Arab World

By Rana Allam | – CAIRO, Feb 23 2015 (IPS) – In November 2013, a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey ranked Egypt as the worst of 22 Arab states with regards to women’s rights. Several people argued that any country strictly following Islamic laws should rank lower, because Egypt and many other Arab and Muslim countries […]

Featured

Yemen: Saudi backs Sunni revolution against Shiite Houthi Rebels linked to Iran

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Yemen Voice reports that Wahhabi Saudi Arabia has launched an all out political offensive against the Shiite Houthi rebels who have taken over the north of the country. The Houthis took the capital last September but kept the government in place until recently, when they made a full […]

Gulf

Report: Attacks on Iraqi Women are a War Tactic

contributors

By Leila Lemghalef UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Iraqi women continue to be subject to physical, emotional and sexual violence, according to a new report by Minority Rights Group International and Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights. No Place to Turn: Violence against women in the Iraq conflict concludes that attacks on women – conducted by both […]

Israel

Negev Bedouin Resist Israeli Demolitions “To Show We Exist”

contributors

By Silvia Boarini AL ARAQIB, Negev Desert, Israel (IPS) – Lehavim Junction in the northern Negev in Israel has been the backdrop to protests against home demolitions in Bedouin localities for the past four and half years. Every Sunday, inhabitants of the Bedouin village of Al Araqib and their supporters stand behind a large banner […]

Health

Post-Hostilities Gaza an ‘Increasingly Toxic Environment’ UN Warns

contributors

By IMEMC News & Agencies A top United Nations official warned, on Wednesday, of an ‘increasingly toxic environment’ in the besieged Gaza Strip and called on Israel to release Palestinian tax revenues. Briefing the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman discussed what he described […]

Displaced and Refugees

AP Investigates: Bulk of Gaza Deaths Civilians

contributors

Associated Press | – “AP Exclusive: High civilian death toll in Gaza house strikes during Israeli conflict with Hamas militant group during the summer of 2014. Over 60 percent of those deaths were children, women and older men, all presumed to be civilians.” AP: “AP Investigates: Bulk of Gaza Deaths Civilians”

Egypt

Egypt: Sisi’s struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood and his Strikes on ISIL/ Daesh in Libya

contributors

By Henry Clements | (Informed Comment) – Egyptian president Abdel Fatah El-Sisi wants to rally the international community against terrorism in the Middle East. In a televised speech earlier this week he asserted, “Egypt and countries across the world are facing a fierce battle with terrorist organizations that adopt extremist ideology and share the same […]

Christianity

Holy War: How Bill O’Reilly & Daesh/ ISIL Share The Same Goal

contributors

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks) “Bill O’Reilly stated definitively, multiple times tonight, that he believes the United States and the world are in a “holy war” against ISIS and the White House needs to accept that fact. He said, “This is now a so-called holy war between radical jihadists and everyone else, including peaceful […]

Featured

Iraq: Kurds repel ISIL/ Daesh w/ help of the Shiite Militiamen they Distrust

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – In a bold move, Daesh (i.e. ISIL or ISIS) fighters moved Monday on Kirkuk and Erbil, two cities patrolled by the Iraqi Kurdistan paramilitary, the Peshmerga (those who stand before death). Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Kirkuk is an oil city and is disputed among Turkmen, […]