Middle East

By Ebru Buyukgul | ( Your Middle East) | – Around this time two years ago, Mona Mahajna, a 30-year-old mother of three, was found shot dead in her apartment in Umm al-Fahm. After her divorce and ensuing separation from her children she took the brave decision to begin a new life. Which sounds admirable […]

Displaced and Refugees

115 Children Killed: Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen by the Numbers

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Since the beginning of the Saudi air campaign against the Houthi movement in Yemen on March 26 until April 22, these are the UN statistics on its human cost: 500 civilians killed since March 26 150 children killed 1,185 non-combatant civilians injured 150,000 have fled their homes 23 […]

censorship

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Azerbaijan among Top 10 Worst Censors: Media Watchdog

contributors

By Valentina Ieri | – UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – While technology has given millions greater freedom to express themselves, in the world's 10 most censored countries, this basic right exists only on paper, if at all. According to a report by thereport by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which will be officially […]

Iran

Iran: US, Israel dare not attack us; anyway if they could have, they would have

contributors

RT | — “With a nuclear deal around the corner, Russia’s decision to proceed with the sale of the sophisticated S-300 missile defense system to Iran sparked a flurry of speculation. How will these developments affect the balance of power in the region? Will it level the playing field or push the region into broader […]

Egypt

Is Iranian power on the rise?

contributors

By Brian M. Downing | (Informed Comment) – As the Iranian nuclear talks neared preliminary agreement, and as the Houthis drove into southern Yemen, world leaders and commentators warned that Iran is on the rise in the Middle East. This, they continued, had to be stopped by imposing tougher sanctions and opposing the Houthis, perhaps […]

Apartheid

Why Gaza Casualties were so High: Israel relaxed rules re: high-explosives in populated areas

contributors

By: Charlie Hoyle – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The unprecedented number of Palestinians killed in the 2014 war in Gaza was linked to changes in the military rules of engagement regarding civilian protection measures by Israel’s army, a London-based NGO said this week. In a new report entitled ‘Under Fire,’ Action on Armed Violence found that […]

Featured

Rand Paul: GOP Hawks are Obama’s “Lapdogs;” McCain: Paul ‘Worst Candidate’

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) The philosophical difference between the Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and the GOP hawks has burst into open name-calling. First, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that Paul had been more wrong than right, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) jumped in, calling him “naive.” On Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” on […]

History

Mobilizing For Mosul, Iraq: Scholars Work To Save Town’s Heritage from ISIL

contributors

By Coilin O’Connor | (RFE/RL) – While much of the world stands by as the militant Islamic State group takes a sledgehammer to the Middle East’s cultural legacy, a team of Czech scholars is working feverishly to try and save one Iraqi town’s architectural heritage. All across the large swaths of Syria and Iraq that […]

Displaced and Refugees

Blood Money? After Bombing Yemen, Saudis offer $274 mn. in Humanitarian Aid

contributors

By Thalif Deen | – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Saudi Arabia’s right hand does not know what its left foot is up to, belittles an Asian diplomat, mixing his metaphors to describe the political paradox in the ongoing military conflict in Yemen. The Saudis, who are leading a coalition of Arab states, have been accused […]