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Tuesday, September 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Arabs Rise for Rights
EGYPT: Mubarak Trial Another Win for Tahrir Protesters
Egyptians watched with rapt attention as deposed president Hosni Mubarak was hauled before court on live television to answer charges of corruption and murder. The move appears to have restored public confidence in Egypt's ruling military council, which has governed the country since Mubarak's February ouster.Gulf Nations Call for Syrian Reforms
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have recalled their ambassadors from Damascus amid mounting pressure from the Arab world against Syria's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.After the Arab Spring, an Israeli Summer
"The people demand social justice!" Across the country's major cities, over 300,000 demonstrators, five percent of Israel's Jewish population, chanted the rallying call for the third consecutive Saturday.EGYPT: State Media has New Bosses, Old Habits
Six months since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the state media organs that once glorified the dictator's policies and glossed over his failures have new leaders. Yet the mindset of decades of authoritarian rule remains intact, say media experts.Between Libya and the Deep Sea
NATO’s five-month bombing campaign in Libya, run under the guise of protecting civilians, is also killing victims fleeing the conflict, directly and indirectly.
Tunisian Women Fear the Algerian Way
A women’s group begins campaigning near La Marsa beach in Tunis to convince more women to come up and register in the electoral lists, in time for the deadline now pushed back to Aug. 14. Most of the women watching the proceedings are veiled.Syria’s Assad Decrees Multi-Party System
President Bashar al-Assad has issued a decree authorising a multi-party political system in Syria, a day after the U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the regime's use of force against protesters.SYRIA: U.S. Moves Closer to Call for Regime Change
Amidst growing calls in Congress for stronger measures to effect "regime change" in Syria, the administration of President Barack Obama is escalating its rhetoric against President Bashar Al-Assad.MOROCCO: Arab Spring Haunts Flexible King
In spite of an amendment to the constitution, early general elections planned next October, and numerous social and economic reforms, the Moroccan monarchy may not survive the Arab Spring, activists say.Syrian Crackdown Shows no Respite
Syrian troops have again advanced in the central city of Hama, taking up new positions a day after activists said government forces killed 24 people throughout the country on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.JORDAN: Ripe for Reform, Slow to Change
Having weathered the maelstrom that engulfed the Middle East earlier this year, Jordan's government has faced simmering unrest as protesters continue to press for political and economic reforms.Libya Paralyses Security Council on Syria
The U.N. Security Council has continued to remain politically paralysed on the indiscriminate killings of civilians in Syria, and that paralysis, according to U.N. diplomats, has been triggered ironically by the ongoing turmoil in another Arab nation - Libya.Deadly Syrian Crackdown Continues
Syrian activists say at least eight people have been killed after government forces launched fresh attacks in several cities.Islamic Force Rises in Tunisia
The fundamentalist Ennahda party seems poised to take advantage of a chaotic situation ahead of general elections in Tunisia. Ennahda and other Islamist parties are taking advantage of the Aug. 2 deadline for registration for elections coinciding with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when there is better attendance at mosques.
U.N. Rights Committee Breaks 43-Year Israeli Taboo on Gaza
When the United Nations General Assembly created a three- member special committee to investigate Israeli human rights violations in occupied territories back in December 1968, the Jewish state reacted with obvious anger./UPDATE**/ Libyan Rebel Military Leader Killed
The head of the Libyan rebel's armed forces and two of his aides were killed by gunmen Thursday, the head of the rebel leadership said.Libya Opposition Arrests Senior Leader
General Abdel Fatah Younis, the chief of staff of the rebel forces in Libya, has been arrested by the National Transition Council.EGYPT: Defections Threaten to Crack Muslim Brotherhood
For the last 40 years, the Muslim Brotherhood's united front has been the envy of Egypt's political opposition. But in the six months since the fall of the Mubarak regime, the Islamist group has been racked by unprecedented internal divisions.Iran’s Image Plummets in Arab World, Poll Finds
Iranian leaders have tried to portray democracy movements in the Arab world as inspired by their 1979 Islamic revolution and predicted that Iran's regional support would grow as pro- Western dictators fell.U.N. Agency Slams Nuclear Rogue Nations
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Wednesday identified three U.N. member states - Iran, North Korea and Syria - as virtual nuclear rogue nations for their continued refusal to comply with international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).Britain to Expel Gaddafi Diplomats
Britain has officially recognised Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government, and asked all diplomats belonging to Muammar Gaddafi's government to leave the United Kingdom.« 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
