Middle East

( Middle East Monitor ) – Despite being at the forefront of states determined to see the overthrow of the Syrian government by throwing its weight behind armed opposition factions over a decade ago, Turkey has hinted that it could follow other countries in the region in normalising relations with Damascus. As it stands, Ankara […]

Iran

Russia and Iran’s growing Friendship shows their Weakness not their Strength

The Conversation

By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham | – (The Conversation) – Facing economic and military difficulties in his invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president Vladimir Putin popped up this week in Iran’s capital Tehran. His plan was to show the world that, despite sanctions on Moscow and international aid for Ukraine’s resistance, he was not […]

Joe Biden

President Biden Must Commit to Ending the War in Yemen

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Farrah Hassen | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Biden once said the U.S. should never “check its principles at the door just to buy oil or sell weapons.” He should take his own advice. By Farrah Hassen | July 13, 2022 The United Nations has called the Saudi Arabia-led war in […]

Joe Biden

The Fateful Fist Bump

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – If you thought the polarization of politics in the United States was corrosive, brace yourself for the even more corrosive polarization of geopolitics. By John Feffer | July 20, 2022 The fist bump has been the default method of person-to-person contact in the COVID era. Shaking hands is […]

Agriculture

Environment: Iraqis and Iranians continue to oppose Turkey’s hydroelectric projects on the Tigris River

Global Voices

By Roman Shemakov | – The following story is part of series on Turkey’s Ilisu Dam project and the flooding of Hasankeyf. The Ilisu Dam, completed as part of Turkey’s Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (Southeastern Anatolian Development Project or GAP for short in Turkish) in 2019, has faced heavy criticism from both local as well as […]

Featured

Russia announces $40 Bn. Investment in Iran Oil & Gas, as Khamenei Supports Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey arrived on Tuesday in Tehran for a summit on guaranteeing the Syrian peace process in the framework of the Astana negotiations. But since this summit took place in the wake of President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East to create a united […]

Feminism

Women Protest Iran’s Hijab And Chastity Day By Removing Their Veils In Public

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda | – Iranian women’s rights activists posted videos of themselves publicly removing their veils on July 12 to coincide with National Day of Hijab and Chastity. The videos appeared on social media networks as women — and in some cases men — expressed their opposition to Iran’s law mandating that women […]

Displaced and Refugees

The World must Act to restore Funding to Syria to avert a Humanitarian Catastrophe

Middle East Monitor

By Jessica Adams | – Once again, last week, the people of northwest Syria were granted a last-minute reprieve. The aid community feared disaster had finally happened, after years of near misses, that the UN Security Council would fail to renew the last aid border crossing from Turkey into Idlib. Thankfully, days after it expired, […]

Food Security

How Morocco Could use its Solar Energy and abundant Phosphorous to Feed the World and Offset Russia

The Conversation

By Michaël Tanchum, Universidad de Navarra | – Morocco has a large fertiliser industry with huge production capacity and international reach. It is one of the world’s top four fertiliser exporters following Russia, China and Canada. Fertilisers tend to divide into three main categories; nitrogen fertilisers, phosphorus fertilisers, potassium fertilisers. In 2020 the fertiliser market […]