Middle East

Ann Arbor ( Mustafa Amin at the Akhbar al-Yawm [News Today] reviews the controversy in Egypt over Jada Pinkett Smith’s African Queens series of documentaries on Netflix. The first installment focused on Njinga, ruler of an early modern West African kingdom in what is now northern Angola. The second treats Cleopatra, and the trailer insists […]

Israel/ Palestine

Cementing Gaza’s History by Sketching its Ancient Sites

Middle East Monitor

Mohammed Asad ( Middle East Monitor) – Gaza is a region we hear about often but how much do we know about its past and history? This is something architect Wala’a Shublaq is looking to change as she sketches ancient sites and helps Palestinians in Gaza reconnect with their past. The 27-year-old urban […]

Houthi

Any New Yemen Truce must allow Participation of Citizens and Civil Society

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Negotiations for a new truce in Yemen by Saudi and Houthi authorities present an opportunity to incorporate accountability and monitoring mechanisms that are essential for protecting Yemenis’ fundamental rights, Human Rights watch said today. Based on news reports, negotiations are apparently making progress. To effectively address Yeminis’ human rights, […]

Authoritarianism

Many Female Voters see Turkey’s May 14 Elections as Crucial to Future of Women’s Rights

Arzu Geybullayeva

Written byArzu Geybullayeva ( Globalvoices.org) – In a report that was published in 2007 by European Stability Initiative, a think tank, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was hailed for bringing about reforms to empower women since coming to power in 2002. “If this report had been written in 1999, the year Turkey […]

Authoritarianism

Neither Iran nor Israel Needs Dictatorship: The Bad Joke of Pretender to a non-Existent Throne Kowtowing to Netanyahu

Fariba Amini

Newark, Delaware (Feature — Special to Informed Comment) – The recent visit of Reza Pahlavi to Israel and his meeting with PM Netanyahu raise many questions. Why now and what is the meaning of this pilgrimage? What is it about water? Is water the main issue in Iran? This must be a joke. Reza Pahlavi […]

China

Why the world should take Notice as Saudi Arabia joins Chinese Alliance – and how this relates to Taiwan

The Conversation

By Andrew MacLeod, King’s College London | – (The Conversation) – Saudi Arabia’s cabinet recently approved the decision to join the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This could be a signal that Riyadh, with all its energy reserves, is choosing sides in the Ukraine war. Saudi Arabia, in part stung by US president Joe Biden’s […]

Israel/ Palestine

In its First 100 Days, Israel’s New Netanyahu Gov’t Crashes and Burns

Middle East Monitor

Dr Adnan Abu Amer AdnanAbuAmer2 ( Middle East Monitor ) – The deteriorating security situation has given Israelis a great opportunity to list the failures of the new government 100 days after its formation. Members of the current coalition admit that many electoral plans and promises have not yet been fulfilled, and it is not clear […]

Houthi

Yemen Must Release Arbitrarily Detained People (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – All parties to the conflict in Yemen should immediately release anyone arbitrarily detained and to reveal what happened to those who have been forcibly disappeared since the conflict began in late 2014, Human Rights Watch, Mwatana for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Apartheid at Last Described in the Pages of the Venerable ‘Foreign Affairs’ Journal

Middle East Monitor

Nasim Ahmed Nasimbythedocks The remarkable pace by which the term “apartheid” has moved from the margins of the Israeli-Palestinian debate to its centre was on powerful display this weekend. The prestigious American magazine, Foreign Affairs, widely considered one of most influential foreign policy magazines shaping Washington’s thinking, added its weight behind the claim that […]