By Mira Assaf Kafantaris | – Religion has shaped Lebanon since it gained independence from France in 1943. In this multicultural country of Muslims, Christians and Druze – a medieval faith derived from Islam – religion defines membership and belonging. It is woven into Lebanon’s economic, political and social fabric. The mass protests that began […]
After al-Baghdadi, What Future for far-right Mideast Radicalism?
By Natasha Lindstaedt | – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State (IS), is dead. After US special forces raided his safe house in Idlib province in north-west Syria, Baghdadi reportedly fled and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children. Over the past several years, there have been constant reports […]
Is Trump’s Visa Policy a Muslim Ban? The Numbers tell the Story
By Vahid Niayesh | – Did President Donald Trump’s travel ban – in place now for more than 22 months – become, in practice, a Muslim ban? The third version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban went into full effect on Dec. 8, 2017. The list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the […]
Volcanoes and Climate History: What they Explain & What they Don’t
By Michael Petterson | – Everyone is going on about reducing our carbon footprint, zero emissions, planting sustainable crops for biodiesel etc. Is it true what the internet posts say that a volcano eruption for a few weeks will make all our efforts null and void? The pretext to this question is understandable. The forces […]
Climate Crisis Stress is already Killing Us: this Chaos Map shows Where
By Aled Jones, Davide Natalini,Anglia Ruskin, and Imelda Phadtare | – Over 12 days at the start of October 2019 eight people were killed, more than 1,300 injured and nearly 1,200 arrested after demonstrations became violent in Ecuador. The demonstrations focused on reversing the ending of fuel subsidies, which had been brought in as part […]
No, Erdogan can’t send most of Turkey’s 3.7 mn Syrian Refugees into Kurdish Regions
By Shelley Inglis | – Turkey’s recent military incursion into northern Syria is aimed at weakening Syrian Kurdish forces along its border. Turkey believes those forces are linked to the insurgent Kurdish militia inside Turkey, whom Turkey and the U.S. have labeled terrorists. But that’s not the only goal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long-term […]
Given tensions with Erdogan, is it really Wise for the U.S. to Keep 50 Nuclear Bombs in Turkey?
By Miles A. Pomper | – As the Syrian crisis pits Turkish troops against former U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, Pentagon officials have been reviewing plans to remove 50 nuclear bombs stored at a U.S air base in Turkey. A congressional directive to the Pentagon to quickly assess alternative homes for U.S. “personnel and assets” currently stationed […]
Deportation to Syria could mean death for women, children and LGBTQ refugees in Turkey
Deina Abdelkader | – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan isn’t limiting his assault on neighboring Syria to attacking Kurdish troops that run the country’s northern region. He says the 3.6 million Syrians now living as war refugees in Turkey may also be returned “to their own homes” once northern Syria is wrenched from Kurdish control. […]
Will Tunisia’s Populist “Robocop” new President bring “Freedom and Dignity” or . . .?
By Mohamed Kerrou | – Kaïs Saïed has won Tunisia’s presidential election. This triumph came at the expense of the two forces that have dominated Tunisia’s political landscape since the 2011 revolution: Islamism and nationalist secular parties. Over the past eight years, these two movements failed to meet the urgent demands of the people, expressed […]