December 6th, 20240On Israel’s timing: Turkey turns against the “de-escalation” agreement as armed groups overrun northern Syria and advance southward
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has described the recent sweeping offensive involving formerly rival factions as a meticulously coordinated and long-prepared operation. This multi-faceted...
February 23rd, 20240On Thursday, the Biden administration warned Iran of a "swift and severe" response from the international community if Tehran provided ballistic missiles to Russia, after reports surfaced earlier this week that the Islamic Republic shipped the powerful weapons to Moscow.
Speaking at a virtual briefing with reporters, White House...
August 23rd, 20230Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, a global cold war has also kicked in.
As a strong ally of Washington and the home of a massive constituency of Russian, Ukrainian and East European Jews, it was only natural that Tel Aviv would be at the heart of the global conflict.
When the war began, Israel was then ruled by an odd...
November 12th, 20220The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell is not particularly perceived by the EU’s political elite or mainstream media as a right-wing ideologue or warmonger. But seen through a different, non-Western prism, it is hard not to mistake him for one.
Borrell’s recent comments that “Europe is a garden” and that...
September 16th, 20220Syria's simmering 11-year war is at risk of boiling up once again with a return to large-scale combat after several frontlines across the country flared up in recent months, the United Nations warned on Wednesday in a new report.
"Syria cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be heading," said Paulo...
September 11th, 20222As soon as I landed in Rome, I discovered that I was no longer able to access any Russian media whatsoever. Unfortunately, threats by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Europe should sever all links with “Russia’s propaganda machine” were taken seriously by the Italian government.
As a journalist, having...
August 27th, 20220While U.S. and Western mainstream and corporate media remain biased in favor of Israel, they often behave as if they are a third, neutral party. This is simply not the case.
Take the New York Times' coverage of the latest Israeli war on Gaza as an example. Its article on August 6, “Israel-Gaza Fighting Flares for a Second Day” is...
July 22nd, 20220Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his first major summit outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine with an endorsement from Iran for its response to NATO, a clash with Turkey over Syria and signs of progress over the lifting of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain.
The White House said the Tehran summit held between Putin,...
July 22nd, 20220Poor rainfall, fuel shortages, soaring fertilizer prices: It's been a bad year for farmers in northeastern Syria, where a disappointing wheat crop looks set to deal another blow to food supplies in a country grappling with climate change and war.
Farmer Mohamed Hussein said he planted around a fifth of the area he would usually...
July 12th, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Biden will make the case for greater oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations to bring down gasoline prices when he meets Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia this week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
Biden leaves Tuesday...
June 17th, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House confirmed dates and some details on President Biden’s July trip to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, amid concerns over the human rights records of both countries.
Human rights advocates are critical of Biden’s July 13-16 trip, which will include a meeting with the...
May 14th, 20220DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates' de facto leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MbZ), was elected president of the Gulf Arab state by a federal supreme council on Saturday, solidifying his rule over the OPEC oil producer and key regional player.
He becomes president at a time when the UAE's long-standing ties with the...
March 16th, 20220By Peter Beinart
I’ve been thinking about the similarities between this moment and the moment after 9/11. In both cases, foreign attacks provoked fierce American outrage. After 9/11, that righteous indignation constricted public debate. I’m not even talking about the debate over invading Iraq. Think back to the debate over...
March 11th, 20220By Chris McGreal
The U.S. and some of its European allies are facing accusations of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while blocking them over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
But pro-Israel groups in the...
March 9th, 20220Americans are now experiencing soaring gas prices, surging more than 30 percent since Russia invaded Ukraine and the U.S. and other countries imposed a raft of sanctions.
The Biden administration has already begun looking at scenarios in which oil tops $200 a barrel, with gas stations already topping $4 a gallon in many...
March 4th, 20220SANAA — Potential disruption to global wheat supplies after Russia's invasion of Ukraine is raising concerns that war-torn Yemen's hunger crisis and food price inflation could deepen, with some Yemenis rushing to buy flour.
The World Food Program (WFP) said this week that the Ukraine crisis is likely to further increase fuel and food...
February 25th, 20220News of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday shored up global anxieties over a conflict that has the potential to drag in regional powers and the U.S., marking the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
The invasion began Thursday morning with attacks by land, sea and air, with missiles...
February 6th, 20220By Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo
It should matter little to the Chinese that American diplomats and a handful of their Western allies will not be attending the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. What truly matters is that the Russians are coming.
The above is not an arbitrary statement. It is supported with facts. According to a...
January 12th, 20220Although 2021 is now behind us, there are many issues that will linger for a while, or much longer, and will certainly dominate much of the news in 2022 as well. These are but a few of the issues.
NATO-Russian brinkmanship
Exasperated with NATO expansion and growing ambitions in the Black Sea region, Moscow has decided to challenge...
November 3rd, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department added Israel's NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the equipment to target government officials, journalists and others.
Positive Technologies of Russia and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE...
October 8th, 20210GENEVA — Bahrain, Russia and other members of the U.N. Human Rights Council pushed through a vote on Thursday to shut down the body's war crimes investigations in Yemen, in a stinging defeat for Western states that sought to keep the mission going.
Members narrowly voted to reject a resolution led by the Netherlands to give the...
August 1st, 20210BEIRUT — The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.
As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge...
April 18th, 20210DAMASCUS — Syria will hold a presidential election on May 26 that is virtually certain to return President Bashar al-Assad for a third term — an event that Washington and the opposition say is a farce designed to cement his autocratic rule.
Assad's family and his Baath party have ruled Syria for five decades with the help of the...
March 15th, 20210ALEPPO — Mohammed Abu Rdan has known nothing but conflict throughout his short life.
Born in rural Aleppo in 2011 when peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s government began, his childhood is anything but typical.
The protests quickly turned into a multi-sided conflict that has sucked in world powers,...
May 10th, 20190AMMAN - Russian and Syrian forces intensified air strikes and shelling in rebel-held northwestern Syria overnight, the heaviest assault since the area was declared a demilitarized zone under a Russian-Turkish deal, residents and medics said on Thursday.
The targeted villages and towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib fall within a...
December 21st, 20180WASHINGTON — President Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, declaring on Wednesday they have succeeded in their mission to defeat ISIS and were no longer needed in the country.
A decision to pull out completely, confirmed by U.S. officials, coincides with the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops finishing...
October 7th, 20180On Wednesday, an Israeli official played down the Russian upgrading of Syria’s air defenses, saying the newly supplied S-300 missile system could be defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground.
Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300, a decision it took after accusing Israel of...
September 17th, 20180AMMAN — A Syrian rebel commander said on Thursday rare military exercises with U.S. Marines in southern Syria sent a strong message to Russia and Iran that the Americans and the rebels intend to stay and confront any threats to their presence.
Colonel Muhanad al Talaa, commander of the Pentagon-backed Maghawir al Thawra group, told...
