Middle East

On May 12, 2013, Nathan Blanc was sentenced to a tenth term, of 28 days in prison. He had been released from military prison on Sunday, May 5, 2013, after serving a 20-day term for refusing to serve in the…

The Middle East is treading water these days. Two years of rhetoric about ousting dictators, revolution, freedom, honor, dignity, and democracy – without result – has people on edge, their disillusionment now demanding an outlet. There are no outlets though.…

“When can we go back?” This plaintive question of refugees since time immemorial was asked again of Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees intake center in Zahleh, Lebanon, overlooking the vast Beqaa valley,…

Dear sisters and brothers,   We wholeheartedly support your demonstration on 13 May.  Article 318 allows the Turkish State to jail anyone who discourages people from joining the army, even if that army is from another country.  We support the…

By Baher Kamal* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint CAIRO (IDN) – Not that nuclear issues are an actual source of concern to Egyptian citizens. They are deeply worried about their present and immediate future now that inter-religious violence is on the rise,…

In dramatic scenes in Geneva today, reminiscent of the 2010 NPT conference when several countries walked out as the Iranian President addressed delegates, Egypt advised the room that they were withdrawing from the rest of the 2013 NPT preparatory committee…

Three Britons are jailed in Dubai for drugs offences using confessions that those found guilty claim were extracted by torture, the day before the UK hosts a state visit by Sheikh Khalifa, the UAE ruler, during which UK Prime Minister, David…

Iraqi authorities have suspended the licenses of 10 satellite TV channels for promoting violence and sectarianism through their coverage of recent wave of violence in the country. Iraq’s leading al-Sharqiya and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera are among the pan-Arabic channels whose operating…

Let us be clear. The United States can verify absolutely nothing about the use of chemical weapons (CWs) in Syria. Any suggestion to the contrary is entirely false. Don’t take it from me – here is what US officials have…

“The weapons of choice in (today’s) new conflicts are not big-ticket items like long-range missiles, tanks, and fighter planes, but small and frighteningly accessible weapons ranging from handguns, carbines, and assault rifles on up to machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and…