Middle East

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The European Union on Wednesday adopted measures to label products from Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, in a move welcomed by the Palestinian leadership. The EU Commission, the executive branch of the EU, said the body had adopted an interpretative notice on the “indication […]

Jabhat al-Nusra

Syria: The Other Front, not ISIL or Assad: al-Qaeda al-Nusra

contributors

Medyan Dairieh | VICE News | (Video Report) – – “VICE News filmmaker Medyan Dairieh gains exclusive access to the Syrian branch of al Qaeda, al Nusra, a jihadist group fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the Islamic State (IS). Spending more than a month with al Nusra and exploring their expanding territory, Dairieh […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Why EU Labeling of Israeli Squatter Goods could Affect Israeli Economy

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The European Union will probably issue a ruling today that goods produced in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank by Israeli squatters must be so labeled. Such labeling is already carried out in some European countries, but this ruling would extend the practice to all 28 EU […]

Authoritarianism

After the AKP Victory in Turkey: Elective Dictatorship?

contributors

T. Deniz Erkmen | (Informed Comment) | – – The results of November 1st snap elections in Turkey were a surprise; not just for the left or liberal opposition who were hoping for a decrease in AKP (governing center-right Justice and Development Party) vote share, not just for the pollsters almost all of whom failed […]

Israel/ Palestine

Forgotten: How US put Oil, Cold War above Peace & Palestinian Rights

contributors

By Irene Gendzier | Author, Dying to Forget | (Informed Comment) | – – For journalists and politicians alike, the recurring violence in the Middle East is commonly viewed as the lamentable legacy of a conflict-prone region driven by militant sectarianism and incompetent leaders. In an election year, this self-serving view of the Middle has […]

Christianity

Syria: Christian Militia to the Rescue as 1000s of Christians flee ISIL approach

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite Russian airstrikes, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has made some advances in November. One place it has had some success is Homs province, which is vulnerable because Daesh has a position in Palmyra. At the beginning of November, Daesh took Maheen and advanced toward the major Christian […]

censorship

Egypt: Free Journalist Hossam Bahgat, Facing Military Prosecution

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (New York) – Hossam Bahgat, a journalist and one of Egypt’s most prominent human rights figures, could be charged in military court after being detained on November 9, 2015, on military prosecutors’ orders. The prosecutors ordered Bahgat held for investigation on charges of publishing false news related to an […]

Iraq War

How a Web of Lies hoodwinked the American Public and delivered Iraq to ISIL

contributors

By Bryan Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | – – Last week one of the major architects in the construction of the Iraqi WMD myth, Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, died of heart failure at 71 in Baghdad. His death brought to an end a sordid chapter in U.S. history that saw Central Command launch an […]

Children

400,000 Syrian Refugee Children Can’t Go To School In Turkey

contributors

AJ+ | (Video Report) | – – “Even though Syrian refugee children can legally go to school in Turkey, language barriers and economic struggles make it hard for them to actually attend.” AJ+: “400,000 Syrian Refugee Children Can’t Go To School In Turkey”