Arab World

Mohamed Bin Salman is at it again. The yacht-loving Renaissance art collector who tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the American elite this spring is a serial diplomatic disaster. Bin Salman’s plans for a transition of Saudi Arabia from being an oil giant to being a financial hub depend heavily on international […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudis Seek to Silence Foreign Critics as Canada Feud Erupts

Anuj Chopra

Riyadh (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic rupture with Canada underscores the kingdom’s newly combative foreign policy to tame international criticism after a crackdown on domestic critics, as it struggles to implement risky reforms, analysts say. Saudi Arabia on Monday expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own envoy while freezing all new trade and investments, after […]

Featured

Saudi Arabia bullies Canada with Economic Threats for Criticizing its Horrible Human Rights Record

Juan Cole

Saudi Arabia is attempting to bully Canada for criticizing the abysmal Saudi human rights record. (That is, if something as non-existent as Saudi human rights can be called abysmal). Riyadh has expelled the Canadian ambassador and has frozen all new purchases and investments in Canada. The Canadian foreign ministry had tweeted on Friday, “Canada is […]

Iraq

Is Wave of Anti-Corruption Demonstrations in Iraq Doomed to Fail?

Mustafa Habib

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – There are anti-government protests in Iraq every summer. But the recent batch are different, and in ways that could hinder any resolution. The protests that have been rocking the Iraqi political establishment for almost a month now began when dozens of unemployed young men from the village of Bahila, on the outskirts […]

Kuwait

Kuwait Joins Tunisia in Granting Women Full Political Rights

Middle East Monitor

Kuwait City (Middle East Monitor) – Kuwait has become one of the first countries in the Middle East to give full political rights to women. Gulf news agencies reported that the oil rich state has granted full suffrage after decades of campaigning by women’s rights campaigners. Praising Kuwait’s progressive move, regional media commented on the […]

Yemen

Yemen Slaughter: Saudi Airstrikes on Hospital, Fish Market Kill 55 Civilians – Red Cross

AFP

Sanaa (AFP) – A series of explosions Thursday on Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeida killed 55 civilians and wounded dozens of others, the Red Cross said, denouncing the “reprehensible” disregard for human life. The attacks, which were also denounced by a senior UN official, come as the United Nations has said it will invite […]

Syria

Israel Sees Advantages in Assad Victory in Syria

AFP

Jerusalem (AFP) – Gains by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war present advantages for Israel even though the two countries remain technically at war, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday. “In Syria, as far as we are concerned, the situation is returning to the previous one before the civil war, meaning there […]

Featured

Did Tillerson lose his Job over Stopping a Saudi Invasion of Qatar?

Juan Cole

Alex Emmons at The Intercept interviewed two former State Department officials and one intelligence official who confirmed to him that in early June, 2017, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been on the cusp of invading Qatar, but were stopped by Rex Tillerson. Emmons suggests that Tillerson lost his job over his intervention, […]

Iraq

Broke: US-Installed Iraqi Elite Spent or Stole all $700 bn in Oil Revenue since 2005

AFP

Baghdad (AFP) – Iraq has raised more than $700 billion from oil since 2005, but almost the entire amount has been spent, the central bank announced Tuesday. “Between 2005 and 2017, the finance ministry has taken in $706.23 billion dollars in foreign exchange” from oil, it said in a statement. “A total of $703.11 billion, […]