Arab World

Algerians who have been demonstrating on the streets for more than a month appear to have achieved their primary goal of toppling President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. On Monday the official news agency reported that the 82-year-old president will resign “before 28 April” – the date when his current mandate expires. [Update: Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday April […]

Featured

Senators Grill Rick Perry on Transfer of Nuclear Info to Saudi Arabia Despite “Troubling Actions”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Timothy Gardner at Reuters reports that senators on Tuesday sent a sharp letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry about the Part 810 approvals he secretly gave US businesses to provide sensitive nuclear specifications to Saudi Arabia. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) insisted that Perry inform them […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Political Prisoners Face Severe Abuse: Report

Middle East Monitor

Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are facing severe abuses by prison authorities, according to a medical report leaked to the Guardian newspaper. The leaked report documented evidence that political prisoners – both men and women – are suffering from malnutrition as well as cuts, burns and bruises due to severe physical abuse by authorities. The […]

Arab World

Arab World Warms to Russia after Trump gives Syria’s Golan to Israel

Middle East Monitor

The Ambassador of the League of Arab States to Russia, Jaber Habib Jaber has praised Russia’s steadfast position on the Jerusalem and Golan files, which is in compliance with the international laws and legislation. Jaber also thanked Moscow for its adherence to this principle and considered it the right way to play an effective and […]

Nuclear Energy

As Trump OKs Saudi Nuclear Projects, Rep. Sherman replies: “If you can’t trust a regime with a bone-saw . . .”

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – The United States has given the green light to companies to work on six nuclear projects in Saudi Arabia, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Thursday, despite lawmakers’ worries that the kingdom could seek weapons. Questioned during a Senate hearing, Perry confirmed that the Trump administration has approved six applications to do […]

Saudi Arabia

After Saudi-led Air Strike on Yemen Kills 5 Schoolchildren, US Calls for Probe

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged Saudi-led forces to conduct a transparent probe after eight people including five children were killed in a strike near a hospital in Yemen. Charity Save the Children reported the death toll at the hospital it supports in Saada province, saying a missile hit a gas […]

Featured

How Trump Just Gave Alabama to Iraq by Giving Syrian Golan to Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration’s illegal and unilateral recognition of Israeli annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights is an unfortunate return to the international jungle of the 1930s and 1940s, when Hitler annexed the Sudetenland and Mussolini annexed Nice from France. Trump’s policy is Nazi law, as so many of his policies […]

Donald Trump

After 8 Years of Civil War, Syrians Finally United … against Trump re: Golan

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – Demonstrations spread across Syria on Tuesday denouncing Washington’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in a show of unity in the war-torn country, state media said. US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognising Israeli sovereignty over the strategic border area, seized from Syria in 1967 and then […]

Israel/ Palestine

Water, Oil and Netanyahu: Why Trump gave Syria’s Golan away to Israel

The Conversation

By Dina Badie | – Responding to pressure from the Israeli government, President Donald Trump has signaled via Twitter that his administration is poised to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This change of posture over a highly disputed and strategically valuable territory between Israel and Syria is being met with delight, disapproval and […]