2023

DNA Study: Medieval Iranian Merchants account for Half of the Ancestry of Swahili People of East African Coast

By Chapurukha Kusimba, University of South Florida and David Reich, Harvard University | – The legacy of the medieval Swahili civilization is a source of extraordinary pride in East Africa, as reflected in its language being the official tongue of Kenya, Tanzania and even inland countries like Uganda and Rwanda, far from the Indian Ocean […]

Featured

Renewables outstrip Coal in US for first Time, with 50% of new Power being Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Energy Information Agency of the US Department of Energy announced this week that for the first time in US history, renewable sources generated more electricity in 2022 than did coal. Renewables also outstripped nuclear power generation, for the second year in a row. In fact, renewables are even more […]

Islam

Humza Yousaf: Scotland gets a Muslim Leader in a moment of extraordinary Change for British Politics

The Conversation

By Parveen Akhtar, Aston University and Timothy Peace, University of Glasgow | – Humza Yousaf’s appointment as first minister of Scotland is a historic moment for the UK. It means that, for the first time in history, the country has a Hindu prime minister in Westminster (Rishi Sunak) and a Muslim first minister in Scotland. […]

Afghanistan

Art As Therapy: Afghan Women Paint Their Experiences Under Taliban Rule

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

women Afghanistan Taliban patriarchy male chauvinism art creativity

Russia

The War of Surprises in Ukraine: Could there be one Surprise too Many?

Rajan Menon

( Tomdispatch.com) – Some wars acquire names that stick. The Lancaster and York clans fought the War of the Roses from 1455-1485 to claim the British throne. The Hundred Years’ War pitted England against France from 1337-1453. In the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648, many European countries clashed, while Britain and France waged the Seven Years’ […]

Featured

Rallies, Clashes Roil Israel as Netanyahu “Pauses” Gutting of Judiciary, and Far Right urges use of “Gasoline and Guns” on Protesters

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that clashed broke out Monday evening between centrist protesters against the Netanyahu government and far right thugs. Some 10,000 fascists gathered in front of the courthouse in Jerusalem to support Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan to weaken the judiciary. Some got into shouting matches […]

China

As Longterm Partnership with US Fades, Saudi Arabia deals with China, Iran and Russia, too

The Conversation

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University | – (The Conversation) – The fact that Saudi Arabia entered a rapprochement deal with Iran and chose China to broker it came as a surprise to many international observers. The agreement, officially called the Joint Trilateral Statement, was signed in Beijing on March 11 and begins the process […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Law Enshrines Male Guardianship (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia’s first codified law on personal status, issued on International Women’s Day in 2022, formally enshrines male guardianship over women, Human Rights Watch said today. The law contains discriminatory provisions against women concerning marriage, divorce, and decisions about their children. The Personal Status Law, issued on March […]

Reproductive Choice

Ending a pregnancy in 14 states leaves few Options. Some Americans are looking to Europe and India for help

Wisconsin Examiner

By: Kelcie Mosely Morris – ( Wisconsin Examiner) – The pills came in a dark salmon-colored envelope sealed with a plastic covering that traveled more than 7,000 miles, over a dozen time zones from Nagpur, India, in almost exactly one week. They were placed partially under the doormat of a home in a state with […]

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