Arab World

Daleh (Yemen) (AFP) – At Nasr Hospital’s emergency room in the Yemeni city of Daleh, a little boy struggles to breathe. He is too tired, or too hungry, to cry. Born with a degenerative neurological disease, his muscles have atrophied to nothing, his tiny joints visible through his pale skin, his stomach distended. The child’s […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s Remarks on Kavanaugh ‘Con Job’ and Top 4 other Policy Lies that should be Disqualifying

Juan Cole

I plowed through the disturbed ramblings of Trump’s ‘very big brain’ for all the myriads of falsehoods that came out of his mouth Wednesday. Trump poisoned the well of the Kavanaugh hearings by openly doubting the women accusers of his supreme court nominee (before hearing Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony today) and by dismissing the groundswell […]

Syria

Syria: Israel should ‘Think Twice’ about Bombing after Russian S-300 Air Defence Installed

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – A top Syrian official has said a new air defence system from ally Russia will force Israel to “think carefully” before carrying out any more air strikes in the country. Moscow announced on Monday it would deliver the advanced S-300 air defence system, a week after the Syrian military downed a Russian […]

Syria

Syrian Extremist Militias Reject Turkey-Russia Agreement, Will Attack Syrian Troops

Middle East Monitor

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that Syrian armed factions have rejected an agreement reached by Turkey and Russia on setting up a demilitarised zone between the armed opposition and Syrian government troops in Idlib as of 15 October. The Observatory said in a statement that the factions of Religious Guards Ansar Al-Tawheed, […]

Syria

Israel Asserts it can Bomb Syria at Will despite Downing of Russian Plane

AFP

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s coordination with Russia on its attacks in Syria remains unchanged despite the deadly downing of a Russian plane, and the Jewish state retains its right to decide on military actions, an Israeli official said Friday. Syrian air defences mistakenly shot down the military plane following an Israeli raid on Monday night, […]

China

Pakistan Invites Saudi Arabia to Invest in China Economic Corridor

AFP

Islamabad (AFP) – Islamabad has invited Saudi Arabia to invest in the Beijing-funded, multi-billion dollar infrastructure corridor being constructed in Pakistan, its information minister said Thursday, as concerns grow over the country’s debt levels. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an ambitious plan to build energy and transport links connecting the western Chinese region of […]

Featured

Annual State Dept. Report on decline of Terrorism forgets to Thank Iran and Hizbullah

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual State Department report on terrorism says that terrorist attacks were down by 23% world wide in 2017. The report attributed this decline in some large part to the defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria. (Obviously, they haven’t disappeared there, and pockets continue to offer resistance, but let’s […]

Egypt

Quality of Life dropping in Military-Ruled Egypt, Inequality Rising: UN Report

Middle East Monitor

The UN Development Programme has ranked Egypt 115th of 189 countries in its annual Human Development Index (HDI), four places below its ranking last year. The index, which has recorded governmental progress in human development since 1990, takes into account three main indicators: income per capita calculated in US dollars, average life expectancy, and markers […]

Yemen

Five Million Children Risk Famine in Saudi-led War on Yemen

AFP

Sanaa (AFP) – More than five million children are threatened by famine in war-torn Yemen as prices soar, a charity said Wednesday, warning an entire generation may face death and “starvation on an unprecedented scale”. The three-year conflict between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels linked to Iran has pushed the already impoverished country to […]