Middle East

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, began his legitimate political career at the turn of this century with a push for more political pluralism in a Turkey that had long been dominated by an elite, secular military. Now that he has won another term, Erdogan’s rise as an authoritarian strong man is a key […]

Iraq

In Post-ISIL Iraq, Cleric al-Sadr adds PM Haidar al-Abadi in Quest for Gov’t of National Unity

AFP

Najaf (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr on Saturday said they had formed an alliance in a bid to create a new government after May polls. Sadr’s joint list with communists won 54 seats in the legislative elections to become the biggest bloc in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament, while […]

Saudi Arabia

At Midnight, Riyadh Erupts in Cheers for Women Drivers–but Women Activists still in Jail

Natacha Yazbeck

Riyadh (AFP) – Every few metres someone — a newlywed couple, a group of young girls with balloons — stops Samar Almogren to cheer her on or flash her a thumbs-up. It’s midnight in Riyadh, and she’s making her way across the city she was born and raised in, finally in the driver’s seat of […]

Saudi Arabia

The Real Reason Saudi Arabi Lifted its Ban on Women Driving: Economic Necessity

Martin Hvidt

Odense (The Conversation) – After years of campaigning by women activists, on June 24 the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia will be lifted. It is the most visible of a bundle of recent initiatives taken by the Saudi king and the crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, to strengthen the role of women in […]

Climate Change

CO2 Catastrophe for Egypt: Rising Seas, Salinization to Displace 5 mn by 2025

Middle East Monitor

Cairo (Middle East Monitor) – The climate change on Egypt’s northern coast is expected to lead to the migration of at least five million people from the Nile Delta if appropriate measures are not taken. Climate changes on Egypt’s northern coast could force five million people to leave the country’s Nile Delta area, Egypt’s irrigation […]

Houthi

Yemen’s Huthis vow to fight on after losing Hodeida airport to Saudi-Backed Coalition

AFP

Khokha (Yemen) (AFP) – Yemen’s Huthi rebels vowed to fight on after pro-government forces seized Hodeida airport from them on Wednesday, in a major step towards retaking the port city following a week-long battle. Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi called for reinforcements to repel the advance of the UAE-backed government forces, after ongoing fighting left nearly […]

Houthi

What do the Warring Parties in Yemen Want, now that the Conflict is Heating Up?

Kelly McFarland

The military conflict now escalating in Yemen threatens the lives of more than 250,000 people in the port city Hodeidah while 8 million more people across Yemen already risk starvation. The country is also facing the “worst cholera outbreak in modern history.” I am a scholar who has studied Yemen and worked as an Arabian […]

Syria

Plot Thickens: Israeli Airstrike blamed for Killing 22 Iraqi Shiite Militiamen in Syria

AFP

Baghdad (AFP) – More than 20 fighters from an Iraqi paramilitary force key to the battle against the Islamic State group were killed in an eastern Syria air raid the United States linked to Israel. The bombing raid hit Al-Hari, a town controlled by regional militias fighting in Syria’s complex seven-year war alongside President Bashar […]