Arab World

( Tomdispatch.com ) – There can be little question that the grim prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, which still shows no sign of closing anytime soon, is a key legacy — in the worst sense imaginable — of America’s post-9/11 forever wars. I’ve been covering the subject for decades now and that shameful legacy has […]

Africa

Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a Water Deal – what that means for other Nile River States

The Conversation

By John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University | – Egypt and Ethiopia have waged a diplomatic war of words over Ethiopia’s massive new dam – the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – on the Blue Nile, which started filling up in July 2020. The political row has threatened to get out of hand on occasion but […]

Arab League

Syria faces daunting Obstacles in its Attempt to rejoin the International Fold

The Conversation

By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin | – (The Conversation) – In the carefully composed photograph released by their state news agencies at the beginning of May, Syria’s leader Bashar al-Assad has his arms outstretched to welcome the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi. The two men are beaming. Raisi’s visit was a sign of Tehran’s essential […]

Egypt

The Existential Crisis of the Muslim Brotherhood

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Abdelrahman Ayyash, Amr ElAfifi, and Noha Ezzat, Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, 2013-22 (Washington, DC: The Century Foundation, 2023). Munich (Special to Informed Comment) – July 3, 2023, marked the tenth anniversary of the military coup that removed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi from power, paving the way for the […]

Arab World

Middle East and North Africa: End Curbs on Women’s Mobility (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Many Middle East and North Africa countries still prevent women from moving freely in their own country or traveling abroad without the permission of a male guardian. Women in the region are fighting rules that authorities often claim are for their protection, but that deprive women of their rights and enable men to control and […]

Central America

The Crimes and Dangers of Elliott Abrams: Why Biden Should not Appoint Him

Waging Nonviolence

Ariel Gold and Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler ( Waging Nonviolence ) – It was a bright sunny March morning in 1980. Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was saying mass at a church hospital in San Salvador when a bullet from a sniper rifle ripped through his heart. He stumbled and fell to the ground, […]

Africa

‘Life for black people in Tunisia 5 months after the President’s racist Speech has been incredibly Challenging’

Middle East Monitor

Amelia Smith amyinthedesert ( Middle East Monitor ) – When Tarek Tookebry began raising funds to collect essential items for a humanitarian convoy to Tunisia’s second city, Sfax – where black Africans are being increasingly attacked and deported – the initial goal was to raise 10,000 Tunisian dinars ($3,300). As of Wednesday 12 […]

Climate Crisis

Roots of Iraq’s Water Crisis: Upriver Dams along with Climate Change

McGuire Gibson

Response of McGuire Gibson, Professor Emeritus of Mesopotamian Architecture , University of Chicago, to Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl Juan: In your devastating post about Iraq’s drought, you could have given more attention to the crucial role of Turkey in flouting international law and damaging Iraq (and Syria) […]

censorship

Is Saudi Arabia using “Sportswashing” to Simply Hide its Human Rights Abuses — Or is there a Bigger Strategy at Play?

The Conversation

By Ben Rich, Curtin University and Leena Adel, Curtin University | – As Saudi Arabia continues to open up internationally, it is yet again in hot water over its human rights record. The current controversy revolves around the kingdom’s increasing presence in the sporting world and accusations of “sportswashing”. In recent years, the Saudis have […]