TimeLine Layout

December, 2020

  • 21 December

    Russian Influence in the Mediterranean

    Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in comments at the MED Dialogue, accused the United States of playing political games in the Mediterranean and stalling the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Libya. It’s unfortunate and unhelpful that Mr. Lavrov again gets the …

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  • 21 December

    Israel-Hamas contacts advance on prisoner exchange

    Contradicting reports have emerged about talks for an Israel-Hamas prisoner-exchange deal after an Egyptian delegation visited Gaza last week. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported this morning that Israel proposed a deal in which Israel would release hundreds of security prisoners in exchange for returning of bodies of two IDF soldiers …

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  • 21 December

    UN: Libya’s rivals fail to agree on how to name government

    U.N. acting envoy for Libya Stephanie Williams says the country’s rivals have failed to agree on a mechanism to choose a transitional government that would lead the conflict-stricken country to elections in December next year.

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  • 21 December

    Netanyahu taps Mossad's deputy chief as intelligence agency's next head

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced on Tuesday he has decided to appoint Mossad’s Deputy Director D. as the next chief of the clandestine intelligence agency. D. is considered a protégé of current Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and has spent his entire military career in the intelligence agency as part …

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  • 21 December

    The Brexit Blame Game

    Both the UK and the EU are engaged in a game of brinkmanship, amounting to a kind of shadow theatre— neither wants to shoulder the blame for the UK’s exit from the EU without a trade deal between the two. The stakes are higher for the UK.

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  • 21 December

    We Have a Fascism Problem

    To admit the truth about Trump and authoritarianism then means they have to do something about it. Many people do not want to take that leap. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, July 23, 2020

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  • 21 December

    Israel-Tunisia normalization ‘not on the agenda,’ Tunisian PM says

    Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that he respects Morocco’s choice to recognize the Jewish state but that Tunisia is not considering doing the same. Tunisia has no plans to follow Morocco’s lead and normalize relations with Israel, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said Monday.

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  • 21 December

    Islamic State continues to pose threat in Syrian desert

    The Islamic State continues to haunt and drain out the Syrian regime forces even after it lost its last stronghold in Syria more than a year ago. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a Dec. 4 report, “Military operations are ongoing in separate axes in the Syrian …

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  • 21 December

    US designates Bahraini terror group linked to Iran

    The outgoing US administration is continuing to pressure Iran and its allies in its final weeks in office. The US government designated a Bahraini organization as a terror group today, part of a push to further pressure Iran and its allies before President Donald Trump leaves office in January.

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  • 21 December

    Israel-Hamas contacts advance on prisoner exchange

    Contradicting reports have emerged about talks for an Israel-Hamas prisoner-exchange deal after an Egyptian delegation visited Gaza last week. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported this morning that Israel proposed a deal in which Israel would release hundreds of security prisoners in exchange for returning of bodies of two IDF soldiers …

    Read More »