Arab World

By Human Rights Watch Update: December 7, 2013 The Sidi Gaber Minor Offenses Court on December 7 commuted the sentences for the 21 female Brotherhood protestors. The 14 young women received a 1 year suspended sentence, while the 7 girls were ordered to be released subject to the three months of probation. (New York) – […]

Featured

Solar would be Cheaper: US Pentagon has spent $8 Trillion to Guard Gulf Oil

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was in the Gulf on Friday at a conference of defense ministers from the region, including the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran. Hagel underlined American commitment to the security of the Arab states on the littoral of the Gulf, including Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, […]

Afghanistan

Interview with Jeremy Scahill Questions “War on Terror”

Juan Cole

Euronews asks Jeremy Scahill about his new film, “Dirty Wars,” which has been nominated for an Academy Award. Scahill was also recently interviewed at Democracy Now! “AMY GOODMAN: Jeremy, this report that just came out from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that more people have been killed in drone strikes in the six months after […]

Africa

Photo of the Day: Mandela Training in Algeria

Juan Cole

h/t Sami Ben Gharbia ‏@ifikra Nelson Mandela training with the Algerian Liberation Front in 1962. The Algerians fought an 8-year war, 1954-1962, to become independent from French imperialism, in the course of which between half a million and a million Algerians died (the population of the country was then 11 million). In 1962, South Africa […]

Featured

Tunisian Rapper Jailed for 4 Months for Insulting the Police

Juan Cole

Tunisia Live reports that: “Rapper Ala Yaacoubi, known by his stage name Weld el 15, turned himself in to a court in Hammamet today, where his 21-month prison sentence was reduced to four months.” He was sentenced for public indecency (because of his rap lyrics) and for insulting officers of the state (his most famous […]

Featured

Sunni-Shiite Tensions soar in Lebanon; Hizbullah accuses Saudis in Iran Embassy Bombing

Juan Cole

Several dramatic accusations and events have heightened Sunni-Shiite tensions in Lebanon, as the Syrian Civil War continues to spill over onto Beirut’s politics. In the northern city of Tripoli, Sunni Salafis (who support the rebels in Syria) have fought in recent days with `Alawis (a sect of the Shiites, who support Syria’s Alawite-dominated Baath government), […]

Egypt

Egyptian Constitution: Army Strengthened, Religious Parties Banned, Freedom of Belief, Speech Enshrined

Juan Cole

Over half the articles of the proposed constitution for Egypt were approved by the “Committee of 50” on Saturday. The rest will be taken up on Sunday. The voting was on a majority vote basis, but in any case only rare articles attracted more than one or two “no” votes. This constitution replaces both the […]

Lebanon

Syrian Civil War Spreads to Lebanon: Beirut Shaken by Iran Embassy Blast, kills 23, wounds 150

Juan Cole

Al-Hayat [Life] reports on the targeting by two suicide bombers of the Iranian embassy in south Beirut on Tuesday, which killed 23, including the Iranian cultural attache and embassy guards, and wounded 150. It was the first attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut since the outbreak of the civil war in neighboring Syria. Since […]

Egypt

Egypt: Youth Remember Martyrs, Reject both Army and Muslim Brotherhood

Juan Cole

A couple of thousand demonstrators came into Tahrir Square on Monday evening to commemorate the massacre of protestors at Muhammad Mahmoud St. off Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on November 19, 2011. The commemoration continued Tuesday morning. One of their signs said “Revolutionaries only: No entry for Muslim Brothers, the Military, or remnants of the […]