On May 14, 2018, the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the state and opened an embassy. On the same day, Israelis killed fifty-two Palestinians that were protesting the opening of the embassy. Personally, I would not use the term “killed” but more “massacred” or “slaughtered” fifty-two Palestinians as the doors of the United States embassy opened. May… Read more »
Bekaa Valley, Lebanon – Tarima Ibrahim huddled together with her children to keep them warm as incessant rainfall, heavy winds and hail slapped their tarpaulin tent and lashed the refugee camp around it. “We are freezing,” she said. “The tent is not heating up because it is flooded with ice-cold water.” Lebanon was hit by Storm Norma on January 6, heavily impacting… Read more »
Anata, occupied West Bank – A newly-opened highway in the occupied West Bank has been hailed by Israelis but condemned by Palestinians, who are calling it “Apartheid Road”. It’s the first operational section of an eastern ring road around Jerusalem that could deny Palestinians access to parts of the West Bank and threaten a future Palestinian state. Route 4370 has a high wall in the middle, topped… Read more »
The cases of Saudi stand-up comedian Fahad al-Butairi and his wife, Loujain al-Hathloul, a women’s right-to-drive activist, who were arrested in 2018, has resurfaced following a Twitter thread detailing their disappearance In a series of tweets, American writer and television producer Kirk Rudell spoke about his friendship with the Saudi couple who tried to challenge the kingdom’s strict social rules…. Read more »
Syria’s Kurds will be protected from Turkish military threats, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Kurdish leaders in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Wednesday during an unannounced trip to Erbil. The top US diplomat earlier met Iraqi leaders in Baghdad as part of his Middle East trip to reassure allies about President Donald Trump’s surprise plans to withdraw troops from Syria. In Iraq, Pompeo also sought… Read more »
Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, isn’t much of a president. His style of government and his long term is more representative of a dictatorship. Many Sudanese-Americans argue that he is a dictator acting in his own self-interests. Omar al-Bashir has an eight-year-old international warrant out for his arrest on charges of war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan…. Read more »
Sudanese security forces have arrested a top opposition leader following a crackdown on new anti-government demonstrations held in several cities on Friday. The protests were the latest in a wave of demonstrations that began across much of Sudan on December 19 – first against a rise in prices but later against the government of President Omar al-Bashir, in power since a 1989 military coup. The demonstrations… Read more »
US President Donald Trump has agreed to allow about four months for the US military to pull its troops out of Syria, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing administration officials. The report came after Trump tweeted that “we’re slowly sending our troops back home”, backtracking on his initial order for a rapid withdrawal. Trump unexpectedly announced the troop pull-out on December 19, and… Read more »
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has told the police to reduce the force used against anti-government demonstrators, as the UN called for a probe into deaths during the protests. In a meeting with top police officers in Khartoum on Sunday, al-Bashir instructed them to refrain from using excessive force against protesters. “Vandalism, destruction and theft only worsen the situation and will… Read more »
Human Rights Watch has urged Sudan‘s government to show restraint and not use lethal force against protesters during the weeks-long demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir. The New York-based group, citing estimates from independent groups, said on Monday that Sudanese forces have been using tear gas and live ammunition against protesters, killing more than a dozen people. The statement came in the face of… Read more »