By Zoran Radosavljevic | EURACTIV.com | – – Muslims have come a long way towards integration into Western Europe, particularly in terms of language, education and work, but remain on the margins of everyday social acceptance, a study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung revealed on Thursday (24 August). The survey was conducted among 10,000 people in […]
Mission Accomplished: Iraq drops chapter on evolution from school textbooks
By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com ) | – – Iraq’s education ministry has quietly dropped a chapter about evolution from its biology textbooks. The ministry has so far given no explanation but the change has brought complaints and ridicule from Iraqis on social media. Among the complainers, Dr Mohammed Fawzi, who studied genetic engineering, […]
Qatar: New Law Gives Domestic Workers Labor Rights
Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Qatar’s adoption of a new law on domestic workers provides labor rights for domestic workers for the first time, Human Rights Watch said today. Qatari authorities should enact strong enforcement policies and close loopholes that place domestic workers at risk of exploitation. On August 22, 2017, the […]
Hezbollah and Syrian Army Liberate Large ISIL Enclave: Nasrallah
By TeleSur | – – Following the joint offensive, the Islamic State group only controls 40 square kilometers on the Syrian side, and 20 on the Lebanese side. A joint offensive between Shia resistance movement Hezbollah and the Syrian army has liberated the majority of a significant enclave controlled by the so-called Islamic State group, […]
It’s Time to Take the Nazi-Trump Comparisons Seriously
By Adil E. Shamoo and Bonnie Bricker | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) | – – The slide towards bleak historical periods can be difficult to recognize in the moment. But in this moment, it’s glaringly obvious. The slide towards bleak historical periods can be difficult to recognize in the moment — often it […]
Afghanistan is now officially James Mattis’ war
By Simon Reich | (The Conversation) | – – Donald Trump’s speech on his administration’s strategy in Afghanistan – in which he announced the introduction of an unspecified number of new combat troops, without a mission and without a specified end date, in a strategy that abandoned nation building but entailed war-fighting – clearly contravened […]
Shadowy US Covert Ops & Surveillance Abroad always Come Home
By Alfred W. McCoy | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – [This piece has been adapted and expanded from the introduction to Alfred W. McCoy’s new book, In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power.] In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Washington pursued its elusive enemies across the […]
Is the Gulf Crisis bringing Iraq back into Arab World?
Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | ( Niqash.org ) | – – Countries like Saudi Arabia are showing new willingness to open diplomatic channels with Iraq. Motivations include a military they now respect, opportunities for reconstruction and countering Iranian influence. Iraqi diplomats have had a busy month. There have been dozens of officials from Arab countries […]
Will Trump’s Arpaio Pardon encourage more civil rights violations?
Steven Mulroy | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump may pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who illegally used racial profiling to enforce immigration laws. It’s true, Trump has the legal power to pardon pretty much anyone. But pardoning Arpaio could send the message that state and local officials can aggressively enforce […]