Middle East

In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestinian territories: Refugee camps contain the hidden victims of Covid-19

( Middle East Monitor) – With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2019, interest in the plight of the world’s most vulnerable populations, refugees, began to wane. A year later, and it is as if the refugee crisis has disappeared completely. It hasn’t, though. In fact, the world’s erstwhile leading humanitarian crisis has […]

Epidemics

‘So Frustrated’: Iranians’ Fears Skyrocket That They Won’t Get Access To COVID-19 Vaccines

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/ RL ) – Amid the launch of mass COVID-19 vaccination drives in the West, there’s growing concern among Iranians that they could be left behind. They fear U.S. sanctions and what some regard as the Iranian clerical establishment’s failure to prioritize the well-being of its citizens. Iranians, including health workers, have taken to […]

Donald Trump

The Arrogance of Superpower: Trump will “Let” Iranians import Coronavirus Vaccine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump has given Iran permission to buy the coronavirus vaccine, according to Sharif Nizam Mafi, the head of the Iran-Switzerland join chamber of commerce. Take a moment to let the enormity of this statement sink in. The United States of America will let Iran have the coronavirus vaccine? Iran has […]

censorship

Saudi severe Violations of Human Rights Law pose Challenge to new Biden Administration

Middle East Monitor

By Mehmet Rakipoglu | ( Middle East Monitor ) – International human rights law and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not sit together easily. A head of state acting as the “custodian” of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah has not stopped the Saudi authorities from acting against universal human rights, even […]

censorship

Exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar sentenced to 27.5 years in prison for Reporting on Ankara’s aid to Syrian Fundamentalist Rebels

Committee to Protect Journalists

( Committee to Protect Journalists) | – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a Turkish court’s conviction and sentencing of exiled journalist Can Dündar. On December 23, the 14th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes announced that Dündar, who lives in Germany, had been sentenced to 18 years and nine months in prison for an espionage […]

Antisemitism

The term ‘Judeo-Christian’ has been misused for political ends – a new ‘Abrahamic’ identity offers an alternative

The Conversation

By Toby Greene | – Upcoming elections in the Netherlands and Germany in 2021 will test the strength of the radical right, which has a distinct vision of European identity. In contrast to those who view democratic values as essentially secular and universal, and not tied to specific cultural or religious roots, radical right parties […]

Donald Trump

US Government must Ensure Iranians Equitable Access to Covid-19 Vaccines

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – We, the undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations, call on all stakeholders to ensure people in Iran have swift, unencumbered, and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable Covid-19 vaccines. We particularly call on the government of the United States to provide assurances to financial institutions that they will not […]

Elections

Israel enters a New Election between the Right and the Far Right

Middle East Monitor

By Antoine Shalhat | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Israel is heading towards a fourth general election in less than two years, coinciding with another confirmed fact that the competition in this election will be between the components of the Israeli right-wing. The elections will be held against a single backdrop: the opposition […]

Donald Trump

Peril in the Middle East, Peril at Home: Our Top 10 Stories of 2020

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – 2020 was a monster of a year, leaving three million Americans dead (a record), probably nearly half a million of them of Covid-19 once everyone is counted. The fecklessness of the outgoing Trump administration was responsible for a good deal of this national catastrophe, one that did not strike our […]