Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( Globalvoices.org) – More than five years after signing it, Turkey has become the final G20 member state to ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. On October 7, the Turkish parliament approved the bill unanimously. The decision comes ahead of the 2021 United Nations […]
In Turkey, 30 people face investigation over social media posts that ‘insulted the president’
By Arzu Geybullayeva ” – ( Globalvoices.org) – Turkish social media users have taken their concerns about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s health to Twitter. But when the hashtag #ölmüş, a Turkish word for “is said to be dead” started trending on November 3, it only took a few hours for the General Directorate of Security […]
After Thirty Years, are Turkey and Armenia really Ready to Normalize Relations?
By Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( GlobalVoices.org) – Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during the first Karabakh war in a show of solidarity with its long-time ally Azerbaijan. Almost three decades later, Turkey is considering reopening that border in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s victory in the second Karabakh war in 2020. During […]
‘Sindyanna of Galilee’: Extending the olive branch between Arabs and Israelis
By Coco Cresswell | – ( Globalvoices.org) – In 1996 Hadas Lahav, a Jewish Israeli social activist, had a vision: a future of Arab-Israeli coexistence. That same year, through co-founding Sindyanna of Galilee, a female-led social enterprise producing olive oil and other local products, she began to put this dream into practice. Sindyana of Galilee […]
Demands for Egypt’s U.S.-backed Egyptian Strongman al-Sisi to Release Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, detained for 2 Years without Charge
By Ellery Roberts Biddle | – The life of Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah is in danger. The 39-year-old was jailed in 2019 on charges of spreading fake news, but, despite the limits of Egyptian law, he has yet to go to trial. At a recent hearing concerning the case, his lawyer […]
Saudi Arabia’s first batch of women military graduates encourages more debate on gender roles
By Rahma Alattar | – ( Global Voices.org) – Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia celebrated the graduation of its first-ever cohort of women military recruits, opening the door to a debate on the kingdom’s latest move to narrow the once-gigantic gender gap. In loose and long military fatigues, with their heads and sometimes faces covered […]
Beijing in the Mideast: China’s Asian Infrastructure Plan and Turkey’s Black Sea Ambitions
By Emre Demir | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – Despite mounting opposition from political and civil society groups due to potential environmental and political issues, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is determined to proceed with the controversial Kanal Istanbul project, an artificial, 45-km long shipping canal that will connect the Sea of Marmara to the Black […]
Climate Emergency hits Mideast as Massive Wildfires In Turkey destroy livelihoods
By Doga Celik and Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( GlobalVoices.org) – Since July 28, a total of 125 forest fires have raged through 21 provinces of Turkey with 8 still raging as of August 2. The first fire was reported on July 28. So far, the death toll has reached 8 people, including two firefighters. […]
‘A pandemic of impunity in a tortured land’: Stalemate in Yemen War Worsens Human Rights Crisis
By Saoussen Ben Cheikh | – (GlobalVoices.org ) – The latest peace talks in Oman fell apart apart, and for Yemenis, that means going back to square one. Escalations in Marib have worsened the dire humanitarian situation and the suffering of civilians in a conflict that has entered its sixth year. An activist speaking to […]