Arab World

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Shiite politician Adil Abdul Mahdi has been appointed prime minister by new Iraqi president Barham Saleh, bringing to a close months of gridlock in Iraqi politics after the parliamentary elections in June failed to produce a clear winner. Parliament in the past couple of weeks has finally been able to […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Dissident Journalist Khashoggi Visits Saudi Consulate in Istanbul then Disappears

AFP

Washington (AFP) – A veteran Saudi journalist who has been critical of the government has gone missing after visiting the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported. Jamal Khashoggi, who writes opinion pieces for the Post, has not been seen since entering the consulate in the afternoon, according to his fiance who […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi: The Banana Republic with very few Bananas

Daniel Martin Varisco

Stockholm ( MENA Tidningen) – The Saudis are feeling offended that another country might criticize their dismal record of human rights. Last August Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted that a Canadian citizen, Raif Badawi, and his sister Samar should be released from a Saudi prison. Their arrest was due to their promotion of human […]

Iraq

Miss Iraq: Death Threats target Women Media Activists after Miss Baghad was Assassinated

Middle East Monitor

Iraqi fashion model and media activist, Shaimaa Qasem, holder of the title of Miss Iraq in 2015, yesterday said that she had received “death threats.” Qasem, who held the title of Miss Iraq in 2015, posted a short live video on Facebook’s Instagram, revealing that she had received a message read “your turn is coming.” […]

Featured

15 Years after US Occupied Iraq, it is too Unsafe for Trump Admin to keep a Consulate There

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A little over 15 years after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq on false pretences, the Department of State has been forced to close the US consulate in Basra because the US cannot guarantee its security. Basra has been roiled this summer by huge protests against lack of services […]

Yemen

In Midst of Saudi-US war on Yemen, Doctors Despair as Babies die in ‘Orphaned Province’

AFP

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, […]