Civilisations Find Alliances

Alliance Aims to Get Past Intolerance

By Pavol Stracansky
A UN summit designed to promote tolerance, plurality and global inclusiveness of civilisations has opened with dire warnings of the threat of religious and ethnic intolerance – at the same time as many states that have ostensibly signed up to the UN’s ideals continue to enforce laws and practices restricting religious freedom, and implicitly marginalising communities.

U.N. to Build Bridges Battling “Merchants of Hate”

By Thalif Deen
Amidst the rising tide of racial and religious intolerance worldwide - including xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia - the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) will meet in the Austrian capital of Vienna later this week to strengthen cross-cultural relations in a world it describes as "alarmingly out of balance".

Argentina Strikes Deal with Iran to Probe AMIA Bombing Suspects

By Marcela Valente
An agreement between Argentina and Iran to dig deeper into a 1994 bomb attack on a Jewish community centre in this city will test the solidity of the evidence garnered by a judicial investigation that has ground to a halt because of lack of cooperation from Tehran.

Egypt Tilts Against Assad

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
Egypt has recently stepped up its support for Syria's armed insurgency, with President Mohamed Morsi urging disparate anti-Assad factions to "coordinate" with a leading Syrian opposition coalition that has taken Cairo as its headquarters.

New Order Drags Back Released Prisoners

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
The release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in late 2011 set off scenes of jubilation throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, as families joyously welcomed their loved ones homes after months and years apart. But for many of these same families, an Israeli military order – that allows Israel to re-arrest released Palestinian prisoners based on secret evidence – has now shattered those happy reunions.

Saudi Arabia Seen Unlikely to Seek Nukes If Iran Gets One

By Jim Lobe
Challenging what has become conventional wisdom here, a new report released here Tuesday by an influential think tank argues that Iran’s neighbours - Saudi Arabia in particular - are unlikely to pursue nuclear weapons if Iran obtains one.

Gangnam Style Finds a Tragic Touch in Gaza

By Eva Bartlett
“We wanted to do something to bring focus to the plight of Palestinian political prisoners, of which there are around 5,000 in Israeli jails, including hunger strikers, children, women,” says Mohannad Barakat, 30, one of seven Palestinians who have made a Palestinian version of the Gangnam style.

Political Violence Grips Egypt From All Sides

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
Since the second anniversary of the uprising that ended the Mubarak regime, Egypt has witnessed a spate of political violence. Egypt's opposition led by the high-profile National Salvation Front (NSF) blames President Mohamed Morsi for the bloodshed, but many blame the NSF and its leaders.

Yemen’s Youth Denied the Revolutionary Change

By Rebecca Murray
This week in Sana’a thousands of Yemenis – mostly youth - crowded the highway near the landmark ‘Change Square’ to celebrate the second anniversary of the revolution. Adjacent to the university, this was the site of a tented encampment that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators throughout 2011.

U.S. Urged to Lean Harder on Bahrain’s Ruling Family

By Jim Lobe
On the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising in Bahrain, the administration of President Barack Obama is being urged to press the royal family to make genuine compromises with the predominantly Shi’a opposition.

Israelis Ski on Thin Snow

By Pierre Klochendler
Unbending winds howl in the mountain, seldom carrying echoes of the two-year-old civil war closing in on Damascus just 35 kilometres away. But Israelis revel in immaculate pleasure. Albeit an internationally-recognised Syrian territory, the Israeli-controlled high ground is de facto their one and only ski resort.

‘We Grow, They Bulldoze, We Re-Plant’

By Eva Bartlett
Tawfiq Mandil, 45, stands amongst hundreds of Palestinian farmers, activists, and international supporters in the Gaza Strip's eastern Zeitoun district, about half a kilometre from the border with Israel. They are renewing a call for the boycott of Israeli goods.

Q&A: FGM Is About Culture, Not Religion

By Marzieh Goudarzi
The fight against female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) continues to gain traction around the world.

Golan Heights Braces for More Fighting

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
After Israeli war planes reportedly bombed targets in Syrian territory last week, individuals and groups in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are quietly preparing for the possibility of escalating violence between Syria and Israel.

Tunisia PM to Dissolve Government Amid Crisis

By AJ Correspondents
Tunisia's prime minister has said that he will dissolve the Islamist-led government and form a national unity administration, following the killing of prominent secular opposition figure Shokri Belaid in front of his home.

New Regime, Same Police Brutality

By Cam McGrath
Graphic video footage of an Egyptian man being dragged naked across a street and beaten by riot police during a protest in Cairo has sparked outrage in Egypt and heightened calls for police reform, a key demand of the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Israeli Activists Invite Palestinian Vote

By Mel Frykberg
Unknown to the Israeli government or the Israeli electorate, hundreds of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza took part in the recent Israeli elections by default thanks to an act of civil disobedience by Israeli peace activists.

Pakistan Tribes Turn Against Army

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
–“We demand an immediate end to the military operation in Khyber Agency because it has not brought any results during the past three years,” says Iqbal Afridi from the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf party. “The military operations are killing the local population while the militants remained unharmed.”

Turkey’s EU Hopes Could Free Media

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
As negotiations in Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union remain stalled, many worry that the Turkish government has little incentive to curb its ongoing crackdown on media freedoms and freedom of expression.

Israel Votes for More of the Same – And Seeks Change

By Pierre Klochendler
“He who believes doesn’t fear”…re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hums a popular tune played with great intensity by his supporters. Indeed, faith is what Netanyahu badly needs right now as people showed just how little faith they have in him. “We’ll have coalition problems,” confides a Likud lawmaker.

Egypt Faces ‘Mubarak-Like’ Morsi

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
Concerns are mounting over Egypt’s future after the outbreaks of violence that marked the second anniversary of Egypt's January 25 Revolution. Massive anti-government rallies led to ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces that have left at least 40 people dead. Cities along Egypt's Suez Canal faced a government-declared state of emergency.
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