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☆ Syria's 13-year frozen war has ignited again after allies Russia and Iran let down their defenses
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-02 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It comes as Syria's powerful allies, Iran and Russia, are distracted with other conflicts. With Russia and Iran distracted by regional conflicts, a stagnant 13-year-long civil war in Syria has exploded into renewed violence. It's the most intense outbreak of fighting in the war since Syrian government forces, backed by Iran and Russia, drove rebels back to their strongholds in the north eight years ago, and a stalemate developed. "Israel has changed the balance of power in the region by going on this all-out war on the axis of resistance." Meanwhile, Russia, whose 2015 entry into the Syrian Civil War was crucial in propping up the Assad regime, has problems of its own.

Persons: Tahrir, Sham, Bashar al, Assad, who've, that's, Joshua Landis, Charles Lister, it's Organizations: Rebels, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, University of Oklahoma, New York Times, Middle East Institute, Turkey Locations: Syria, Hayat, Aleppo, Iran, Russia, Hama, Idlib, Sunday, Israel, Syrian, Tunisia, Egypt, Gaza, Lebanon, Tehran, Ukraine

☆ Israel is trying to dismantle Hezbollah's leadership, but there's a big problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Israel has been targeting Hezbollah's leaders with a series of air strikes. Hezbollah's leadership crisis may lead to internal power struggles and strategic shifts. AdvertisementIsrael is continuing its relentless campaign to dismantle Hezbollah's leadership. Israel says it killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut. As well as taking out Hezbollah's leadership with strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, Israel is also weighing up a counterattack against Iran after it launched a ballistic missile attack.

Persons: —, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's, Fu'ad, Ali Karaki, Ibrahim Aqeel, Hashem Safieddine, Israel, Chris McGrath, Benjamin Netanyahu, it's, Netanyahu, Mohammed Albasha, Albasha, Antony Loewenstein, KAWNAT HAJU, William F, Wechsler, Abbas al, Mireille Rebeiz, Nasrallah, Al, Ahmet Kaya Organizations: Service, Israel, Palestine, Sky News, Getty, Atlantic Council, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle, Islamic Jihad Organization, Middle East, Dickinson College, UK's National Institute of Economic, Social Research, CNN Locations: Israel, Syria's, Golan, Beirut, Chris McGrath Israeli, US, Lebanon, AFP, Rafik, Buenos Aires, Iran, Pennsylvania, Gaza

☆ Killings show ISIS remains a threat in Syria's desert 5 years after losing its caliphate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

ISIS killed an estimated 84 Syrian soldiers and 44 civilians in central Syria in March, making it the most violent month in the ISIS desert campaign since late 2017. Another four Syrian troops were killed in another desert attack in late April. "Over the past several years, ISIS has been able to make regular attacks in the desert," Landis told Business Insider. AdvertisementLandis noted that the Syrian military is picking up its efforts to attack ISIS in the Homs-Palmyra region. AdvertisementWhile the Syrian military does carry out combing operations in the Homs desert, ISIS remnants are far from Damascus's top priority.

Persons: —, Joshua Landis, Landis, Bashar al, Aron Lund, Lund, Assad, what's, there's Organizations: Service, ISIS, Human Rights, Business, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma, Century International, Syrian Democratic Forces Locations: United Kingdom, Homs, Syria, Iraq, Deir ez, Palmyra, Islamic State, Kurdish, Turkey, Syria's Hasakah, Damascus, State

☆ US intelligence assesses Houthis in Yemen in talks to provide weapons to al-Shabaab in Somalia, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —US intelligence has learned of discussions between Houthis in Yemen to provide weapons to the Somali militant group al-Shabaab, in what three American officials described to CNN as a worrying development that threatens to further destabilize an already violent region. The Houthis are Zaydi Shiites, and al-Shabaab traditionally has been deeply ideologically opposed to Shiism. “Being able to sell some weapons would bring them much needed income,” the senior administration official said. But a weapons agreement between al-Shabaab and the Houthis would be something new, according to US officials. No matter what the Houthis provide, there’s likely limited opportunity for al-Shabaab to fire directly at US assets in the region.

