By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Solar power is poised to grow 6-fold by 2030 and could constitute between 9% and 13% of world electricity production by then. Price per kilowatt hour for solar is plummeting, so that it is on the verge of being the cheapest form of energy, outstripping coal […]
Archives for July 2016
Turkey’s six foreign policy sins and the Istanbul Bombing
By Sibel Oktay | (Informed Comment) | – – You don’t have to be an avid follower of international news to have heard about the terror attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport – Turkey’s biggest and Europe’s third largest hub for air travel. Most likely carried out by ISIS, the attack killed 42 people and wounded […]
Israel: Meretz Head says “Netanyahu’s Theory Of Running The Conflict Has Collapsed”
IMEMC | – – Meretz Party head, Israeli Member of Knesset (MK) Zehava Gal-On, stated Saturday that the theory of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of running the conflict has failed, and added that the only solution is ending this conflict through a political solution. “Israel cannot just ignore the Quartet Committee report,” Gal-On said, “Israel […]
Buddhist Mob Burns Down a Muslim Mosque in Myanmar Village
TeleSur | – – A mob has burned down a mosque in the second attack of its kind in just over a week. Scores of Buddhists ransacked a mosque in northern Myanmar forcing Muslims to seek refuge overnight in a police station after another violent dispute caused religious intolerance, officials and residents said Friday. “The […]
US Claims 116 Killed in Drone Strikes, Critics Say 1,000
TeleSur | – – Human rights organizations argue the U.S. government has grossly underestimated the number of civilian deaths caused by drones. The United States government accepted responsibility Friday for inadvertently killing up to 116 civilians in strikes in countries where America is not at war, a major disclosure likely to inflame debate about targeted […]
Top 5 things that Make Bangladesh a natural Target for Extremists
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Bangladesh has been plagued by extremist violence for years, but the violence and hostage-taking in Dhaka on Friday and on Saturday morning was a whole new level of disruption. Why Bangladesh? Here are some reasons: 1. Bangladesh is a multicultural state, where some 9 percent of […]
Putin’s Winning Hand in Syria, as Turkey Apologizes and Obama Deals
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Vladimir Putin was the skunk at the party in the West after his annexation (or repossession, depending on how you look at it) of Crimea. Europe declared that borders cannot be changed by fiat or troops. The US pressed for heavy sanctions. The Russian intervention in […]
Iraq: al-Anbar’s Cities are ISIL-Free, But Can they be kept that Way?
Kamal al-Ayash | (Niqash.org) | – – Every time extremists are forced out of Anbar’s cities they take refuge in nearby desert and attack again. Now it seems like the same guerilla war is starting again. Plenty of effort has gone into pushing the extremist group known as the Islamic State out of major cities […]
Istanbul Suicide Bombers Were Russian, Uzbek, Kyrgyz: Official
TeleSur | – – The attack at Ataturk Airport is suspected to be the work of [Daesh or] the Islamic State [IS] group. Three suspected IS suicide bombers who killed 44 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul’s main airport this week were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals, a Turkish government official said […]