(Reuters) Syrian government forces recaptured territory from insurgents in several western areas on Saturday as the U.N. Security Council prepares to vote on rival French and Russian draft resolutions urging an immediate ceasefire. President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian, Lebanese and Iraqi fighters on the ground, hold the upper hand around the key battleground of… Read more »
(BBC World News) Calls for a boycott of next year’s Women’s World Chess Championship in Tehran, in protest at Iran’s strict hijab laws, have prompted a big debate inside Iran in both the official and social media. At stake are two of the most current and contentious issues in Iran – equal participation for women in sport and increasing resistance… Read more »
(Al Jazeera) Dozens of people have been killed or wounded in at least two explosions at a funeral reception in Sanaa, according to Houthi-controlled media sources. Saba news agency, which is aligned with the Iran-allied Houthi group, accused an Arab coalition fighter jet of striking the grand hall of ceremonies on al-Khamseen Street in the Yemeni capital on Saturday afternoon. However,… Read more »
(France 24) Morocco’s moderate ruling Islamist party has defeated a liberal rival seen as close to the royal palace in Friday’s parliamentary elections, increasing its share of seats in parliament, final results show. The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats while the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) — which had campaigned against the “Islamisation” of Moroccan society… Read more »
Turning away from the Middle East and looking at North Africa we will find Morocco, which is in a pretty tough situation as they will be holding an election where the Authenticity and Modernity party (PAM), and the Justice and Democracy party (PJD) will be fighting for the spot of prime minister. Many Moroccans are dissatisfied with what both party’s… Read more »
(aljazeera.com) The recent bombardment of Aleppo has killed 96 children in one week alone and delayed the resumption of the school year. “Nothing can justify such assaults on children and such total disregard for human life. The suffering and the shock among children is definitely the worst we have seen,” Justin Forsyth, the deputy executive director of UNICEF, said in… Read more »
(Al Jazeera) With no other military or political solution on offer, the Syrian conflict will nestle back into a disastrous stalemate. A harsh and saddening reality emerges: There is no productive solution on the horizon to end the Syrian conflict [Getty] What a difference a month can make. This week, US officials halted talks with Russia on a ceasefire in… Read more »
(Al Jazeera) Rhetorical bait and switch enabled Assad to neglect political reform while cultivating support among wealthy elite. Assad was portrayed as an accidental president with no previous political ambitions [Getty Images] In January 2011, citizens across Egypt and Tunisia began demonstrating against their governments. Their calls for change swelled into a collective outrage that, in Tunisia, quickly pushed the… Read more »
(France24) Morocco’s October 7 election has been presented as a showdown between the ruling PJD party and a self-styled party of “modernity”. But on the streets of Casablanca, the country’s largest city, few people can be bothered to vote. Morocco heads to the polls Friday, and yet there is hardly any trace of the looming general election in the sprawling… Read more »
(France 24) French fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Friday for an operation against the Islamic State jihadist organisation (IS) in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, an officer said. Eight jets took off from the carrier in the eastern Mediterranean, an AFP photographer on the flight deck reported. The Charles de Gaulle is on… Read more »