Saudi Arabia

The Saudis depleted their Own Aquifers: now they’re emptying Arizona’s and Getting Sweetheart Deals to do So

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ella Nilsen at CNN has done an excellent deep dive on the shrinking aquifers of the Southwest and how Arizona has allowed a Saudi and a United Arab Emirates company to establish water-hog farms to grow crops to be shipped back to the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a country […]

Afghanistan

A Different World is Possible: From Yemen War to Afghan Starvation, Our Tragedies are Exacerbated by Letting the US Military-Industrial Complex Run Wild

Peter G. Prontzos

Vancouver (Special to Informed Comment) – Right now, we have more than enough knowledge, wealth, and the capacity to create a just and prosperous world, but we are nowhere near realizing this dream. One reason is that we are constantly told about so-called “scarcities”, and how expensive it would be actually to help people and […]

Houthi

UN Rights Body Fails Yemeni People, Again: Zero Accountability for War Crimes

Human Rights Watch

By Joey Shea Acting Researcher, Yemen and Bahrain | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – On October 7, the Human Rights Council adopted, without a vote, a toothless resolution on Yemen that fails to establish a credible independent and impartial monitoring and accountability mechanism. This means that grave human rights violations, including apparent war […]

Eritrea

Why does the Ukraine War overshadow the Middle Eastern Wars?

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The war in Ukraine has dominated the headlines in U.S. and European newspapers, not to mention outlets in other parts of the world. The explosion this weekend that destroyed part of the bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland, along with Russia’s retaliatory missile attacks on Ukrainian cities […]

Featured

To Deal with Saudi Arabia, Biden should Fast-Track both Iran Deal and the Greening of Transportation

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Reuters reports that the Biden White House is upset with Saudi Arabia over the recent OPEC+ decision to cut the output of the 21 nations grouped in the bloc by 2 million barrels a day. President Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview Tuesday, “there will be consequences” for […]

Featured

As Saudis stab Biden in the Back with OPEC+ Oil Cut, Only Electric Vehicles can Make US Independent

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a major blow to President Joe Biden, on Wednesday, OPEC+ took steps toward cutting the oil production of the members by 2 million barrels a day. Jackie Northam at NPR reports the views of analysts who believe that Saudi Arabia and Russia drove the decision in order to get […]

censorship

Saudi Arabia: Drop Baseless Investigation of US Citizen: US Embassy Should Fully Assist Woman Facing Free Speech Charges

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Washington, DC) – Saudi prosecutors should drop an investigation possibly leading to formal criminal charges against a US citizen living in Saudi Arabia for “disrupting the public order,” Human Rights Watch said today. Carly Morris, 34, believes the allegation relates to her statements on social media voicing concerns about how Saudi […]

Saudi Arabia

Djinns and Glass Palaces: Is New Saudi Desert City Utopia or Horror Story?

Middle East Monitor

By Omar Ahmed | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Saudi Arabia’s The Line has been lauded as the world’s most futuristic city plan, and for good reason. The vertical, walled smart city will run entirely on renewable energy and aims to revolutionise urban planning, putting humans first. Catering for some nine million residents, the […]