Middle East

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “A UN report on the violence in Iraq from January 2014 to October 2015 makes for sober reading. 19,000 civilians were killed, 36,000 injured and 3,500 are being held hostage by ISIS. ” AJ+: “How Bad Is The Violence In Iraq?”

Featured

Turkey-Russia Tensions Spike as Russia moves into Northern Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian air strikes in Syria are coming closer and closer to the Turkish border in Latakia in the northwest, and there are rumors that Russia is looking at establishing an airbase at Qamishli in the largely Kurdish northeast of Syria. Turkey risks having Russia as a […]

Israel/ Palestine

Airbnb profits from Israeli theft of Palestinian Land with Squatter Listings

contributors

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Palestinians are angry at Airbnb. The website advertises dozens of homes located in illegal Israeli settlements.” Israeli Settler Homes On Airbnb Opinion:"Airbnb takes a commission on property rentals, and so is profiting from Israel's colonisation of Palestine" https://t.co/uEo1Xs6ULG — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 14, 2016 ACT […]

Democracy

Iranian Pres. Rouhani slams Hard Liners: Ban on Liberal Candidates makes Parliamentary Vote Pointless

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | – – Iran’s president has criticized the mass disqualification of candidates in next month’s parliamentary elections, suggesting the decision could make the vote pointless. The comments by Hassan Rohani signaled continuing tensions between the president, who has presented himself as a moderate, and powerful hard-liners who control key […]

Arab Spring

5 Years after Tahrir Square, Egyptian Government in Crackdown on Dissent ahead of Jan. 25 Anniversary

contributors

Global Voices Advocacy’s Netizen Report | (Globalvoices.org) | – – Activists online and on the ground in Egypt have faced heightened scrutiny and legal threats from government authorities since early January, as the country approaches the fifth anniversary of the mass protest movement that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. In addition to multiple arrests of […]

Foreign Policy

The Collapsed Iraqi Army: How to Succeed at Failing, Pentagon-Style

contributors

By Nick Turse | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – There’s good news coming out of Iraq… again. The efforts of a 65-nation coalition and punishing U.S. airstrikes have helped local ground forces roll back gains by the [so-called] Islamic State [group] (IS). Government forces and Shiite militias, for example, recaptured the city of Tikrit, while […]

Featured

Netanyahu demands more billions from US after Iran Deal, insults US Envoy, Steals more Land

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – At the Davos World Economic Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that the deal between the UN Security Council and Iran limiting its enrichment program to purely civilian uses had made Israel less secure, and that it must therefore be granted tens of billions of […]

Chaldeans

UNESCO: “Deepest Concerns” for Mideast Christianity after Daesh/ISIL Razes oldest Iraqi Monastery

contributors

UNESCO | (Media Services) | – – “I express my deepest concerns after the destruction of the Monastery of St Elijah. It was the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq and an invaluable testimony to the rich cultural and religious diversity of the country. For 1,400 years the monastery stood as a place of worship and […]