Persons: ” It’s, Aden —, ”, Christopher Anzalone, “, Anzalone, ” Anzalone, Biden, “ Don’t Organizations: CNN, Marine Corps, East Studies, ”, Somali, ISIS, US Locations: Houthis, Yemen, Somali, Shabaab, Somalia, Iran, al, Aden, United States, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Tehran, Israel

☆ Campus Protests After Day of Arrests, Demonstrations Appear More Muted
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Image Students at Rutgers University’s campus in New Brunswick, N.J., dismantled their tents on Thursday. But he also indicated that talks the administration had begun holding with student protesters on Wednesday had been fruitful. The move at Rutgers follows similar deals that Brown University and Northwestern University struck earlier this week to end encampments there. Some Jewish groups voiced outrage about those agreements, calling them a capitulation to demonstrators who had created a hostile environment on campus. She noted that the deal had been reached without any arrests on campus, unlike at some other universities across the country where violence has erupted.

Persons: Mary Ann Koruth, Jonathan Holloway, Dr, Holloway, kaffiyehs, Hana Hassan, Hassan, “, ”, Todd Wolfson, Mr, Wolfson Organizations: Rutgers University’s, ., Content Services, Palestinian, Rutgers University, Rutgers, Brown University, Northwestern University, University of Florida, Hillel International, Jewish, University, New, Tel Aviv University, New Brunswick campus’s, Justice, U.S . Education Department, university’s Center, Islamic Locations: New Brunswick, N.J, Israel, Middle, Voorhees, Palestine, New Jersey

☆ Israel 'cannot not retaliate,' professor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIsrael 'cannot not retaliate,' professor saysVali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, says "once Israel retaliates, it cannot decide how Iran will interpret that."

Persons: Vali Nasr, Israel Organizations: Johns Hopkins University School, International Locations: Iran

☆ Was Peace Ever Possible?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Moderated Emily Bazelon | A Discussion Moderated Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +45 min

This was known as the Oslo peace process, named for the city where the secret talks took place. Micha Bar-Am/Magnum Photos Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel during the the Middle East peace conference in Madrid, 1991. Margalit: All the Israeli leaders who negotiated for peace, starting with Rabin, were in a weak political position. Dajani: With the First Intifada, and then subsequently Madrid and Oslo, Palestinians suddenly see the possibility of agency. But what’s important to understand is that the notion of peace for Rabin, and for most Israelis, is that peace is a lack of violence from the other side.

Persons: Jordan, Israel, Yasir Arafat, Bernard Frye, Arafat, Larry Towell, Abbas, Micha, Yitzhak Shamir, Jerome Delay, Saddam, Hussein, George H.W, Bush, James A, Baker III, Baker, Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Rabin, Shimon Peres, —, Margalit, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak of, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton, Gary Hershon, Abu Alaa, “, ” Rabin, ” Arafat, ”, Ashrawi, Yehuda, Efraim, Susan Meiselas, Baruch Goldstein, Patrick Baz, Daoud Mizrahi, Gilles Peress, Goldstein, Matti Steinberg, Netanyahu, Bazelon, Clinton, Shikaki, Manal Jamal, didn’t, Dennis Ross, Omar, Camp David, Ehud Barak, Md, Ralph Alswang, Christopher Anderson, Motasm Amir, Barak didn’t, Barak, David, Dajani, Emily, Arafat —, Ross, Mary, Nobody, Arafat didn’t, Hosni Mubarak, Mubarak, El, there’s, There’s, Robert Malley, Hussein Agha, ” Barak, Sharon, It’s, Yarden Romann, Peter van Agtmael, Khan Younis, Yousef Masoud, Khan, Ahmad Hasaballah, Ziv Koren, they’re, Dan, Avishai, Omar Dajani, Taba, Dana El Kurd, Efraim Inbar, ‘ ‘ Rabin, ’ ’, Daniel Kurtzer, Avishai Margalit, George Kennan, Van, Khalil Shikaki, Limor Yehuda, Emily Bazelon, Nabil Ismail, Pascal, Said, Ulf Andersen, Getty, Menahem Kahana, Abdel, Shafi, Maggie Ohayon, Yigal Amir, Yoav Lemmer, Jack Guez, Olmert, Moshe Milner, Ami, Dani Cardona, Awad Awad, Obama, Ben Gershom Organizations: United Nations, West Bank, Associated, Palestine Liberation Organization, U.S, Soviet Union, Palestinian, Madrid didn’t, Bank, White, Agence France, Presse, Getty Images, Oslo Accord, White House, Reuters, Israel’s Labor Party government, Bazelon, Oslo Palestinian, Getty, West, Shin, Gross, . Security, Camp, Camp David Summit, Labor Party, NPR, American, New York Times, Polaris, Labor, United, McGeorge School of Law, University of the, Israel, Camp David, University of Richmond, Arab Center Washington, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Shalem College, Bar, Ilan University, Sadat Center, Strategic Studies, Israel’s National Security, Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute for, Princeton, Israel Academy of Sciences, Humanities, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Palestinian Center, Policy, Research, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, Gaza, Hebrew University, Haifa University, Human, The New York Times Magazine, Mount Locations: Israel, Jordan, Gaza, Egypt, Jerusalem, Zion, Munich, Tunisia, Oslo, American, Oslo Gaza, Palestine, Madrid, Kuwait, United States, Soviet, Lebanon, Syria, Jordanian, America, Washington, U.S, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, U.N, Independence, Palestinian, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Rafah, Hebron, Ibrahimi, West Bank, Judea, Samaria, Yehuda, Camp David, Jenin, Haram, Al Aqsa, Khan, Kfar Aza, Khan Younis, Ahmad, Old, Ireland, Bosnia, Tel Aviv, Iran, Athens, El, Camp, Israeli, Van Leer, Ramallah

