Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Last week, Syria’s newly appointed President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking the highest-level meeting between Türkiye and Syria since 2009. The visit was al-Sharaa’s second international trip since being declared president, following his recent visit to Saudi Arabia. During the […]
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Arab World
Palestine Through the Lens: A Visual Chronicle of a Vibrant Society (1898-1946)
Book Author(s): G. Eric and Edith Matson Published Date: 2023 Publisher: Karama Paperback: 215 pages ISBN-13: 9798885892421 by Jamal Kanj ( Middle East Monitor ) – This is a review of an exceptional photo book, Images of Palestine (1898-1946). The book is a collection of photographs that spans nearly five decades, captured in the period […]
China dominates Middle East Solar Sector as Trump hobbles Renewables in US
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Chinese firms dominate the manufacture of photovoltaic solar panels, accounting for 80% of the global market (along with most elements of the supply chain). Volumes in China’s solar sector, including panels, batteries and EVs, expanded by a third in 2024, even though panel prices had plummeted. The Chinese will, however, […]
Syrian Regime Change: How rebel Victories often lead to unstable, non-inclusive Governments
By Sally Sharif, University of British Columbia (The Conversation) – Syria’s rebel leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has defended his decision to fill his cabinet with wartime loyalists and delay constitutional and electoral processes, describing these moves as pragmatic necessities for the country’s fragile transition. At the same time, he has called for the disarmament of all […]
“The Lion has Fallen:” The End of Syria’s Brutal Regime and the Fate of the Refugees
By Helen Benedict ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Six years ago, at the time of the first Trump administration’s Muslim ban and its initial round of vicious anti-immigrant policies, I visited a refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos to see how Europe was handling its own immigrants and refugees. Within a day, I met […]
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid in Sudan, Yemen, etc. That’s Not True
By Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester | – ( ProPublica ) – On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy President Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and […]
Red Sea Crisis: Supply Chain Issues set to Continue Despite Gaza Ceasefire
By Gokcay Balci, University of Leeds | (The Conversation) – The world’s major shipping companies say they won’t be sending vessels back to the Red Sea any time soon despite a pledge by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen not to attack them as long as the ceasefire in Gaza holds. French shipping and logistics company […]
Memo to Trump: How Dumping 2.2 Million more Palestinians on Jordan would Destabilize the Middle East even More than the Iraq War Did
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – First, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet proposed ethnically cleansing Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants in the fall of 2023, following many years of such calls from the Israeli equivalent of neo-Nazis. Then last year Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, dissatisfied with merely enabling an ongoing Israeli genocide, […]
As Syria ponders a democratic future: 5 lessons from the Arab Spring
By Robert Kubinec, University of South Carolina (The Conversation) – The fall of Bashar Assad’s dictatorship in December 2024 has ushered in a nerve-wracking time of hope and fear for Syrians concerning future governance in the long-war-torn country. While it’s unclear what exact political path Syria will take, the dilemmas the country faces are similar […]