By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- If the International Criminal Court takes up Israeli government actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, it could well find specific officials guilty of breaches of…
By Alaa Latif | Sulaymaniyah | (Niqash.org) Bayan Nouri has a tough job over the next four years – the new Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iraq must try to improve the…
British Pathe | -- "Footage from 1915 of Constantinople, in the Ottoman empire (now Istanbul, Turkey), as the allies approach the city during World War One. Tracking shot on the water (Bosporus…
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Jewish settlers have uprooted more than 5,000 olive tree saplings in agricultural lands east of the town of Turmusayya in the central West Bank north of Ramallah, locals said…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- Barack Obama wanted to be the president who got the US out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and turned America's diplomatic energies to the more promising…
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The United States re-asserted its political and economic clout – and its ability to twist arms and perhaps metaphorically break kneecaps – when it successfully…
RT | -- "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed up to join International Criminal Court, paving the way for the investigation on Israel's possible war crimes in the West Bank. It's in…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- The UN Security Council yesterday voted down an Arab League resolution on Palestine that would have called for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian…
By Simon Mabon and Lucia Ardovini | (The Conversation) -- It was a year of huge transition for Egypt. Gone was the Muslim Brotherhood, in both word and deed, while the military…
SANAA, December 2014 (IRIN) -- After a negotiated transfer of power agreed in early 2012, the annual death toll dropped to about 1,100 and nearly halved again in 2013 to fewer than…
Euronews | -- "Yazidi refugees from the Iraqi village of Hardan returned to their homes for the first time on Tuesday after being driven out by Islamic militants in August. They were…
In 2014, Iraq was said to lose 42% of its territory to Daesh (the Arabic acronym for what our press calls ISIS or ISIL). This statistic refers to the loss of the…
By Muhammad Moneib | (Your Middle East) -- "A lot of posts share tips and tricks about finding a legal way out of Egypt" Perfectly timing the theatrical run of Ridley Scott’s…
Agence France Presse | -- "Muntasser survived an Israeli strike on Gaza this summer which killed his young brother and three cousins. Five months later the Palestinian boy remains haunted by the…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- The Middle East, from North Africa to Afghanistan, has seen an unusual number of governments collapse in recent years. Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have…
CCTV | -- "As budget shortfalls continue to plague UN relief agencies, the colder weather brings with it further challenges for the millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the war zones…
Human Rights Watch | -- (New York) – Egyptian authorities have referred hundreds of civilians to military courts based on an October 2014 decree by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At least 820…
RT | -- "This is the renowned Teddy Fountain in central Jerusalem. Spectacular water shows go off every ten minutes - a sight enjoyed every evening by locals and tourists, but in…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- In 2014, Iran made news on a number of important fronts. 1. Although there was no decisive breakthrough in its relationship with the United States…
By Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Human Rights Watch Yesterday’s grand jury decision in the Eric Garner case in New York City – the second in just over two weeks in which a grand…
By Juan Cole | --- From 1949 though the early 1990s, South Africa was ruled by an Afrikaner Apartheid regime that made race the basis for law and politics, and which systematically…
By Tom Engelhardt (Tomdispatch.com) It was the end of the road for Chuck Hagel last week and the Washington press corps couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about writing his obituary. In terms…
AJ+ | --- "Dec. 3, 2014, New York City: The widow of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man who died after an NYPD officer killed him by chokehold, says she doesn't accept…
By Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) | --- ""The conservative commentator Glenn Beck failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by a Saudi Arabian student who Beck repeatedly…
By Munir Moon The area inside the Beltway consists of Washington, D.C., and surrounding counties, and what I call the Beast includes defense contractors, lobbyists, Wall Street, think tanks, advocacy groups, journalists,…
American Geophysical Union | -- West Antarctic melt rate has tripled "Joint Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – A comprehensive, 21-year analysis of the fastest-melting region of Antarctica has found that the melt…
The World Bank | -- "Some regions will have too much water and others will have too little, according to a comprehensive new study on climate change by the World Bank Group.…
By John Quiggin, The University of Queensland The controversy ignited by the Australian National University in October, when it decided to sell its shares in seven resources companies, has raised two important…
By Alex Shams and Salam Muharam (Ma'an News Agency) The alleyways of the Old City of Hebron leading away from the famed Ibrahimi mosque -- where the biblical patriarch Abraham and his…
The Young Turks | --- ""Americans' assessments of their personal freedom have significantly declined under President Obama, according to a new study from the Legatum Institute in London, and the United States…
Northwestern University News | --- Megan Fellman writes: "An interdisciplinary research team [from Northwestern University] has discovered that the pattern of information written on a Blu-ray disc -- and it doesn’t matter…
World Bank | --- "Romania is committed to moving towards a greener and more competitive low carbon economy that makes efficient use of resources and is resilient to climate risk. Therefore, the…
Solar Reserve | --- "Take an exclusive look at this revolutionary solar energy plant that works day and night.This is the world’s first 110 MW solar thermal power plant with advanced molten…
