Arab World

By Pardis Mahdavi, The University of Montana | – Shortly before Lionel Messi took to the stage to lift up the World Cup trophy, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani put a black cloak, called a “bisht,” over the Argentinian soccer star’s shoulders. Images of Messi wrapped in black fabric, which might have […]

Algeria

Why Algeria’s Coup and Civil War Should Alarm Americans about Trumpism, Whether he is Convicted or Not

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump’s attempted coup on Jan. 6, for which he has now been referred to the Department of Justice on sedition and other charges by the January 6 Committee of the House, evoked in me a powerful feeling of déjà vu. It reminded me of Algeria 1991. Algeria had been […]

Houthi

Facing Houthi Victory in Yemen, US Changes Tactics

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – After years of backing a disastrous, Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, the United States is shifting its approach to the war, supporting a UN-brokered truce that has resulted in the most significant reduction of violence since the war began. Bowing to the reality that […]

Joe Biden

Will Saudi’s Bin Salman cancel his Grandfather’s Agreement with Roosevelt on US Alliance?

Middle East Monitor

By Amira Abo el-Fetouh | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – On 14 February, 1945, while US President Franklin D Roosevelt was returning from the Yalta Conference where he met Britain’s Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin of the USSR, King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was summoned to meet […]

Iraq

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Yazidi girls box their way to a new future after Daesh terror

Juan Cole

By Roshan De Stone | – ( Middle East Monitor) – After the 2014 Daesh genocide which left them reeling from the effects of mass abduction and rape, Yazidi refugee girls are rebuilding their lives with the help of boxing, art and music classes. Emma Loffhagen and Charline Bou Mansour report from Iraqi Kurdistan In […]

Children

UN: 11,000 Boys and Girls have been Killed or Wounded in the Yemeni War that the US backed

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – UN News reports that 11,000 boys and girls are estimated to have been killed or wounded by direct violence in the Yemen War that has been going on since the Saudi air assault of spring 2015. The figure was released by Catherine Russell, the head of the UN children’s fund, […]

Arab World

Climate Action in Middle East is Doomed to fail without Reform and Peace

Sustainability Times

By Sustainabiity Times | – ( Sustainability Times) – The United Nations COP27 conference has now drawn to a close, with talks culminating in a historic agreement to establish a climate “loss and damage” fund. Egyptian foreign minister and president of COP27, Sameh Shoukry, celebrated after all-night negotiations, declaring that “we rose to the occasion” […]

Displaced and Refugees

Northeast Syria: Turkish Strikes Exacerbate Humanitarian Crisis

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – Turkish airstrikes since November 20, 2022, are inflicting damage on densely populated areas and critical infrastructure across north and northeast Syria and exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis for Kurds, Arabs, and other communities in the region, Human Rights Watch said today. The strikes have displaced families, caused significant power […]

Arab World

Xi announces “New Era” in China-Saudi Relationship with $30 bn. in Deals, as Arabs Seek to Offset Dependence on Washington

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Thursday signed an agreement with visiting Chinese Premier Xi Jinping at the Yamama Palace regarding a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries. Xi announced that his visit to the kingdom would inaugurate a “new era” in the relationship of […]