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Thursday, September 3, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Arabs Rise for Rights
Libya’s Governing Council Accused of Detainee Abuse
Libya's governing National Transitional Council (NTC) is holding about 2,500 detainees in the capital Tripoli alone, many of whom have been beaten and subjected to other ill-treatment and not given access to lawyers or judicial proceedings, says London-based human-rights watchdog Amnesty International.EGYPT: ‘Invisible Hand’ Playing With Sectarian Fire
Violent clashes in Cairo that left at least 25 Egyptians dead and over 300 injured on Sunday have deepened suspicions that unseen forces are manipulating the country's sectarian divisions for political gain.TUNISIA: Social Media Lift the Silence
After 23 years of enforced silence, media professionals and artists in Tunisia are enjoying a period in which their freedom of expression is being respected for the first time.U.S. Arms Bahrain While Decrying Russian Weapons in Syria
Peeved at Russia's Security Council veto derailing a Western- sponsored resolution against Syria last week, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice implicitly accused the Russians of protecting the beleaguered government of President Bashar al-Assad primarily to safeguard their lucrative arms market in the Middle Eastern country.Support Builds for Syrian National Council
What was once a glaring weakness in the seven-month Syrian revolution and uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad is now slowly transforming into one of its strengths with the coalescence of opposition groups into the Syrian National Council (SNC) earlier this month.Egypt Army Seeks Probe into Cairo Clashes
Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has called for a speedy investigation into Sunday night's deadly clashes in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, that left at least 26 dead and more than 300 injured, mostly Coptic Christians.EGYPT: Islamists and Secularists Draw Closer
Egypt, routinely the cradle for new Arab and Islamic ideologies, is now witnessing the birth of yet another line of thought - Islamic Liberalism. The term is touted now as a panacea for the eight-month impasse that has locked Islamists and their secularist rivals in bitter bickering over how this Arab nation should be governed after the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.West Leads in Wielding Veto Powers at Security Council
When Russia and China exercised a rare double veto against a Western resolution aimed at punishing Syria, the two big powers were repeating a similar feat derailing two earlier resolutions: one against Myanmar (Burma) in 2007 and the other against Zimbabwe in 2008.BAHRAIN: U.S. Congress Urged to Reject Arms Sale
More than a dozen U.S. and international human rights and arms control groups are urging Congress to block a proposed 53- million-dollar arms sale to Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, until it ends its crackdown against the opposition and adopts serious reforms.Bahrain Medical Staff Sentenced for Treating Protesters
Thirteen doctors and nurses who treated anti-government protesters during demonstrations in Bahrain earlier this year have been jailed for 15 years for crimes against the state.How to Nurse the Unemployment Epidemic
At a meeting in the suburb of Carthage, just outside of Tunis on Nov. 18, 2008, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn applauded the economic efforts of the now deposed Tunisian dictator Abidine Ben Ali, calling his policies "sound, the best model for emerging countries".BAHRAIN: Elections Will Test Shia Resolve
Bahrain’s by-elections on Saturday are a test of will to see if majority Shias will turn out to vote in areas where they are dominant or heed a boycott call by the powerful opposition Al-Wefaq (National Islamic Society) party.Looking for Democracy in Wake of Arab Spring
Civil society and government leaders gathered at World Bank headquarters in Washington on Thursday to debate the future direction of social and government accountability in the Middle East and North Africa.Deadly Fighting Rages in Yemeni Capital
Deadly fighting has spread across Yemen's capital as tribesmen joined battles between rival military units, raising fears among residents the country is descending into civil war.DEATH PENALTY: Not in the Name of the Quran
Islamic regimes look for provisions and precedents to carry out the death sentence in the name of Islam. But, says Dr. Mohammad Al-Habash, director of the Islamic Studies Centre in Damascus, they are not looking enough at 13 provisions within the Quran to commute the death sentence to a lesser punishment.
“Identities Do Not Have Borders”
Sep. 11, 2001 deeply affected the relations between the United States and Europe on one hand and North Africa and the Middle East on the other.Post-War Libya Urged to Create New Human Rights Regime
As the United Nations celebrated the birth of a new democratic Libya, the National Transitional Council (NTC), which has been duly recognised as the legitimate government, is faced with new political demands - even before it could get off the ground.
Ship of State Needs More Women at the Helm
Less than 10 percent of the world's political leaders are female, according to United Nations figures, but many of them were present Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York, where they reiterated calls for increased participation for women as critical to both economic development and democracy.Street Clashes Resume in Yemeni Capital
At least 21 people have been killed and over 100 injured in fresh clashes on the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a day after 26 anti-government protesters were shot dead and hundreds wounded by troops and gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.U.N. Security Council Fiddles While Syria Burns
"Syria is on fire," says one exasperated U.N. diplomat, "while the Security Council fiddles."Europe Confronts Its Borders
The influx of Tunisian migrants into Europe following the country’s ‘Jasmine Revolt’ has sparked a debate over the application of the passport-free Schengen Agreement.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Arab Spring has changed the Arab seasons that have followed; it had to. The struggle continues in Syria; in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and in countries that did not change that dramatically, such as Bahrain and Yemen, the political world, and the tone of society itself has changed. IPS has not left these countries with the headlines that accompanied cataclysmic changes. We continue to track changes closely, always keeping in our sights first the rights of peoples, and then reporting changes from fresh, newsy and human perspective.
Middle East & North Africa
