Middle East

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain want Al Jazeera – including AJ+ – to be shut down. Here’s what Al Jazeera journalists think of that.” Al Jazeera Responds To The Qatar-Gulf Crisis | AJ+

Foreign Policy

Syria: US & Russia Agree to Ceasefire, De-Escalation: But will it Hold?

contributors

TeleSur | – – Rex Tillerson praised the agreement as indicative of future cooperation in Syria, but also said that the United States still sees no “long-term role” for the Assad government. The United States and Russia have cooperated to negotiate a ceasefire in the southwest region of Syria, an agreement which will involve a […]

Donald Trump

New Neocon Mantra: Hit Iran, b/c like Soviet Union, it is Collapsing

contributors

By Jim Lobe | (Inter Press Service) | – – WASHINGTON, (IPS) – Iran hawks suddenly have a new mantra: the Islamic Republic is the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, and the Trump administration should work to hasten the regime’s impending collapse. It’s not clear why this comparison has surfaced so abruptly. Its proponents […]

European Union

Can Total’s Gas deal in Iran vindicate the Nuclear Deal?

contributors

By Meysam Tayebipour | (The Conversation) | – – Nine years ago, when sanctions were imposed on Iran by the international community, Total was the last Western energy company to suspend its activity there. Now, following the lifting of nuclear sanctions on Iran in January 2016, Total is the first Western company to return to […]

Donald Trump

Do an Unstable President and a Reckless Prince threaten the World?

contributors

By Dilip Hiro | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The Middle East. Could there be a more perilous place on Earth, including North Korea? Not likely. The planet’s two leading nuclear armed powers backing battling proxies amply supplied with conventional weapons; terror groups splitting and spreading; religious-sectarian wars threatening amid a plethora of ongoing armed […]

Iraq

Why Mosul Matters

contributors

The Economist | (Video News Report) | – – “Mosul stands on the brink of recapture from Islamic State fighters, but the future of the city is uncertain. With several parties jostling for control of Mosul, fragile alliances could fracture, increasing the likelihood of bloody sectarian conflict.” The Economist: “Why Mosul Matters”

Qatar

Saudi-Led Group: Qatar to be Sanctioned for ‘Negative’ Response to Demands

contributors

TeleSur | – – Saudi Arabia said restrictions on Qatar will continue, but it did not announce new sanctions against Doha. Foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Doha’s response to their demands to end the crisis was “negative” and current restrictions […]

Iraq

Iraqis Travel to Mosul to Celebrate Holy Day in a Show of Solidarity

contributors

By Sali Mahdy | (GlobalVoices.org) | – – A group of around 300 Iraqis recently traveled from south and central Iraq to Mosul to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday with their newly liberated compatriots. In the summer of 2014, the militant group Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh) drove out Iraqi security […]

Cartoon

Iran’s ‘Trumpism’ Cartoon Contest Draws 1,600 Submissions

contributors

TeleSur | – – More than 1,600 artworks were submitted to the “International Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest.” U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies are the themes of an international cartoon contest organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran, with more than 1,600 artworks submitted to the “International Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest,” PressTV […]