

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• 14 January

  Pompeo says US designating Yemen’s Huthis a terrorist group

  The United States will designate Yemen’s Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, a late-term move that aid groups fear will worsen a humanitarian crisis. With just 10 days left before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the action could complicate the new administration’s efforts …

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• 14 January

  Rojava opposition leader accuses the PKK of harming Kurdish unity talks

  ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A leadership member of the opposition umbrella group Kurdish National Council (ENKS) accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of being the de-facto ruler of northeast Syria’s autonomous region (Rojava), adding that the group has harmed Kurdish unity talks.

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• 14 January

  Deir ez-Zor: Seven Syrian Regime Forces Killed in Clashes with IS

  At least seven troops of the Syrian regime were killed in clashes with the Islamic State (IS) in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, a monitor said on Saturday.

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• 14 January

  Daesh attack kills 7 gov’t loyalists in east Syria

  Daesh group fighters killed at least seven government loyalists in eastern Syria on Saturday, the latest in a series of deadly attacks, a Britain-based war monitor reported.

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• 14 January

  Ansar al-Tawhid Group Shells Syrian Government Forces in Idleb

  Ansar al-Tawhid have responded to Syrian government shelling by firing artillery at a government position in the Idleb province reports North Press. On Sunday, the armed group Ansar al-Tawhid shelled Syrian government sites in the south of Idleb Governorate in retaliation for earlier government shelling of their own defences in …

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• 14 January

  Gulf reconciliation and ties with France discussed by Erdogan and Hariri in suprise meeting

  In addressing the prospects of Turkish-French rapprochement, Hariri can count on his close ties to both Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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• 14 January

  Divide and Rule: The Rise and Rise of a Bosniak Strongman in Serbia

  With an election in June, former Grand Mufti Muamer Zukorlic has landed a powerful blow in the fight for ascendancy in Serbia’s mainly Muslim Sandzak region. Observers, however, say he is being used by the Serbian government.

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• 14 January

  Turkey’s Slow-Motion Economic Crisis

  Banks cannot engineer a balance between exchange rates and interest rates in a country with free capital flows, where banks’ funding conditions are affected by the global economic environment and by country risk. As Turkey has demonstrated, using banks for this purpose destroys both internal and external economic balances.

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• 14 January

  Bosnia’s Institutions Must Take Lead in Implementing ECHR Judgements

  The latest political pledge to amend Bosnia’s electoral law and constitution in line with rulings by the European Court of Human Rights looks destined to fail. It’s time the institutions of state take the lead, with the help of NGOs, academics and the international community.

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