Middle East

By Noura Erakat Introduction Al-Shabaka – In her new book, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine, Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Noura Erakat breaks new ground in her approach to international law as it pertains to Palestine. Analysts have generally considered the law in this context as either essentially beneficent if deployed properly, or […]

Green Energy

Emirates aiming for 30% Renewables by 2030; Good for an Oil State, but not Nearly Enough for Paris

Global Voices

By Sania Aziz Rahman | – (Globalvoices.org) – UAE wants to get 30% of energy from clean energy by 2030 Posted 23 April 2019 22:15 GMT A parabolic trough which collects solar heat in Abu Dhabi called “Shams 1″. Image credit: Masdar via Flickr In January, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published a report […]

Yemen

The Ugly American: Trump Vetoes Congressional Resolution to get out of Yemen

Middle East Monitor

By Abdulaziz Kilani | – Last week, US President Donald Trump vetoed a Congressional resolution that would have ended American support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, thereby issuing his second veto since he took office in the White House. This was expected, and is a sign that, regardless of the criticism that America is […]

Saudi Arabia

Youth among 37 Executed by Saudis had Repudiated Confessions as result of Torture

Human Rights Watch

Beirut (Human Rights Watch) – Saudi Arabia’s government announced the mass execution of 37 men on April 23, 2019 in various parts of the country, Human Rights Watch said today. At least 33 of the 37 were from the country’s minority Shia community and had been convicted following unfair trials for various alleged crimes, including […]

Featured

Israel Lobby AIPAC slams Bernie Sanders for branding Netanyahu’s Gov’t “right-wing, racist”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday at a CNN town hall, Sen. Bernie Sanders said, “I am not anti-Israel. But the fact of the matter is Netanyahu is a right-wing politician who I think is treating the Palestinian people extremely unfairly . . . What I believe is not radical. I just believe that […]

Bill of Rights

Landmark 1st Amendment Ruling striking down Texas Law Banning Israel Boycott won by CAIR

contributors

By Arsalan Bukhari | – WASHINGTON, D.C. (CAIR News Release) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today welcomed this afternoon’s landmark victory in CAIR’s First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of Bahia Amawi, the Texas speech language pathologist who lost her job because she refused to […]

Israel/ Palestine

US States use Anti-Boycott Laws to Punish Responsible Businesses cutting Ties with Israel’s Illegal Squatters

Human Rights Watch

(Human Rights Watch) – (Washington, DC) – Many United States states are using anti-boycott laws and executive orders to punish companies that refuse to do business with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 250 million Americans, some 78 percent of the population, live in states with anti-boycott […]

Featured

Saudi Mass Execution of Shiites draws UN, NGO Condemnation and raises tensions with Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Saudi authorities tweeted Wednesday that they had executed 37 persons. Two of the bodies were hung from light poles in public as a warning to the Saudi public to avoid any sort of dissidence. The widely condemned step came while the kingdom was hosting a two-day economic forum that attracted […]

Iran

Trump’s Crackdown on Iran’s Oil Exports Could Backfire Badly– With Serious Risks to Global Economy

The Conversation

By Nafis Alam | – The US has unnerved the world oil market by ramping up the pressure in its long-running dispute with Iran. It has announced that, after May 1, it won’t renew the exemptions given to eight countries that enable them to buy Iranian oil. Those affected, which include China, India, Japan, Italy […]