Arab World

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain want Al Jazeera – including AJ+ – to be shut down. Here’s what Al Jazeera journalists think of that.” Al Jazeera Responds To The Qatar-Gulf Crisis | AJ+

Foreign Policy

Syria: US & Russia Agree to Ceasefire, De-Escalation: But will it Hold?

contributors

TeleSur | – – Rex Tillerson praised the agreement as indicative of future cooperation in Syria, but also said that the United States still sees no “long-term role” for the Assad government. The United States and Russia have cooperated to negotiate a ceasefire in the southwest region of Syria, an agreement which will involve a […]

Donald Trump

Do an Unstable President and a Reckless Prince threaten the World?

contributors

By Dilip Hiro | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The Middle East. Could there be a more perilous place on Earth, including North Korea? Not likely. The planet’s two leading nuclear armed powers backing battling proxies amply supplied with conventional weapons; terror groups splitting and spreading; religious-sectarian wars threatening amid a plethora of ongoing armed […]

Iraq

Why Mosul Matters

contributors

The Economist | (Video News Report) | – – “Mosul stands on the brink of recapture from Islamic State fighters, but the future of the city is uncertain. With several parties jostling for control of Mosul, fragile alliances could fracture, increasing the likelihood of bloody sectarian conflict.” The Economist: “Why Mosul Matters”

Qatar

Saudi-Led Group: Qatar to be Sanctioned for ‘Negative’ Response to Demands

contributors

TeleSur | – – Saudi Arabia said restrictions on Qatar will continue, but it did not announce new sanctions against Doha. Foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Doha’s response to their demands to end the crisis was “negative” and current restrictions […]

Iraq

Iraqis Travel to Mosul to Celebrate Holy Day in a Show of Solidarity

contributors

By Sali Mahdy | (GlobalVoices.org) | – – A group of around 300 Iraqis recently traveled from south and central Iraq to Mosul to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday with their newly liberated compatriots. In the summer of 2014, the militant group Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh) drove out Iraqi security […]

Featured

Leftist Kurds with US Air Support breach Walls of ISIL Capital, enter Old City

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Al Jazeera reports that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US Air Force and other international allies, has breached the walls around the old city of al-Raqqa in eastern Syria and managed to get into the old city itself. Al-Raqqa is the capital of […]

Iraq

Iraq united to defeat ISIL, but can it avoid Break-up Afterwards?

contributors

By Dylan O’Driscoll | ( OpenDemocracy.net ) | – – Multiple segments of the population, including at elite level, have come together in the fight against IS and now the time has come for this effort to extend beyond the battle. The Iraqi army recaptured Mosul’s historical al-Nuri mosque and its leaning minaret on June […]

censorship

UN: Saudi Bloc attempt to close Al Jazeera is attack on Freedom of Expression

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters reports that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, is “extremely concerned by the demand that Qatar close down the Al Jazeera network, as well as other affiliated media outlets.” The statement was released by UNCHR spokesman Rupert Colville. Colville added: “Whether or […]