The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #18 The negotiating details holding up a cease-fire deal Houthi rebels on Friday threatened to extend their attacks on Israel-bound shipping to the Mediterranean, International Criminal Court prosecutors warned about "individuals who threaten to retaliate" against the tribunal or its staff and Tunisian journalists and opposition figures have voiced alarm about a surge of prosecutions since President Kais Saied's “fake news” decree.
On the Middle East with Andrew Parasiliti and Amberin Zaman | Episode #174 Turkey’s former PM Davutoglu, who met Hamas leaders this week, outlines their demands for peace Former Turkish Prime Minister and leader of the pro-Islamic Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu met with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal this week and shared their conditions for peace with Al-Monitor. Davutoglu sharply criticized the governments of Turkey and Arab states, saying they had done close to nothing for Gaza.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #17 Turkey strikes LNG deal as Abu Dhabi’s Red Bird abandons British papers: This week in business Doubts have grown over the fate of an Israel-Gaza cease-fire deal as the week nears a close, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announces $1 billion in aid to Lebanon and retail food chains Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC continue to count their losses from boycotts over the Gaza war.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #16 What an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal could look like Tuesday brought rising hopes for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal as the world waits for Hamas' response to the latest proposal. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI has withdrawn its offer to buy the UK newspaper conglomerate Telegraph Media Group, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Tuesday to Jordan and Israel and the ICJ ruled not to grant provisional measures requested by Nicaragua in its case against Germany.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #15 Gulf's water concerns rise amid the climate crisis The United States is nearly ready with a security package to offer Saudi Arabia if it normalizes relations with Israel, Israel is preparing for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of his cabinet over alleged war crimes in Gaza and France's top diplomat urged de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #14 Inside an American university encampment Pro-Palestinian protests have rocked universities across the United States, spreading to over 20 campuses this week. At George Washington University, Al-Monitor talks to students at the pro-Palestine encampment and counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags.
On the Middle East with Andrew Parasiliti and Amberin Zaman | Episode #173 Sister of Israeli-Russian scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov, who is being held by Iran-backed Shiite militia, calls for US military sanctions on Iraq Emma Tsurkov insists that the best way to get Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to make good on his pledges to secure her sister's freedom is for the United States to wield the threat of military sanctions.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #13 From döner diplomacy to NATO demands, a week in Turkish foreign policy More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Wednesday at two universities in California and Texas, a suspected Israeli drone attack hit eastern Lebanon on Thursday and Turkey’s Central Bank keeps interest rates at 50% despite rising inflation. On a lighter note, Turkey’s endangered Van cats from the province bordering Iran are rebounding.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #12 Environmental horror, ISIS resurgence in Amberin Zaman’s dispatch from Syria US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Monday the State Department would make public this week its plan to withhold aid from an Israeli military unit, the Israel-Hamas war entered its 200th day and an independent review of UNRWA finds “neutrality-related issues” but not enough evidence to substantiate Israeli allegations.
The Al-Monitor Brief | Episode #11 Palestinian UN membership struck down as US casts fourth veto Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran early on Friday, reportedly targeting locations in the west of the country. Explosions were heard in the city of Isfahan, prompting commercial flights to divert from their routes. In Washington, an IMF official says economies in the Middle East and North Africa face a "shadow of uncertainty" from ongoing tensions in the region.