Middle East

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — The audacity of Speaker of the House John Boehner colluding with the prime minister of a foreign country to undermine a sitting president is, I think, still not entirely appreciated. And the whole point of the plot with Binyamin Netanyahu is to stop a sitting president from successfully […]

Apartheid

As Gaza Refugee Babies die of Cold, Underfunded UN Agency Halts Rebuilding Aid to 400,000

contributors

By Charlie Hoyle | – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A massive shortfall in the $5.4 billion pledged for Gaza’s reconstruction by the international community last October is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis for Palestinians displaced by Israel’s summer offensive. On Tuesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the largest service provider in the Gaza Strip, […]

Barack Obama

New Saudi King to Obama: Lower-price Oil Policy won’t Change

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – President Obama cut short his India trip to head off to Riyadh in the wake of the death last Thursday of King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia. Some 30 members of the Washington elite came along, of both parties, including Sen. John McCain and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. This love […]

Apartheid

Israel ‘systematically mistreats’ Palestinian children in custody

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an News Agency) — Some 700 Palestinian children per year are arrested and face “ill-treatment” by Israeli forces, according to a new report by a children’s rights group. (MaanImages/file) In the report, Child Rights International Network said that “during 2014, an average of 197 children were held in military detention every month, 13 per […]

Barack Obama

Obama Win: Dem Senators Flip-Flop, Delay Iran Sanctions Bill

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Luke Johnson | (RFE/RL) WASHINGTON — A key U.S. senator says he and nine other senators are holding their support for a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey), co-sponsor of a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran if […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Kurds expel ISIL/Daesh from Syria’s Kobane after months of fighting

contributors

Rita Daou | Your Middle East Kurds expel Islamic State group from Syria’s Kobane after months of fighting Banner Icon War in Syria Kurdish fighters have expelled Islamic State group militants from inside the Syrian border town of Kobane, a monitor said Monday, dealing a key symbolic blow to the jihadists’ ambitions. The Syrian Observatory […]

Barack Obama

Photo-Bombing Obama’s Iran Talks (Cartoon)

contributors

Paul Jamiol | Jamiol’s World – Via Jamiol’s World

Arab Spring

Egypt: 28 Protesters Killed Marking Revolution – Police & Excessive Force

contributors

Human Rights Watch | — (New York) – The death of at least 20 people in Egypt during clashes with security forces surrounding the commemoration of the 2011 uprising underscores the need for an independent investigation into the authorities’ excessive use of force.A woman and 17-year-old girl were killed ahead of the January 25 anniversary […]

Democracy

Egypt Cancels Revolution Fete to Mourn Saudi King who derailed Revolution

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) In a great irony, the Egyptian government attempted to cancel the commemoration of the January 25 revolution four years ago, on the grounds that the late King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia needed to be mourned. The Saudis played a sinister behind-the-scenes role in undermining budding Egyptian attempts at democracy, […]