By Elif Selin Calik | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – In 2022, the biggest energy issue in the Middle East was Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cut as the world economy entered into a period of ‘heightened uncertainty and rising challenges’. In October, OPEC cut its 2022 forecast for growth […]
Archives for January 2023
Hollow Men: The Blowhards of Jan. 6 were Yellow-Bellied Cowards
Reprinted in commemoration of Brian Sicknick and other victims of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The damning Jan. 6 public hearings revealed a plethora of historical detail, but they also shed light on character. Some of these revelations were profiles in pusillanimity. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), one of the slimiest […]
The Taliban’s War Against Afghan Women And Girls
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi / Abubakar Siddique | – ( RFE/RL ) – Fahima witnessed many of her rights and freedoms disappear in 2022 as the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions on Afghan women. An aid worker in Afghanistan’s southern province of Uruzgan, Fahima was employed in one of the few fields that the militant group […]
Can NATO and the Pentagon Find a Diplomatic Off-Ramp From the Ukraine War?
( Code Pink) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, known for his staunch support for Ukraine, recently revealed his greatest fear for this winter to a TV interviewer in his native Norway: that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a major war between NATO and Russia. “If things go wrong,” […]
Why the Arctic turning into a Lukewarm Puddle should be a bigger Headline than a bit of Inflation
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Let me start 2023 with a glance back at a December news moment that caught my eye. To do so, however, I have to offer a bit of explanation. First, the obvious: I’m an old guy and, though I spend significant parts of any day scrolling through endless websites covering aspects […]
Iran Leader Khamenei seems to Back-Pedal from Punishing Women for “Poor Veiling” after Months of Protest
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to the official Iranian press, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the “August Leader” of Iran, met Wednesday with hundreds of professional women and spoke about the controversies wracking the country regarding veiling. He stressed that the veiling of women is firmly part of Islamic law and there can be no retreat […]
Why Many Turkish People who migrated to European Countries are worse off than those who stayed at Home
By Sebnem Eroglu, University of Bristol | – (The Conversation) – Many people migrate to another country to earn a decent income and to attain a better standard of living. But my recent research shows that across all destinations and generations studied, many migrants from Turkey to European countries are financially worse off than those […]
Two Iranian Teens Reportedly Sentenced To Death Over Protests
By Ardeshir Tayebi | – Iran has reportedly sentenced two teenagers to death for “corruption on Earth” and “waging war against God” among other charges often used by the judiciary to help the government quell nationwide unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. The U.S.-based activist group HRANA quoted […]
Sudan Military-Civilian Pact Omits Key Justice Reforms, including an End to Impunity (HRW)
Human Rights Watch – (Nairobi) – Sudan’s political actors and international partners should ensure that progress on human rights and accountability for serious human rights violations are central to any new transition, Human Rights Watch said today. This includes an end to the violent crackdown against peaceful protesters, releasing arbitrarily detained protesters, and taking concrete […]
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