International Politics and Economy

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 […]

Employment

Why Many Turkish People who migrated to European Countries are worse off than those who stayed at Home

The Conversation

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 […]

Authoritarianism

Two Iranian Teens Reportedly Sentenced To Death Over Protests

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

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 […]

censorship

Sudan Military-Civilian Pact Omits Key Justice Reforms, including an End to Impunity (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

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 […]

Corruption

The Republican Sleight-of-Hand: McCarthy Failed on his first Try because He is George Santos

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Republican Party failed to elect a Speaker of the House on Tuesday. The ostensible reason is that 20 of the fascist so-called “Freedom Caucus” representatives voted against him. Six voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the biggest liar in politics since Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise […]

nuclear weapons

Imagining a World Without Nuclear Weapons

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment) – January 22 marks the second anniversary of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a global lifeboat supported by 70% of the world’s countries. Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy’s 2023 budget request for nuclear weapons’ upgrade is more than $21 billion and close to $8 […]

Authoritarianism

Clampdown Reported In Iranian Kurdistan After Slain Protesters Mourned

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ardeshir Tayebi | – ( RFE/RL) – Demonstrators in the western Iranian city of Javanrud were set on by security forces and have reportedly faced a martial-style clampdown since gathering in a local cemetery on December 31 to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for seven protesters killed by security forces in […]

Authoritarianism

More Iranians Move Their Protests To Rooftops Amid State Crackdown

Frud Bezhan

I’m Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here’s what I’ve been following and what I’m watching out for in the days ahead. ( RFE/RL) – Fewer Iranians have protested on the streets in recent days, more than three months after the nationwide antiestablishment demonstrations erupted. From the outset, the authorities responded […]

Far Right

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being French: Murderer of Kurds ‘William M.’ Treated with kid Gloves

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last Thursday, one “William M.,” a retired French train conductor, went to the Kurdish Cultural center in the 10th Arondissement of Paris with a gun and shot six people, killing three and wounding three others, all Kurds. Some were in a hairdresser’s shop. So write Nathalie Birchem et Denis Peiron […]