Arab World

CNN’s sources say that when Trump met with Jordanian king Abdullah II, he revealed his game plan for Syria. Trump is said to plan to discuss this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their proposed summer summit. The plan is apparently for the US to allow the government of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to […]

Syria

As 50,000 Flee Regime Assault on Daraa, Rebels Face Surrender or Death

Layal Abou Rahal

Beirut (AFP) – Facing Russian and regime bombardment and abandoned by international backers Jordan and the United States, rebels in southern Syria are left with few options — all of them unsavoury. – Where’s the outside support? – Syria’s south is a strategic zone bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan, and easily accessible from the […]

Syria

Defying US, Syrian Troops Launch Assault on Daraa City as Civilians Flee

Mohamad Abazeed

With Tony Gamal-Gabriel in Beirut Daraa (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s army launched an assault on the flashpoint southern city of Daraa Tuesday, state media said, after a week of deadly bombardment on the nearby countryside caused mass displacement. Government forces have set their sights on retaking the south of the country, a strategic area that […]

Iraq

Iraq bombs meeting of Daesh leaders in Syria; kills high-value targets

Middle East Monitor

Iraq has launched an air attack on a gathering of Daesh leaders inside neighbouring Syria, killing 45 members of the hardline militant group, its military said on Saturday. F-16 fighter jets destroyed three houses on Friday which were connected by a trench in the town of Hajin, where the leaders were meeting. Those killed included […]

Climate Change

Is Fertile Crescent Drying up? Neighbors’ Dams, Global Heating, and Iraq’s Low Tigris

Niqash

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – In Baghdad, locals have been fretting about dramatic falls in the level of the Tigris river. The government has a plan. Only problem is, that plan requires billions in funding that Iraq does not have. The passengers in the small bus all peer out anxiously as the vehicle crosses the Sanak bridge […]

Iraq

In Post-ISIL Iraq, Cleric al-Sadr adds PM Haidar al-Abadi in Quest for Gov’t of National Unity

AFP

Najaf (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr on Saturday said they had formed an alliance in a bid to create a new government after May polls. Sadr’s joint list with communists won 54 seats in the legislative elections to become the biggest bloc in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament, while […]

Saudi Arabia

At Midnight, Riyadh Erupts in Cheers for Women Drivers–but Women Activists still in Jail

Natacha Yazbeck

Riyadh (AFP) – Every few metres someone — a newlywed couple, a group of young girls with balloons — stops Samar Almogren to cheer her on or flash her a thumbs-up. It’s midnight in Riyadh, and she’s making her way across the city she was born and raised in, finally in the driver’s seat of […]

Saudi Arabia

The Real Reason Saudi Arabi Lifted its Ban on Women Driving: Economic Necessity

Martin Hvidt

Odense (The Conversation) – After years of campaigning by women activists, on June 24 the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia will be lifted. It is the most visible of a bundle of recent initiatives taken by the Saudi king and the crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, to strengthen the role of women in […]

Climate Change

CO2 Catastrophe for Egypt: Rising Seas, Salinization to Displace 5 mn by 2025

Middle East Monitor

Cairo (Middle East Monitor) – The climate change on Egypt’s northern coast is expected to lead to the migration of at least five million people from the Nile Delta if appropriate measures are not taken. Climate changes on Egypt’s northern coast could force five million people to leave the country’s Nile Delta area, Egypt’s irrigation […]