The Young Turks | --- "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani weighed in on the Ferguson grand jury decision Tuesday night and said that if it were his case, he would prosecute…
Hanni Fakhoury and Jennifer Lynch (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Once again, a federal court will decide whether police can track your movements over an extended period of time without a search warrant. Federal…
By Juan Cole | --- The popular story about Thanksgiving is an environmental parable that we would do well to remember today. It was a harvest festival in 1621, participated in by…
By Andrea Germanos, staff writer (Commondreams.org) "Even very ambitious mitigation" can't change the fact that the world has already "locked in" mid-century warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial times, a new report from…
By Peter Bloom, The Open University (The Conversation) The decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson with the unlawful shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown has reignited protests across the US.…
By Juan Cole | --- With regard to employment, African-Americans got hit harder by the Bush Depression than did whites, and jobs have not come back for them at nearly the same…
Foreign Policy
What would Happen if the Int’l Criminal Court Indicted Israel’s Netanyahu?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- If the International Criminal Court takes up Israeli government actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, it could well find specific officials guilty of breaches of…Iraq Faces Women’s Crisis: 1 Mn. Widows, Extremist Captives, Child Brides
By Alaa Latif | Sulaymaniyah | (Niqash.org) Bayan Nouri has a tough job over the next four years – the new Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iraq must try to improve the…Allied Footage of Istanbul from 1915 in WW I
British Pathe | -- "Footage from 1915 of Constantinople, in the Ottoman empire (now Istanbul, Turkey), as the allies approach the city during World War One. Tracking shot on the water (Bosporus…New Economic Pogrom: Israeli squatters uproot 5000 olive tree saplings In Palestinian West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Jewish settlers have uprooted more than 5,000 olive tree saplings in agricultural lands east of the town of Turmusayya in the central West Bank north of Ramallah, locals said…President Obama’s Biggest Mideast Policy Challenges, 2015
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- Barack Obama wanted to be the president who got the US out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and turned America's diplomatic energies to the more promising…U.S. Twists Arms to Help Defeat Resolution on Palestine
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The United States re-asserted its political and economic clout – and its ability to twist arms and perhaps metaphorically break kneecaps – when it successfully…Israel War Crimes Trial in 2015? Palestinians sign up to join International Criminal Court
RT | -- "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed up to join International Criminal Court, paving the way for the investigation on Israel's possible war crimes in the West Bank. It's in…2015 New Year Fireworks: Burj Khalifa, Dubai
2015 Fireworks: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (New Year Fireworks)Palestinians ready next Move as UNSC rejects end of Occupation
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- The UN Security Council yesterday voted down an Arab League resolution on Palestine that would have called for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian…Egypt’s 2014 Thermidor: The Counter-Revolution Wins Out
By Simon Mabon and Lucia Ardovini | (The Conversation) -- It was a year of huge transition for Egypt. Gone was the Muslim Brotherhood, in both word and deed, while the military…Yemen in 2014: 1500 Killed as Extremist Shiites took over Gov’t, battled al-Qaeda: What Next?
SANAA, December 2014 (IRIN) -- After a negotiated transfer of power agreed in early 2012, the annual death toll dropped to about 1,100 and nearly halved again in 2013 to fewer than…Iraq: Yezidis return home to find Mass Graves, Daesh/ISIL Massacres
Euronews | -- "Yazidi refugees from the Iraqi village of Hardan returned to their homes for the first time on Tuesday after being driven out by Islamic militants in August. They were…The Year Iraq Ceased to Exist: Will it ever Again?
In 2014, Iraq was said to lose 42% of its territory to Daesh (the Arabic acronym for what our press calls ISIS or ISIL). This statistic refers to the loss of the…Dissident Youth, Facing Military-Media Crackdown, begin new Exodus from Egypt
By Muhammad Moneib | (Your Middle East) -- "A lot of posts share tips and tricks about finding a legal way out of Egypt" Perfectly timing the theatrical run of Ridley Scott’s…Gaza’s 6-yros Struggle with Nightmares of the 3 Israeli Wars they’ve Already Experienced
Agence France Presse | -- "Muntasser survived an Israeli strike on Gaza this summer which killed his young brother and three cousins. Five months later the Palestinian boy remains haunted by the…Did Drought and Climate Change cause Middle Eastern States to Collapse in 2014?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- The Middle East, from North Africa to Afghanistan, has seen an unusual number of governments collapse in recent years. Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have…Syrian Refugees in Turkey struggle to Cope with Frigid Winter
CCTV | -- "As budget shortfalls continue to plague UN relief agencies, the colder weather brings with it further challenges for the millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the war zones…NCIS Egypt-Style: 820 Civilians referred to Military Courts since October
Human Rights Watch | -- (New York) – Egyptian authorities have referred hundreds of civilians to military courts based on an October 2014 decree by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At least 820…Arab East Jerusalem a la Detroit: Being Starved of Water
RT | -- "This is the renowned Teddy Fountain in central Jerusalem. Spectacular water shows go off every ten minutes - a sight enjoyed every evening by locals and tourists, but in…Did Iran win “2014”? Top 6 Iran Developments this Year
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- In 2014, Iran made news on a number of important fronts. 1. Although there was no decisive breakthrough in its relationship with the United States…