Middle East

By Juan Cole | (The Nation) — From “Why Is Yemen So Violent? Because It Is So Poor and Thirsty” . Answer: “Yemen’s troubles are only beginning, and one worries that much of the population will end up displaced, as has already happened to Syria. That vast further social disruption would not exactly tamp down […]

Bashar al-Assad

Iran eager to take leading role against extremism (Iraq, Syria FMs in Tehran)

contributors

By Maysam Bizar | (Your Middle East) — As the US-led campaign against the extremist ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria goes on, Iran, which has not taken part in the coalition, is gearing up for the Rouhani-proposed international conference ‘World Against Violence and Extremism’ (WAVE) on December 9-10 in Tehran. Maysam Bizar reports. Referring […]

Internet

Silent Mosul: Surprising Reasons Daesh/ ISIL cut Cellphone Services

contributors

By Nawzat Shamdeen | Mosul | (Niqash.org) Mobile phones are no use in Mosul any more. The extremist group controlling Mosul in northern Iraq has decided to shut down most mobile telecommunications inside the city. Rumours are flying as to why. Have they done it because they can no longer profit from the phone companies […]

Apartheid

Israeli Forces arrest 8-year-old Palestinian in East Jerusalem (They arrest 2 Children a day on Average)

contributors

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli special forces last Wednesday detained an eight-year-old Palestinian in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, a local information center said. Majdi Abbasi of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in a statement that Obeida Ayesh, eight, was arrested in the Ein al-Lawza area of the neighborhood. Obeida’s mother was allowed to […]

Apartheid

Nowhere to Run: Broken Homes and Broken Lives in Gaza

contributors

By Jen Marlowe | (Tomdispatch.com) Rubble. That’s been the one constant for the Awajah family for as long as I’ve known them. Four months ago, their home was demolished by the Israeli military — and it wasn’t the first time that Kamal, Wafaa, and their children had been through this. For the last six years, […]

Featured

Over 100 ISIL/Daesh Fighters Killed in US Airstrikes in Iraq; Attack on Syria Base Repelled

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — The US war on Daesh (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria takes up less and less space in the MSM. The group and its issues haven’t gone away, however. A source in Iraqi security told AFP Arabic that US and allied air strikes had killed about 100 fighters near Mosul on […]

Apartheid

Israeli Squatters chop down 50 Olive Trees in Palestinian Village (800,000 since 1967)

contributors

NABLUS (Ma’an) — Settlers cut down over 50 olive trees in the Nablus village of Aqraba on Friday, Palestinian official Ghassan Daghlas said. Settlers from Elon Moreh, located east of Nablus, attacked Aqraba and cut down 50 olive trees from the Juhr al-Dik area of the village. The trees belonged to Said Bani Jame. Several […]

Iran

Iran: Rise In Youth just living together — Gov’t rails Against ‘White Marriage’

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari (RFL/RE) | — Raana and Hamed have been living together for four years. They eat together. They both contribute to the household and share a savings account. They fight “like husbands and wives in a registered marriage.” They even wear wedding rings and introduce themselves as a married couple. But they’re not. […]

Iraq

Iraq Fail: Shiite Gov’t asks Sunni tribe to fight ISIL, but Sentences Politician from Tribe to Death

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) While members of the Sunni Muslim al-Bu Ulwan tribe were fighting extremists in the Anbar province, alongside the mostly Shiite Muslim military, judges in Baghdad sentenced a politician from the tribe to death. The tribe says it feels like Baghdad has stabbed it in the back. Other Anbar […]