IF DEMOCRACY REALLY IS ‘PRECIOUS’, PRESIDENT BIDEN, THEN LET THE EGYPTIANS TASTE ITS FRUITS

Sun 14 February 2021: The hand-wringing, angst and tears which flowed unashamedly as US politician after US politician lined up to speak during the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump was nauseating for many of us watching the charade. Without exception, they spoke passionately about the fragility of democracy. The Muslim world, especially where the […]

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TURKEY IS LEADING THE WAY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST BIG TECH DICTATORSHIP

Fri 05 February 2021:  In recent months, the public’s eyes have been opened to the growing threat that technology and social media companies pose, realising with shock the extent to which the companies would go to invade users’ privacy and limit their expression. The messaging app WhatsApp struck first, updating its privacy policy and giving […]

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OPINION | REPORTS OF MASS EXECUTIONS IN YEMEN BLAMED ON HOUTHIS

Fri 15 January 2021: More than 20 Yemeni farmers are reported to have been killed in what locals are calling a process of ‘colonisation’ by the Houthis. New evidence has emerged of Houthi militia atrocities in the village of al Haima, located in Yemen’s second largest province, Taiz, with local journalists and news agencies sharing photos […]

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OPINION | BIDEN BRINGING MCGURK BACK MEANS MORE TERROR TO FIGHT TERROR

Wed 13 January 2021: Does Brett McGurk’s appointment mean that the US policy of threatening friends and placating terrorists will return under a Biden administration? In the comeback tour that no one sane who values protecting civilian life in the Middle East wanted, senior US diplomat Brett McGurk has been strongly touted to head up […]

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OPINION | ASSAD IS LOOKING FOR LEGITIMACY THROUGH THE BALLOT BOX BUT A RUMP SYRIA AWAITS

Fri 08 January 2021: The Middle East is going through a dangerous transitional phase, in which more than one arena may explode at any moment, from Syria to Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen. They are all open spaces that Iran controls either directly or through its proxies, in their political, economic and demographic composition, […]

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MOSUL REVIEW: NETFLIX’S WAR FILM INVITES POLARISED RESPONSES

Sun 03 January 2021: Beneath the warm applause welcoming the release of Mosul, the first Iraqi-accented Netflix production, there is a simmering cynicism. Among some Iraqi spectators the film roused disappointment and apathy, a disagreement that is about more than just taste. The story, riveting as it is, rehashes an article published in 2017 by The New Yorker, […]

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