censorship

By Zhai Yun Tan | (Inter Press Service) | – – WASHINGTON (IPS) – The United Nations’ food aid organisation, the World Food Programme (WFP), said on Jul. 1 that up to 440,000 refugees from war-torn Syria might have to go hungry if no additional funds are received by August. WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian […]

censorship

Egypt’s Draconian new anti-Terrorism Law threatens freedom of speech, Democracy

contributors

Euronews | (Video Report) | – – “Egypt launched airstrikes on Islamist militant targets in the Sinai peninsula killing 23 fighters, the offensive comes a day after deadly clashes in the region.” On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a new anti-terrorism law which it claims will act as a deterrent but political expert Bashir Abdl Alfatah […]

censorship

Journalists Pay the Price in Egypt’s Crackdown on Dissent

contributors

By Kitty Stapp | – – NEW YORK (IPS) – The Egyptian government is holding a record number of journalists in jail, a press freedom group said Thursday, despite promises to improve media freedoms in the country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets then Egyptian Minister of Defence General Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi in […]

censorship

PM Netanyahu wants a Free Press, just not in Israel

contributors

By Ari Heistein | (Informed Comment) | – – Continuing his assault on transparency and independent voices in the media, Prime Minister Netanyahu denied investigative journalist Raviv Drucker’s Freedom of Information Law request last week regarding the frequent telephone calls between the Prime Minister and Amos Regev, the editor-in-chief of Israel’s biggest daily Israel Hayom. […]

Apartheid

Expelled for Life: A Palestinian Family’s Struggle to Stay on Their Land

contributors

By Jen Marlowe | (Tomdispatch.com) Nasser Nawaj’ah held Laith’s hand as, beside me, they walked down the dirt and pebble path of Old Susya. Nasser is 33 years old, his son six. Nasser’s jaw was set and every few moments he glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was approaching. Until Laith piped up […]

Arab Spring

Egypt: Year of Abuses Under al-Sisi — President Gets Western Support While Erasing Human Rights Gains

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt has presided over the flagrant abuse of human rights since taking office a year ago pledging to restore stability. Violence by armed groups and the government has escalated. The United States and European governments should stop overlooking Egyptian government abuses, including […]

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On eve of Turkish Election, Leftist Women Turn backs on Pres. Erdogan in Twitter Campaign

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In Turkey, left of center and Kurdish women took to Twitter on Wednesday to post pictures of themselves turning their backs to President Tayyip Erdogan. The campaign came after Kurdish women supporting the HDP (People’s Democratic Party) turned their back to the president at a rally […]

Balkans

“Nationalism and terrorism are constructed things to divide us”: Macedonian elections and a Balkan “War on Terror”

contributors

By Frances Trix | (Informed Comment) | – Now it appears, thanks to EU mediation, there will be new national elections in Macedonia next April 2016. In one sense it is quite early—there were national elections in April 2014 in which Nikola Gruevski, president since 2006, was once again elected. But in another sense, these […]

censorship

Egypt: Executing Muslim Brotherhood leader Morsi for “Terrorism” will Fuel… Terrorism

contributors

By Ebrahim Deen | (Informed Comment) | — ‘In contemporary Egypt, due process is often not granted, evidence is often not considered, and impartiality and independence are often not maintained.’ The sentencing of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and a hundred and five others to death for a 2011 prison break and subsequent death […]