Arab World

By Omar al-Kateb Baghdad (AFP) – Iraq’s parliament Wednesday ordered a manual recount of the May 12 legislative elections and sacked the commission which oversaw the polls that resulted in a surprise victory for a populist Shiite cleric. After several failed attempts because of a lack of quorum, outgoing MPs met to order a recount […]

Qatar

How Saudi Arabia lost out to Iran and Turkey over failed Qatar Blockade

Mohammed Nuruzzaman

The 5th of June was the first anniversary of the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar. Imposed on the accusation that Qatar was sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East region, the blockade came as a big shock, a bolt from the blue for the Qataris but they have managed to survive it well. Qatar’s capacity to […]

Qatar

Trump’s Debacle: Gulf Game of Thrones between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Continues

Beverly Milton-Edwards

The crisis that erupted between a Saudi-led bloc of Arab states and Qatar led to the tiny Emirate facing an attack on them that was unprecedented. A full year later, the crisis is still unresolved. Read against the wider exigencies of US interests in the Gulf, the crisis has also highlighted profound weaknesses in Donald […]

Qatar

Qatar Seeks to Join NATO, Saying It Is “Stronger” Despite Year-Long Saudi-led Blockade,

David Harding

Doha (AFP) – On the first anniversary of a bitter Gulf diplomatic rift, Qatar’s foreign minister on Tuesday declared his country stronger than ever and said it was open to dialogue with its regional rivals. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also rebuked Qatar’s foes for “imaginary victories” against the small Gulf state, the target of a […]

Featured

War of Aggression: The Saudi & UAE Slaughter in Yemen isn’t a Proxy Conflict with Iran

Sheila Carapico

Richmond, Va. (Informed Comment) – Alongside their throttlehold over which reporters can visit what parts of Yemen, and thus what story they can tell, Saudi and Emirati investments in public relations, lobbying, think-tanks, and political consultants are shaping the narrative about their war there. Headline writers, pundits, Wikipedia, news correspondents, and even some so-called experts […]

Displaced and Refugees

Can America Heal the Psychological Wounds of our Syrian Refugees?

Arash Javanbakht

Detroit (The Conversation) – War in Syria and the refugee crisis have been the subject of a heated debate in United States politics, leading to a travel ban and drastic reduction in the number refugees to the U.S. this year. We occasionally hear about brutal deaths and starvation of civilians in Syria from the news, […]

Yemen

Forgotten War in Yemen Heats up as 100 die in Fight for Key Port

AFP

Khokha (Yemen) (AFP) – The battle for a major rebel-controlled port in Yemen has left more than 100 soldiers and insurgents dead in less than a week, medics and military sources said Saturday. Yemeni forces are fighting to close in on the Red Sea port of Hodeida, the main conduit for humanitarian supplies into a […]

Qatar

Saudi Arabia warns of new Gulf War targeting Qatar if it buys Russian Missile Defense

AFP

Paris (AFP) – Saudi Arabia has threatened military action against Qatar if it goes ahead and acquires Russia’s top of the range S-400 air defence missile system, Le Monde daily reported. Citing information it had obtained, Le Monde said Friday that Riyadh had written to French President Emmanuel Macron asking him to intervene to prevent […]

Donald Trump

In Remote Iraqi town, US Troops and Iran-Backed Militias are already Facing Off

Mustafa Habib

Baghdad (Niqash.org) – Locals in Al Qaim, Anbar, worry that the current stable security situation can’t last. It’s being upheld by US troops and Iran-allied militias, whose antipathy toward one another is becoming more overt all the time. Iraqi troops searching a secret IS base near Al Qaim. (photo: Iraqi Ministry of Defence). The people […]