Jordan saw a continuation of over week-long protests against a recently announced gas deal with Israel. A demonstration took place in Amman on 30th September and gathered about 2,000 participants, and since then several smaller acts of protests have taken place in the country. Opponents of the deal claims that it represents a threat to Jordan’s sovereignty, whereas the government argues that it is merely an economic agreement that is necessary given current energy supply problems.
Read More
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnert harshly criticised Israel, accusing it of undermining ‘the pursuit of peace’ with its recently announced West Bank settlement expansion plan. He also claimed that this move contradicts earlier assurances given by Israel to the US. US Department of State strongly condemned the plan, arguing that it represents a breach of Israeli commitments and ‘[calls] into question Israel's commitment to achieving a negotiated peace.’ According to the US, UK and UN the plan, which was approved on Wednesday 28th September, envisions about 300 housing units and an industrial area in Shiloh, next to an existing Shvut Rachel settlement.
Read More
US suspended talks with Russia on a Syrian truce and accused Moscow of not respecting the ceasefire agreement commitments. Russian-Syrian aerial bombing on civilian areas has intensified and prevented ensuring humanitarian aid to besieged communities. State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments,” and added: “Rather, Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the cessation of hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need.”
Read More
The US Department of State proclaimed that talks with Russia on Syria are “on life support […] but not flat-lined yet”, commenting on the lack of progress on bringing a halt to fighting in Aleppo. Both sided are trading accusations over recent fighting, with the US and Syrian opposition arguing that Russia and Damascus are conducting a ground offensive and massive bombardment in Aleppo, to which they reply with allegations of aiding terrorist groups. A ceasefire that had started on 12th September broke down a week later after a flurry of violation accusations, including claims of blocking humanitarian aid to cities besieged by government forces and an accidental air strike by anti-ISIS coalition on a Syrian army base.
Read More
After Wednesday’s recommendation by the National Security Council, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Thursday that the current state of emergency – introduced in July after a failed coup attempt and set for three months – will be extended. While Erdoğan floated a three-month extension, he also argued that ‘maybe 12 months won't be enough’ to remove threats to the government. It is expected that the Council of Ministers will duly give the necessary approval for the extension.
Read More The ninth president of Israel, Shimon Perez died in the 94th year of his life. Today, his body will be buried in Jerusalem on Mount Herzl. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands before the start of the funeral. The former leader of the Jewish state of Israel died on 28 September. Peres - one of the founding fathers of Israel, participated in the signing of an agreement on the establishment of Palestinian autonomy in 1994.
Read More
Saudi Arabia condemned a recently passed US law that allows lawsuits against Saudi Arabia over the September 11 attacks. The US Congress voted on Wednesday to approve legislation that will allow families of victims of the 2001 attacks to seek damages from the Saudi government. They overrode President Barack Obama's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) on relations between states. He said that the bill would set "a dangerous precedent" that could put US troops and interests at risk.
Read More The results of Tuesday’s parliamentary elections in Jordan ware announced on Sunday, 25th September. Most of the seats were won by independent candidates, while the National Coalition for Reforms, consisting of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, representatives of Christian minority and some secular groups, received the best results of all political parties. According to official data, the turnout was 36 percent, 20 pp lower than in 2013. Despite some improvement in the area of transparency, political parties and a journalist group reported numerous irregularities in voting and counting process.
Read More Accusations of 'barbarism' have been addressed to Russia for its recent actions in Syria, concerning a recent intensification of the bombings over Aleppo. The emergency United Nations Security Council meeting was held on the 25th of September. The meeting was called by the ambassadors of France, Britain and the United States who have addressed Russia with criticism concerning the increasing of the attacks over the Northern of the city. The meeting was called soon after the Syrian regime declared their offensive towards Eastern Aleppo, home to 275,000 civilians, 231 of which were killed in the attacks.
Read More A day after an airstrike on a humanitarian convoy, another airstrike night in northern Syria killed five medics which were responding to the earlier bomb attack. The medical team had just arrived at the scene of the previous attack in a town held by rebels when the area was attacked again and ambulance drivers as well as nurses who had arrived to transport wounded patients were killed. Throughout the last years, the Syrian government has been accused of carrying out "double tap" attacks on paramedics and rescue workers.
Read More
