Arab World

The award was meant to promote female participation in government, however, this year only men were honored. A storm of tweets bombarded the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it was clear women had been completely excluded from this year’s gender-equality awards ceremony. “Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions,” said UAE vice […]

Iran

Syria and Iran Sign Strategic Economic Plan, including Tartus Naval Base

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and memoranda of understanding late Monday, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal aimed at strengthening cooperation between Damascus and one of its key allies in the civil war that has torn the country apart. The agreements covered a range of fields including economy, culture, education, […]

Bahrain

Defying US, Bahrain Affirms Life Sentence against Shiite Leader “farcically” charged with Spying

Natacha Yazbeck

Dubai (AFP) – A Bahraini court on Monday upheld a life sentence for opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, a ruling his party slammed as “political revenge”. Salman, who headed Al-Wefaq, a now-banned Shiite movement, was convicted by an appeals court in November in a decision rights groups called a […]

Syria

Damascus Condemns Turkey Presence in North Syria as Violation of Deal

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – The Syrian government on Saturday condemned Turkey’s military presence in northern Syria as a violation of a 1998 protocol between the two countries. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted the Adana Protocol gives his country the right to intervene militarily in the neighbouring country. Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies control […]

Iraq

Party of Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tables Bill to expel US Troops from Iraq

Middle East Monitor

Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Bloc, which dominated Iraqi legislative polls last year, has submitted a bill to parliament that would, if passed, require all foreign military personnel to leave the country within one year, Anadolu Agency reports. At a Friday press conference in Baghdad, Sairoon Chairman Sabah Assadi said the proposed “Law against Foreign Military Deployments […]

Syria

With Trump out, Putin and Turkey’s Erdogan Carve up Syria

AFP

Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday vowed to coordinate their actions more closely in Syria. “Cooperation between Russia and Turkey is a touchstone for Syrian peace and stability,” Erdogan said in translated comments at a joint press conference after their […]

Saudi Arabia

From Rights Abuses to Yemen War Crimes, Saudi Can’t Escape Spotlight

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman faced scrutiny over the country’s human rights record in 2018 following the murder of a prominent journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, by Saudi agents at the country’s Istanbul consulate on October 2, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. The scrutiny […]

Syria

Not with a Bang but a Whimper: Last Village of ISIL “Caliphate” falls to Syrian Kurds

AFP

Beirut (AFP) – Kurdish-led fighters overran the last village held by the Islamic State group in Syria on Wednesday, confining its once vast cross-border “caliphate” to two small hamlets, a war monitor said. It is the culmination of a broad offensive launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces last September with US-led coalition support in which […]

Morocco

Why do Protests Keep Happening in North Africa? It’s “al-Hogra”

Hsain Ilahiane

(Informed Comment) – In North Africa, leftovers of “Arab Spring” protests have entered their ninth year. In Morocco, the last few years have been marked by a wave of anti-government protests throughout the country since the “Arab Spring”: the Rif hirak (movement) in the north decrying economic and social injustice; Zagora’s “thirst protests” in the […]