Middle East

TeleSur In a rare move by Washington, the 2016 U.S. report on human rights said Israel unlawfully killed over 70 Palestinians and tries minors in military courts. The United States accused Israeli Defense Forces of “excessive use of force” in the Palestinian territories, and “arbitrary arrest and associated torture and abuse, often with impunity,” as […]

Iraq

Fall of Iraq, Rise of Sunnistan? Sunni Politicians In Washington Promote Idea of Partition and a Sunni Region

contributors

Mazin Sahib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Leading Sunni Muslim politicians have opened an office in Washington to represent Sunni interests. There’s talk of an autonomous Sunni region again as a result. But other Sunni MPs say its all nonsense. In Dhuluiya victims of the IS group demanded that families associated with IS […]

Featured

Negotiations, “Elections,” and al-Qaeda’s assault on Syrian Ceasefire

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – There were five major stories in the US and European press about Syria today: 1. The cessation of hostilities is in danger of breaking down (typically Western politicians and press blame this on the Syrian regime, but as far as I can tell, it is because […]

censorship

Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem

contributors

RT | (Video News Report) | – – “Turkey has made a formal request to the German government to prosecute a TV comedian over a crude poem about the Turkish President.” RT: “Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem”

Israel/ Palestine

Erekat: Escalation of Israeli squatter settlement construction a ‘war crime’

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat denounced on Wednesday recent Israeli plans to expand illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, calling it a “war crime.” “The continued Israeli colonization of Palestine is a war crime under international law,” Erekat said in a statement. […]

Arab Spring

5 Years After Revolution, Egyptians See #PanamaPapers as Further Vindication of Mubarak’s Ouster

contributors

By Salma Essam | (Global Voices) | – – Among the names contained in the Panama Papers, the enormous trove of confidential documents revealing how the world's elite exploit tax havens, is Alaa Mubarak, son of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, and other associates of Egypt's former autocratic leader. Hosni Mubarak was ousted in the 2011 […]

Arab Spring

Arab Youth view ISIL as major Mideast Obstacle, want less Religion

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The annual Arab Youth survey conducted by pollsters Burson-Marsteller is out, reporting on 3500 interviews with Arabs 18-24 years of age in 16 countries. Those of you who have read my recent book, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East , […]

Children

Lebanon: Over 70% of Syrian Refugee Children Forced into Exploitative Child Labor

contributors

TeleSur | – – A report by an anti-slavery group also details how Syrian refugee girls are being forced into child marriage and sex slavery. Up to 70 percent of Syrian refugee children are being forced into child labor in Lebanon, the anti-slavery Freedom Fund group said in a report Tuesday. The report also pointed […]

Israel/ Palestine

Watchdog: Israeli approval for squatter units more than doubles in 2016

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | (Informed Comment) | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel has advanced plans for 250 percent more settler homes in the first quarter of 2016 than it did in the same period last year, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said Tuesday. The watchdog said that from January to March this year, the […]