Blinken tours Middle East to prevent regional escalation
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, during Blinken’s week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, at Lusail Palace in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s five-day Middle East mission is raising questions about the limits of US leverage in the region and how Washington’s agenda is diverging from Israel’s goals. And, since Dec. 20, Nicaraguan police and paramilitary units have detained more than a dozen priests and bishops, as the left-wing authoritarian regime of Daniel Ortega escalates a campaign against the Catholic Church. Also, Hezbollah emerged during Lebanon’s civil war with the intention of ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. With Iran’s backing, it has become the strongest military force in Lebanon, and one of the strongest militias in the region. Four decades after its founding, some say that it is a state within a state. Plus, Inuit in Denmark embrace their heritage with tattoos.
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