Category: Weekly News Digest
On Tuesday, July 21st, Iraq’s new prime minister paid his first official visit abroad since taking office in May, meeting with top Iranian officials. Both Mustafa al-Kadhimi (read more about him here) and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini said that they hoped for deepened relations between the two countries. As a sign of even stronger […]
On July 13th, Egypt’s parliament authorized the deployment of troops outside the country. The authorization, coming immediately after the Egyptian president threatened military action against Turkish-backed troops in Libya, has been seen as further escalating Turkish-Egypt tensions in Libya. Egypt, which backs Khalifa Haftar, leader of the rebel Libyan National Army, used national security threats […]
Turkish courts recently began a trial of 20 Saudi nationals in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist, was murdered at the Saudi Consulate in the Levent business district of Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after entering to receive documents in order to marry his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. The 20 Saudi […]
On Monday, June 29th, White House staff downplayed allegations that President Trump had any knowledge of Russia offering bounty for American soldiers in Afghanistan. A car bombing that killed three U.S. Marines in April 2019 sparked the investigation into Russian influence in Afghanistan. Two intelligence officials say that Trump received a written brief on the […]
The Middle East Policy Council is pleased to be hosting three remote interns who will be providing vital support to our educational outreach program this summer. As the U.S. grapples with complex social issues. we recognize the challenges of tracking the daily developments in our own country, much those beyond our borders.; however, anti-Black racism […]
Impoverished and Hungry, Lebanese Protesters Return to the Streets On Monday, protesters in Lebanon gathered once again, shouting “We are hungry,” and facing off with security forces during demonstrations in major cities. Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of […]
Can Cannabis Fix the Lebanese Economy? On Tuesday, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation to legalize cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes. The move had been recommended by economic advisers even before the coronavirus pandemic dealt yet another blow to the country’s struggling economy. Although the plant has long been widely and openly grown and […]
Prisoners Released Across Region to Stem Outbreak On Monday, with a COVID-19 outbreak confirmed in Turkey’s prisons, the country’s parliament approved a new law that would relax sentencing requirements and reduce the prison population by nearly a third, despite criticism that inmates held on terrorism charges will not eligible for early release. Furloughs and the […]
TeachMideast relies on the help of interns whose semesters were interrupted by Covid-19 and it has taken some time to adjust to new realities on the ground as a small organization like ours. We thank you for your patience. TeachMideast will dedicate space in the coming days to specialized content on the pandemic in the […]
As the coronavirus spreads in the gulf region, the UAE has cancelled or postponed all concerts and sports events. There have been around 1,650 cases in the Gulf region, mainly in Iran where there have already been over 200 deaths. A writer at The Atlantic argues that the surprising number of Iranian government officials succumbing […]