Rena Netjes
@renanetjes.bsky.social
Arabist. Journalist. Entrepreneur. With 19 field trips to Syria since 2019, I bring perspectives grounded in firsthand experience and authentic local engagement. @RenaLingua. renanetjes@protonmail.com
A frankly insane story about how a Trump-linked American drilling company is setting up equipment in Greenland to make exploratory boreholes, *despite* being denied permission by the Greenlandic government. So much for sovereignty, I guess. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Greenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drill
Island’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling
theguardian.com
The phone book that led us to Assad's spy chief in hiding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The phone book that led us to Assad's spy chief in hiding
How we tracked down "The Spider" who was once one of the most-feared men in Syria.
bbc.co.uk
What a night. What a venue. What a performance of #Dystinct. Thursday night in #Didim, Medusa Beach Club, Aegean Coast. #BababaWorld #ArabicMusic
It was reported that the cell was apprehended in the area of the city of Al-Hillah south of the capital Baghdad and that it was connected to Iranian figures responsible for carrying out drone strikes. It was further reported that advanced drones in their possession were seized.-Kan News
The Saudi Al-Khadath channel reports, citing its sources, that the authorities in Iraq arrested a cell of three individuals linked to militias that planned to carry out drone strikes outside Iraq.
President Donald Trump confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Camp David last week over severe U.S. munitions shortages, demanding to know why he had allegedly been misled about dwindling stockpiles that now threaten military options against Iran.-WaPo
Every single day 🏊♀️💙 🌞 Enjoying the music from the shore while you swim, Turkish & Arabic -Gel, Gel, Gel - Lvbel C5 ft. @dystinct -Yama Yama, @Dystinct -Hadi Bakalım, Sezen Aksu -Eih il yoom il Hilw da, Ahmad Saad -Ahla Leila, Ahla Nas, Vanco ft. Aya
Rena Netjes@renanetjes.bsky.social · 3d agoNothing beats a long swim in the turquoise waters of Turkey's southwest coast in temperatures nearing 40C...and then, out of nowhere, hearing your favourite Arabic songs playing from a beachfront hotel, followed by another beach club further down the shore. 🌊🎶🇹🇷 #Dystinct
Nothing beats a long swim in the turquoise waters of Turkey's southwest coast in temperatures nearing 40C...and then, out of nowhere, hearing your favourite Arabic songs playing from a beachfront hotel, followed by another beach club further down the shore. 🌊🎶🇹🇷 #Dystinct
A 60 Minutes probe into Epstein's banking, with Wyden already interviewed, vanished right after Sharyn Alfonsi got pushed out under Bari Weiss. Same editor who stalled the CECOT migrant story until Stephen Miller got a say. CBS keeps calling it timing. Sure looks like a pattern.
60 Minutes Epstein Banking Story Vanished After CBS Ousted Sharyn Alfonsi, Dem Senator Reveals
Wyden revealed he was interviewed for the show in a Senate report alleging the country's largest banks turned “a blind eye” to Epstein's financial activity
mediaite.com
I've been researching the Tice case on and off since Dec '24, after new information shared with (and shown to) me sparked my curiosity! Looking forward to the BBC & NPR podcast launching in September. Meanwhile, we're also working on a Dutch radio production, more on that soon.
#Didim, a town where Greece is only a few kilometers away and where smugglers arrange boats for luxury clients normal and luxury ones, to Italy.
New blogpost. I Went to University to Study Hebrew. I Graduated in Arabic. renanetjes.substack.com/p/i-went-to-...
An introduction to the (small) Iranian Kurdish group that Israel and the US believed could help overthrow the regime in Tehran. (By whom? A few career-oriented, wishful-thinking Kurds in suits in Tel Aviv and Washington? I have encountered misinformation at Tel Aviv University about Kurds in Syria)
Rena Netjes@renanetjes.bsky.social · 2w agoNew blog: Iran and the Kurdish Card From Qandil to Tal Rifaat: The Transnational Kurdish Militant Network and Iran’s Shadow Presence renanetjes.substack.com/p/iran-and-t...
This is beyond terrible. And the reason is that also the Iraqi Kurds and I learned yesterday, all the Peshmerga—that means incl the KDP Peshmerga (anti PKK) of Erbil, and not just the PKK-affiliated (Iranian) PJAK and the other small Iranian-Kurdish groups—refused to fight the ground war for Trump.
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · last wk.American, British, French and German forces have withdrawn hundreds of troops and key air-defense systems from Erbil International Airport in a surprise 72-hour pull-out that has left the Kurdistan Region badly exposed to intensifying Iranian and militia attacks.- Rudaw
France says Gironde ‘megafire’ is contained, as wildfires continue to burn in Greece and Spain – Europe live share.google/j5xZ0gy3uXbx...
