Arab World

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday they had agreed to send Sudan $3 billion worth of aid, throwing a lifeline to its new military leaders after protests led to the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir. The two countries will deposit $500 million with the Sudanese central bank and send the […]

Algeria

How Algerians Used Nonviolent Civil Resistance to unseat a President for Life

International Center for Nonviolent Conflict

By Mohamed Nabil Bennaidja | – International Institute on Nonviolent Conflict | Minds of Movement ) – Since late February, Algerians have been protesting every Friday on the streets of the capital Algiers and other major cities to demand the departure of the regime that has ruled the country since independence in 1962. Friday protests […]

Green Transportation

Saudi Aramco Worried Electric Cars ‘Could Result in Substantial Costs’

Climate Home News

By Megan Darby | – ( Climate Home News ) = Climate lawsuits, clean energy and electric cars pose threats to Saudi Aramco’s mammoth profits, according to a historic public disclosure this winter. The state oil producer netted $111 billion in 2018, more than tech giants Apple and Alphabet combined, it revealed in a bond […]

Featured

Trump called Libya’s Hiftar, Backed Warlord’s Press to Conquer whole Country

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It transpires again that the US has two foreign policies, that of Trump, which favors brutal dictatorships unreservedly, and that of his cabinet officials, which favors brutal dictatorships with more nuance and caution. The White House announced Friday, Reuters and other outlets report, that Trump called Field Marshal Khalifa Hiftar […]

Corruption

The Seychelles Plot: Mueller on the UAE Role in Russian Influence-Peddling with Trump and Kushner

Juan Cole

The Mueller report sheds further light on the infamous Seychelles meeting in January, 2017, which appears to have aimed at establishing a back channel for the Trump administration to the circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin, brokered by Mohammed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. That is, this story is not about pre-election collusion […]

Libya

Gen. Hiftar’s Drive to Take all of Libya Raises Atrocity Concerns

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Tunis) – All forces taking part in fighting around Libya’s capital, Tripoli, should take all necessary action to minimize civilian harm and abide by the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed groups loyal to both sides have a record of abusing civilians. Fighters led by General Khalifa Hiftar, […]

Featured

Congress Slaps down Trump-Saudi War on Yemen

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The House of Representatives voted Thursday 247 to 175 to end the US involvement in supporting the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen. 16 Republicans voted with the Democratic majority. The Senate had already passed the act, invoking the War Powers act for the first time since it was enacted in […]

Algeria

Arab Spring Pt. 2? Massive Crowds forced out Bouteflika, but What Next for Algeria?

Brian Whitaker

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 […]