☆ In the ultimate irony, Russia's obsession with Ukraine may have weakened its power over its other neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference at the Commonwealth of Independent States' head of states meeting on Oct. 13, 2023, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. This pool photograph distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov attending a welcoming ceremony prior to their talks in Bishkek on October 12, 2023. In fact, she said, Kyiv's resistance highlighted to Russia's neighbors and partners that "Russian power is a bubble with only a nuclear button in its center." Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall during Russian-Uzbek talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace on Oct. 6, 2023. So it's fair to say that if you do not control Ukraine, you do not control the post-Soviet space," he told CNBC.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, —, Georgia —, It's, Emmanuel Dunand, Sadyr Japarov, Sergei Karpukhin, Vladimir Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vira Konstantinova, Vladimir Milov, Putin, Milov, Milov —, — Putin, Igor Semivolos, Ilham Aliyev Organizations: Commonwealth of Independent States, Getty, Afp, Azerbaijan, Sputnik, Kyrgyz, AFP, CNBC, Russian, West, Center for Middle East Studies, Anadolu Agency Locations: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet Union, South Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Karabakh, Lachin, Nagorno, Kyiv, Transnistria, Moldova, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, USA, Turkey, Baku

Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, said the country would continue to play a constructive role in handling global "hotspot issues". But after the killings of more than 900 Israelis in coordinated assaults by the Islamic group Hamas, China's response was muted. China is willing to maintain communication with all parties and make unremitting efforts for peace and stability in the Middle East," Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Tuesday. "The achievement of peace in the Middle East region and the just settlement of the question of Palestine are inseparable." "China is very successful in a stable environment in the Middle East when it's possible to broker reconciliation agreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran," said Jean-Loup Samaan, Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore.

Persons: Washington . Wang Yi, Xi Jinping, Bill Figueroa, Wang Wenbin, COVID lockdowns, Xi, Steve Tsang, Zhai Jun, Liu Zhongmin, Yun Sun, Tuvia Gering, Jean, Loup Samaan, Samaan, Michael Martina, Don Durfee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Hamas, University of Groningen, Palestinian, Western, SOAS China Institute, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Arab League, EU, Palestine, United Nations, Abraham Accords, Institute for Middle East Studies of Shanghai International Studies University, China Program, Stimson, Institute for National Security Studies, Initiative, Middle East Institute of, National University of Singapore, Thomson Locations: China, Middle East HONG KONG, BEIJING, SINGAPORE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Saudi, Washington, Palestine, Netherlands, United States, PALESTINE, China's, Beijing, Russia, Ukraine, London, U.S

☆ Hamas-Israel war: What's happening on Day 4
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHamas-Israel war: What's happening on Day 4Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, and Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, join 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the possibility of urban corridor warfare between Israel and Hamas, where the risk is greatest in the war in Israel, and the potential alliances surrounding this war.

Persons: Natan Sachs, Steven Cook Organizations: Hamas, Center for Middle East, Brookings Institute, Middle East Studies, Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Israel

☆ Assad banks on new 'global order' to help revive his status
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

During his address, Assad presented himself as an elder statesman, lecturing his neighbors about the need to take advantage of changes in global politics. “Today we are faced with an opportunity of change in the global order, which has become multipolar due to the hegemony of the West, which is devoid of principles, morals, friends or partners,” Assad told the summit, held in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. But observers have differed as to whether real economic cooperation with Syria is possible without access to the Western financial system, which has been blocked by Western sanctions on the country. “They can also try working with or through Russia, and possibly with and through Iran – although that carries its own obvious risks,” he said, referring to Arab states that want to do business in Syia. There are plenty of ways of doing this.”Assad’s ultimate goal however, said Landis, is to get sanctions lifted with the help of Arab states.