France says Gironde ‘megafire’ is contained, as wildfires continue to burn in Greece and Spain – Europe live
Blaze in south-western region ‘is no longer spreading’, but others have reignited or have been fuelled by strong winds
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My latest: Far-right activist Laura Loomer spent her career spouting pro-Putin propaganda. Now overnight, Loomer has become an outspoken supporter of Ukraine’. For Türkiye Today I explore what’s behind her dramatic shift. www.turkiyetoday.com/opinion/hidd...
Hidden contradictions in Laura Loomer’s pro-Ukraine pivot - Türkiye Today
Inside Laura Loomer’s pivot to a pro-Ukraine stance lies a deep friction within the MAGA movement over the Iran war
turkiyetoday.com
On a trip to Ukraine, Loomer argued that the country functioned better than other parts of Europe because of its "lack of Muslims." The irony is that Muslim volunteer battalions have played an integral role in Ukraine's armed forces, with Muslim fighters receiving recognition from Zelensky himself.
Sophie Fullerton@sophiefullerton.bsky.social · last wk.My latest: Far-right activist Laura Loomer spent her career spouting pro-Putin propaganda. Now overnight, Loomer has become an outspoken supporter of Ukraine’. For Türkiye Today I explore what’s behind her dramatic shift. www.turkiyetoday.com/opinion/hidd...
Robert Ford in an exclusive interview with "Syria TV": From the beginnings of the revolution to the new Syria share.google/j9cCXdLkaTvE...
روبرت فورد في حوار خاص مع "تلفزيون سوريا": من بدايات الثورة حتى سوريا الجديدة
في حوار خصّ به "تلفزيون سوريا"، يعود الدبلوماسي الأميركي المخضرم والسفير السابق في دمشق، روبرت فورد، إلى الأشهر الأولى من الثورة السورية، ويكشف تفاصيل محاولة
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Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers, as it rebuilds its defences amid war with the United States. www.reuters.com/world/china/...
EXCLUSIVE: Iran to get Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems in weeks, sources say
Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, as it rebuilds...
reuters.com
Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu vows to reject Washington's demands to withdraw from Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza. share.google/w0giIxw3Mvtj...
قبيل لقائه ترمب.. نتنياهو يتعهد برفض مطالب واشنطن بالانسحاب من سوريا ولبنان وغزة
نقلت القناة 13 العبرية عن نتنياهو قوله خلال الاجتماع الأسبوعي للحكومة، عشية توجهه إلى واشنطن: "الأميركيون يطالبونني بسلسلة من الانسحابات من غزة وسوريا ولبنان
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A few months ago, I was asked to write an article about the Assad regime and the PKK. A shortened version was published in the print edition of the German magazine Zenith. With Iran still at the centre of international attention, I have now uploaded the full article to my blog.
Rena Netjes@renanetjes.bsky.social · 2w agoNew blog: Iran and the Kurdish Card From Qandil to Tal Rifaat: The Transnational Kurdish Militant Network and Iran’s Shadow Presence renanetjes.substack.com/p/iran-and-t...
The US-backed SDF fired Shahed drones towards Aleppo in January. Read my new blog to find out how they obtained them. (From Hezbollah)
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 2w agoRomania shot down a third Russian drone in three days, destroying it over territorial waters near Sulina-Chilia at 1013 local. A Romanian Air Force F-16 conducted the intercept after a RO-Alert warning for Tulcea County. Officials confirmed Friday’s drone was a Shahed.
1/ Who was present in the SDF areas of Sheikh Maqsoud/Aleppo and Tel Rifaat/N Aleppo, and who is present in the SDF area in Qamishlo? An in-depth analysis of the ties btwn the SDF/PKK and the old regime, Iran & Hezbollah. My latest in @zenith_online magazin.zenith.me/de/politik/d...
Rettet den Libanon!
Die neue zenith ist da: 146 Seiten stark, mit Analysen, Reportagen und Fotoserien unter anderem aus dem Libanon, Syrien, Jordanien, Jemen, Gaza und Irak.
magazin.zenith.me
A few months ago, I was asked to write an article about the Assad regime and the PKK. A shortened version was published in the print edition of the German magazine Zenith. With Iran still at the centre of international attention, I have now uploaded the full article to my blog.
Rena Netjes@renanetjes.bsky.social · 2w agoNew blog: Iran and the Kurdish Card From Qandil to Tal Rifaat: The Transnational Kurdish Militant Network and Iran’s Shadow Presence renanetjes.substack.com/p/iran-and-t...
