Middle East

Belfast (Special to Informed Comment) – Some have puzzled over why Israel launched its attacks on Palestinian in Gaza and the West Bank at the beginning of August.The military action had not been preceded by any notable Palestinian activity. There is, however, no great mystery. It has become customary for an Israeli Prime Minister to […]

Afghanistan

Pact Act is Vindication for Vets after US Denied for Years that Burn Pits in Afghanistan and Iraq made them Ill

The Conversation

By Jason A. Higgins, Virginia Tech | – During a 13-month stint in Iraq that began in 2006, Heath Robinson served as a medic with the Ohio National Guard. Like thousands of others soldiers stationed there, he was routinely exposed to toxic smoke emanating from what are known as burn pits. Located near military bases, […]

Turkey

Turkey/Syria: Civilians at Risk in Northern Syria

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – All parties to the conflict in northern Syria should minimize civilian harm during ongoing and future military operations there, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch issued a question-and-answer document that focuses on Turkey’s threatened military incursion to parts of northern Syria held by Kurdish-led forces. The […]

Bashar al-Assad

Biden Calls on Syria to Return Journalist ‘Disappeared’ a Decade Ago

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – Last week, US President Joe Biden declared that the US knows “with certainty” that Tice has been held by the Syrian government. “I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home,” Biden said in a statement. Tice, who was covering the conflict in Syria […]

Dissent

Digital Authoritarianism in Turkey

Global Voices

Written by Arzu Geybullayeva< | - Authoritarian regimes have long had a complicated relationship with media and communications technologies. The Unfreedom Monitor is a Global Voices Advox research initiative examining the growing phenomenon of networked or digital authoritarianism. This extract, about Turkey’s control and censorship of the internet, is from the series of reports to […]

Displaced and Refugees

How displaced Syrians effectively navigated ‘border frictions’ in Lebanon and Turkey

The Conversation

By Suzan Ilcan, University of Waterloo and Secil Dagtas, University of Waterloo | – The Syrian conflict began in early March 2011 on the heels of the Arab Spring as pro-democracy uprisings in Syria demanded regime change and political reform. The conflict transformed into a war. More than 13 million people have either escaped the […]

Death Penalty

Why Is Iran Executing So Many Prisoners?

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Giovana Faria | – ( RFE/RL ) – With a long list of crimes punishable by death, Iran put at least 314 prisoners to death last year, second only to China, which recorded more than 1,000 executions. The Iran Human Rights organization actually puts the figure at 333. That’s up from 267 executions in […]

Featured

Irony Alert: Amateurish Iranian attempt to hit John Bolton may derail Nuclear Negotiations Bolton wanted Derailed

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – An attempt to hire a hit man to kill former National Security Adviser John Bolton by an alleged member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps was revealed by the Department of Justice at a delicate time in the negotiations to bring both the US and Iran back into compliance with […]

astronomy and outer space

Space Cooperation Between Russia, Iran Raises Western Concerns

Golnaz Esfandiari

Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. I’m senior correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here’s what I’ve been following and what I’m watching out for in the days ahead. The Big Issue ( RFE/RL ) – Russia successfully launched an Iranian satellite into […]