Erdogan Avenges the American Betrayal Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar* This article was produced in partnership with Indian Punchline and Globetrotter. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The curtain is coming down on the brutal 11-year-old Syrian conflict, which former US President and Nobel Laureate Barack Obama initiated as the Arab Spring swept through West Asia two decades […]
The Absurdity of the Israel-Hamas Relationship
Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years. NEW YORK (IDN) — Given that Israel and Hamas collaborate both publicly and tacitly on multiple […]
Iraq’s Drought Crisis Destroys Income and Crops Countrywide
By Ahmed Bayram The writer is an Amman-based Middle East Media Adviser of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). AMMAN, Jordan (IDN) — Farming communities in Iraq have seen their wheat, vegetable, and fruit harvests decline for the second year in a row because of severe drought conditions. Households throughout the country will be increasingly vulnerable […]
Israel Reaches Out to China, Again
This article was issued by the Indian Punchline. Viewpoint by M. K. Bhadrakumar* NEW DELHI (IDN) — The phone call to the Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on April 6 by Israel’s alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid adds to the tectonic shifts in the geopolitics of the Middle East […]
First-Ever Summit on Israeli Soil Dismissed as A “Summit of Shame”
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — When the United States joined hands with Israel, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to hold “the first ever multilateral Arab-Israeli summit on Israeli soil”, there was one potential participant described as MIA—the Palestinians, missing in action. One of the Palestinian demonstrators outside the hotel, […]
Pandemic Pushes SDGs Further Out of Reach of Asia and The Pacific
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana BANGKOK (IDN) — 2022 marks the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while an end to the pandemic is in sight, it is far from over and the consequences will be felt for decades to come. At the same time, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is becoming increasingly […]
Will a Holy Land Confederation Help Resolve the Long Simmering Palestinian-Israeli Dispute?
Only a political solution will end the “senseless and costly cycles of violence” between Israelis and Palestinians, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said at a briefing to the Security Council in 2021. By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which dates back to 1948, is one of the longstanding disputes which has […]
The Greater Maghreb Is One of The Most Volatile Geopolitical Frontiers
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* Interviews Middle East Expert Dr. Chatou Mohamed MOSCOW | RABAT (IDN) — For several decades, the Maghreb region has been a multifaceted conflict region. It is also a gateway to Europe and to sub-Saharan Africa. Historically, the states of the region have different deep-seated political differences but are tightly bonded by […]
Amnesty International, In A Landmark Report, Accuses Israel of Apartheid
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The term “apartheid”, describing institutionalized racial discrimination, was widely prevalent both in white-ruled South Africa and in Southwest Africa (now Namibia), beginning in 1948 until it ended with the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994 in Pretoria. But elsewhere it was treated as a four-letter word—and largely shunned […]
Devastating Loss of Civilian Lives in a Middle East War Fuelled by Western Arms
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen on January 21, which killed at least 70 civilians, has shifted the focus once again to the festering seven-year-old conflict in the Middle East, which the UN has described as “the world’s worst humanitarian disaster”. The disproportionate retaliation was a response to a […]