Middle East

By Moritz Pieper | (The Conversation) | – – The cake is quite big, but everyone wants a slice. Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, visited Iran last month accompanied by business leaders from the energy, transportation and defence sectors. It was a return visit after the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, had made Italy his first […]

Human Rights

Yemen: Saudis Using US Cluster Munitions

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – End Production, Transfer of These Banned Weapons (Washington, DC) – Saudi Arabia has used US-made cluster munitions near civilian areas in Yemen, leaving behind unexploded submunitions, Human Rights Watch said today. The United States should cease its production and transfer of cluster munitions to conform with the widely accepted […]

Authoritarianism

Is Turkish PM’s forced exit a Harbinger of greater Authoritarianism?

contributors

By Winston Obertan | ( GlobalVoices.org ) | – – Turkey's Prime Minister of nearly two years Ahmet Davutoğlu has announced his intention to quit his post “for the unity of the party” amid evidence of a bubbling conflict with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Davutoglu was the second most important figure in the AKP […]

Featured

Top 4 Reasons Iran will stand by Syrian gov’t despite High Casualties

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Saturday, Iran announced that 13 members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps had been killed and 21 wounded when the al-Qaeda-led Army of Islam fundamentalist Sunni coalition took the village of Khan Touman near Aleppo. Iran will nevertheless continue to back the regime of Bashar al-Assad […]

Israel/ Palestine

These 5 Intellectuals Smash the ‘Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitic’ Argument

contributors

TeleSur | – – As controversy surrounding the "new anti-Semitism" rages in Europe, important public intellectuals argue that critiquing Israel is not anti-Semitism. Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked commented recently on the controversy of "anti-Semitism" from the United Kingdom’s Labour party, which has lead to the suspension of Labour politicians. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn "must clarify that anti-Semitic […]

Iraq

Why do 93% of Iraqi Youth think the US is their Enemy?

contributors

Dena Takruri | (AJ+ Video Report) | – – “93% of Iraqis see the United States as their enemy – but after a look at recent history, can you blame ’em?” AJ+: “Why Do Young Iraqis Blame The U.S.?”

Libya

The Next Libyan Revolution Will Be Led by Women Wielding Words—Not Guns

contributors

By Alaa Murabit | ( Yes!) | – – This article was originally published by New America Weekly. The Next Libyan Revolution Will Be Led by Women Wielding Words—Not Guns “Soft power” gives communities words and tools to fight against violence, fear, and corruption and offers youth weapons of peace against an enemy that wants […]

Books

Pulitzer Prize-Winner Michael Chabon Slams Israeli Occupation of Palestinians

contributors

By Joe Dyke | ( Your Middle East | – – American author Michael Chabon’s Jewish identity has long been central to his work. From 2001’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” — the story of two Jewish cousins before, during and after World War II — to 2007’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey’s Erdogan ousts PM in Search of Imperial Presidency

contributors

TeleSur President Tayyip Erdogan’s drive to tighten his grip on power has caused an increasingly open rift with his prime minister, possibly leading to his exit. Turkey’s ruling party is set to replace Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at an extraordinary congress in the coming weeks, officials said on Wednesday, signaling the end of his term […]