DUBAI, Jan 4 – Saudi Arabia used an attack on its embassy in Tehran as a pretext to fuel tensions, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday after Riyadh severed diplomatic relations. Iran was committed to protecting its foreign diplomatic missions, the ministry added. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the early hours of Sunday… Continue reading Iran: Riyadh Thrives on Tension Following Severed Ties
Sleeping With The Enemy
Pablo Neruda once wrote: “You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.” And so it was, that 21-year-old Rami Qedra, a Muslim Palestinian MAN from Beit Lahia, a town north of Gaza, fell in love with Galit Popok, a 17-year-old Jewish Israeli girl from upper Nazareth, where he worked as… Continue reading Sleeping With The Enemy
Unmasked Happiness
They say laughter is the best medicine. It may not be a medicinal cure for those suffering from certain psychological ailments, but it alleviates the pain of those who have endured the trauma of war. To that end, laughter is as necessary as food, water and shelter. For the large number of Syrians who fled… Continue reading Unmasked Happiness
The Pursuit of Justice
Israel’s ongoing military occupation of the West Bank and enforced siege on Gaza Strip, with its illegal policies from land colonization and settlements to blockade and collective punishment, has led to mounting frustration with the country’s conduct in political circles internationally. At the level of civil society in particular, this anger has found expression in… Continue reading The Pursuit of Justice
Bomb Attacks Target Hindu Gathering in North Bangladesh
A religious Hindu ceremony in Muslim-majority Bangladesh was targeted in a bomb attack in the northern region. The countr has witnessed a rise in Islamist violence over the last year. REUTERS/Ashikur Rahman DHAKA, Dec 5 (Reuters) – At least six people were injured, with three in a critical condition, after a series of bomb blasts… Continue reading Bomb Attacks Target Hindu Gathering in North Bangladesh
Israel-Palestine: The Unattainable Peace
October 2015 was one of the bloodiest months in Palestine/Israel since the Second Intifada, with 69 Palestinian fatalities (including some 40 attackers or alleged attackers) and 7,392 injuries, along with eight Israeli fatalities and 115 injuries. The number of Palestinians injured mainly during anti-occupation protests across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, was more than… Continue reading Israel-Palestine: The Unattainable Peace
The Ground Beneath Their Feet
On Nov. 12, as Kurdish and Yazidi forces backed by the U.S.-led military coalition and Iraqi air force attempted to retake the northern city of Sinjar from Islamic militants, violence erupted between two traditional Iraqi allies in Tuz Khurmato, 108 miles north of Baghdad. Over four days of clashes in the city, militants affiliated with… Continue reading The Ground Beneath Their Feet
Hezbollah’s New Ally In Syria
“The Russians have made it clear to the Israelis there are certain areas [the Israelis] cannot operate in, especially around Latakia.” Twirling his cigarette between his fingers, Ali (not his real name) took a long drag before smiling and said: “We were comfortable before they even came into the field, and we’re still comfortable.” A… Continue reading Hezbollah’s New Ally In Syria
U.S. Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush Calls for Helping Syria’s Christian Refugees
Nov 16 – U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush called for assisting the Christian refugees out of Syria in an interview to CNN on Sunday. The former governor of Florida, who is also brother of ex-President George Bush was discussing the fallout from Friday’s attacks in Paris that left at least 127 people dead as… Continue reading U.S. Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush Calls for Helping Syria’s Christian Refugees
All The Kings’ Men
“It is always good [to have] true men by your side,” wrote Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed Al Maktoum on his Instagram page some five weeks ago under a photo from the battlefield in Yemen. The image shows the young leader, 26, standing next to Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain, both in military fatigues.… Continue reading All The Kings’ Men
Yemen: Girls With Guns
By most measures, Amal Al Wafi is like most college students. She wakes each morning at 7, boards the bus and studies hard to earn her administration degree at Taiz University, hoping it will earn her a position as a manager someday. But since renewed fighting caused her school to close in April, Amal Al… Continue reading Yemen: Girls With Guns
Should the West Worry About Turkey?
Nov 2 (Reuters) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan appears to have beaten down his opponents and returned his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to a fourth term of single-party rule over the country. In doing so, he has cemented his own already-firm control over the country, and is a large step closer to becoming… Continue reading Should the West Worry About Turkey?
Pressing Matters: Media Coverage and the Arab Gulf States
Over the past few years Western media’s negative coverage of the Arab Gulf states has increased so much that it is starting to look more like a rite of passage for some journalists and news organisations. Meanwhile, what’s notable is that most Western media outlets have softened their tone when reporting on Iran. For instance,… Continue reading Pressing Matters: Media Coverage and the Arab Gulf States
“This region is not on my agenda. It is my agenda.”
IN 2004, one man stood firm in urging Arab leaders to introduce reforms within their states. Memorably, he advised them to “change or you will be changed eventually.” Six years later, a wave of national uprisings swept across the Arab world toppling several regimes, along with leaders who had refused to acknowledge the needs and… Continue reading “This region is not on my agenda. It is my agenda.”
Palestine: A Third Intifada?
It was just after midday on Oct. 5, 13-year-old Abd Al-Rahman Shadi Obeidallah was standing with friends in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Young Palestinians had been throwing stones at the Israeli occupation forces stationed nearby when, without warning, a soldier fired two live bullets. Abd Al-Rahman was struck in the chest. An hour later,… Continue reading Palestine: A Third Intifada?
Top Indian spices to cook delicious meals
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For this tribe in Vanuatu, their mountain god Prince Philip’s retirement comes as a shock
TANNA ISLAND, Vanuatu, May 7 – The retirement of Britain’s Prince Philip from public life led world headlines on Thursday, but his most devout and remote followers have only just heard the news. A tribe in Vanuatu was shocked and dismayed to discover on Saturday that the man they pray to as the son of… Continue reading For this tribe in Vanuatu, their mountain god Prince Philip’s retirement comes as a shock