☆ Analysis: Qatar takes diplomatic back seat as Saudi flexes political muscle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Qatar has been steadily mending ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Qatar cast the Syrian National Coalition as a government-in-exile, handing them Syria's Arab League seat and opening the Doha mission in a villa nearby other embassies. Several Gulf states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began backing rebel groups fighting to oust Assad from power. As Syria's anti-Assad movement lost ground, "Saudi Arabia and the UAE shifted their policy most dramatically but Qatar has not," Kamrava said. Qatar initially opposed efforts this spring by Saudi Arabia to galvanise support to readmit Syria to the Arab League following its 2011 suspension.

☆ Syria: Arab countries don't see where U.S. policy is leading, says academic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSyria: Arab countries don't see where U.S. policy is leading, says academicJoshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says "now that Iran and Saudi Arabia are in dialogue … there's really no reason not to normalize with Syria as well."

☆ Xi promotes China as peacemaker on first trip to Russia since Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jennifer Jett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In this grab taken from video, China's President Xi Jinping, left, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 20, 2023. Russia, China and the U.S. are not members of the court. "I am pleased to once again set foot on the soil of our friendly neighbor Russia," Xi said in a statement after arriving in Moscow on Monday for the three-day state visit. Xi said his Russia trip was intended to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries in a world faced with "damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has not confirmed reports that Xi may hold a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy after his trip to Moscow.

☆ Fact Check-Embassies say there is no truth to claims about Western diplomats fleeing Turkey before the Feb. 6 earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters found no evidence supporting claims online that eight ambassadors to Turkey left the country 24 hours before the Feb. 6 deadly earthquake. The U.S. and Belgian embassies in Turkey did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. There is also no evidence to support claims these countries’ ambassadors knew about the earthquake beforehand. The online claims may have been inspired by this news, but this meeting took place in Turkey. Reuters found no evidence of claims that eight Western ambassadors to Turkey left the country 24 hours before the Feb. 6 earthquake.

Damascus has long said aid to the rebel enclave in the north should go via Syria not across the Turkish border. Jordan and the UAE, which once backed Syria's opposition but have normalised ties with Assad in recent years, have sent aid to Damascus, Syrian state media has reported. WRANGLE OVER RESOURCESMoscow has long argued that delivering aid to northwest Syria from Turkey violates Syrian sovereignty. But he said aid flows must be coordinated with the government and delivered through Syria not across the Turkish border. The Damascus-based Syrian Red Crescent called for lifting of sanctions, which Syria's government has long blamed for mounting economic hardship.

☆ What Video Footage Reveals About the Protests in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Nilo Tabrizy | Haley Willis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

One of the latest examples surfaced online Friday, from protests in the southeastern city of Zahedan. Showing Their Support : From World Cup soccer players to movie personalities, From World Cup soccer players to movie personalities, high-profile Iranians are increasingly making public gestures of support for the protests. Using Ambulances : Witness accounts and a Times video analysis reveal how Iran’s security forces are Witness accounts and a Times video analysis reveal how Iran’s security forces are co-opting ambulances to infiltrate demonstrations and detain protestersStruck Blind: Across Iran, hundreds of protesters have Across Iran, hundreds of protesters have suffered severe eye injuries inflicted by the metal pellets and rubber bullets that security forces fire to disperse crowds. In the past, the families of those killed by security forces have been intimidated by the authorities into keeping quiet. The large number of women leading the protests “in so many of the videos that we see, we saw that in 2009, too,” said Dr. Bajoghli, referring to the 2009 uprising in Iran.

☆ Anti-vaxxers evaded social-media content bans by replacing the word 'vaccine' with a carrot emoji, BBC investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One large Facebook group used the carrot emoji to replace the word vaccine, per the BBC. The shot glass emoji was also used to replace the word "shot" and disparage vaccines. Per the BBC, several social media groups were using the emoji as a code for the word "vaccine." He said in a Twitter thread on Sunday the carrot emoji symbol was used to replace the word vaccine "presumably to evade censorship. Turqay Melikli/Getty imagesThe BBC flagged the group using the emojis as code to Facebook's parent company Meta, which took them down.

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