Middle East

The Netherlands announced on Sept. 18 that it had notified Syria of its intention to hold that government accountable for torture under the United Nations Convention against Torture. The Syrian government responded by saying the Netherlands had no right to address human rights,…

The Israeli government of Benyamin Netanyahu plans to annex the Jordan Valley. Why is this decision being made right now? What interest does it represent for Israel? What threats does this pose to the Palestinians? What consequences would this have…

Everyone is trying to make sense of this current moment of almost total chaos. Some some call it anarchy, but that is not correct as we still have governance at many levels. This state of chaos can be seen in…

Viewpoint by Sara Tafakori* t has been called an Iranian #MeToo movement, and it is. Thousands of women in Iran – and some men – are going online to speak about the sexual assault and harassment they experienced. What is…

Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution was a defining event that changed how we think about the relationship between religion and modernity. Ayatollah Khomeini’s mass mobilisation of Islam showed that modernisation by no means implies a linear process of religious decline. Reliable large-scale…

The United Nations has strongly condemned the attack, on Wednesday, in Kabul, targeting the official convoy of Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh. The Vice President survived the attack but dozens of civilian casualties – mostly bystanders – were reported…

By Jhon Sánchez In 2010, one block away from the L train in Brooklyn, I always found my favorite falafel place. The owner was a Palestinian man, nicknamed Yuyo. What I remember the most from Yuyo was his hands. They…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that there is no delay in investigations into the explosions that rocked Beirut on August 4, the National News Agency reported. “We need time to find out the truth because there exist many…

The Egyptian authorities must immediately put an end to their crackdown on women TikTok influencers prosecuted on absurd charges of “indecency” and “violating family principles and values”, Amnesty International said today. Women who reported sexual assault, violations of their right…

The Lebanese cabinet announced on Wednesday a two-week-long state of emergency in Beirut. The death toll from the deadly blast at the capital’s port area Tuesday evening has climbed to 137, with around 5,000 people wounded and dozens others missing.…