US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, has accused Iran of being behind the killing of hundreds of US troops in Iraq after 2003.

“In Iraq, I can announce today, based on declassified US military reports, that Iran is responsible for the deaths of at least 608 American service members,” Sputnik quoted Hook.

• Weiterlesen über Iran für unzählige tote US-Soldaten im Irak verantwortlich

In der FR wird der türkische Politikwissenschaftler Cengiz Aktar, der selbst inzwischen in Athen lehrt, über die Kommunalwahlen in der Türkei, ihre Bedeutung für Erdogan und die AKP befragt:

• Weiterlesen über Wahlen in der Türkei: Ohne Hoffnung

• Weiterlesen über Türkische Lira fällt weiter

After weeks of mounting protests in Algeria, with hundreds of thousands gathering to call upon ailing 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to relinquish office, there are further signs of the president’s inner circle deserting him.

• Weiterlesen über Risse im algerischen Establishment

In a statement, the Kurdish administration called for "a special international tribunal in north-east Syria to prosecute terrorists" to ensure that trials are "conducted fairly and in accordance with international law and human rights covenants and charters".

Speaking to the BBC, the administration's head of foreign affairs, Abdul Karim Omar, said the fact so few nations had repatriated their citizens who joined IS has added to their problems.

• Weiterlesen über Syrische Kurden fordern internationales Tribunal gegen den IS

Der Spiegel über eine neue Studie zur Lage von Flüchtlingen in Libyen:

• Weiterlesen über Flüchtlinge in Libyen werden systematisch misshandelt

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip took to the streets on Saturday for the third successive day. (...)

In response to a video of Hamas forces suppressing demonstrations, a close confidant of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tweeted his outrage.

“This is not the Israeli occupation forces!!”Fatah Central Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh said. “It is the Hamas gangs that are terrorizing and suppressing the hungry in the Gaza Strip.” (...)

• Weiterlesen über Demonstrationen gegen Hamas; Dritter Tag

Die iranische Menschenrechtlerin und Rechtsanwältin Nasrin Sotoudeh ist zu insgesamt 38 Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Dies teilte ihr Ehemann Reza Khandan heute Vormittag auf seiner Facebook-Seite mit.

• Weiterlesen über Iran: 38 Jahre Haft und 148 Peitschenhiebe

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has postponed the 18 April presidential elections and said he will not seek a fifth term in office.

President Bouteflika's candidacy had provoked mass protests across Algeria over the past few weeks.

He has led Algeria for 20 years but has been rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013.

No new date for the election was set. A cabinet reshuffle will happen soon, a statement in Mr Bouteflika's name said.

• Weiterlesen über Bouteflika zieht Kandidatur zurück

• Weiterlesen über Aus Assads Gefängnissen

Roya Hakayan schreibt in Foreign Policy ueber den Weltfrauentag im Iran:

• Weiterlesen über 40 Jahre danach: Feminismus im Iran

Bis zuletzt kontrollierte der Islamische Staat sein schrumpfendes Kalifat mit eiserner Hand:

• Weiterlesen über IS: Kontrolle bis zuletzt

On Friday, the United Nations published its 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria, which warned that over 2 million boys and girls in the embattled nation are currently not attending school.

The report underlines the scale of humanitarian needs in the war-torn country suffering from an ongoing civil war since 2011.

The overview is a reminder that the crisis is far from over for millions of people in Syria, who have lived through eight years of crisis, said the UN chief's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during a press conference.

• Weiterlesen über Zwei Millionen syrische Kinder gehen nicht zur Schule

A spokesman for Germany’s interior ministry (BMI) wrote The Jerusalem Post: “The BMI does not comment on concrete prohibition considerations in general; this applies regardless of whether there is reason to do so in individual cases.”

• Weiterlesen über Bundesregierung zu Hizbollah Verbot

Den Gipfer der arabischen Liga mit der EU kommentiert Andreas Backhaus in der Zeit:

• Weiterlesen über EU Gipfel: Stabilität mit Despoten