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Sunday, May 24, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Arabs Rise for Rights
Democracy Tastes Bitter as Poverty Bites
On a recent Friday, coppersmith Alaa Moussa parked himself in the same spot where two years earlier he had stood defiantly with a handwritten banner addressed to then president Hosni Mubarak. His petition that cold February morning in 2011 had listed the key demands of Egypt’s 18-day uprising: “bread, freedom, dignity”.
Five Hungry Men Feed Palestinian Resolve
A few stoic lines from Palestinian political prisoner Samer Issawi, 33, transmitted to his sister Shireen have given new strength to Palestinian resolve to fight Israeli occupation and its prison policies. As has the hunger strike of four others in Israeli prisons along with Issawi.Israeli Licence to Cheney-Linked Energy Firm on Golan Heights Raises Eyebrows
In a potential new source of contention between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has reportedly granted a U.S. energy firm with heavyweight political connections to explore for oil and gas in the occupied Golan Heights.Egypt Tilts Against Assad
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
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.
Despite Right-Wing Opposition, Hagel Looks Set for Confirmation
Despite an appeal Thursday by 15 right-wing Republican senators for President Barack Obama to withdraw the nomination of Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary, the former Republican senator from Nebraska appears virtually certain to be confirmed as Pentagon chief by the full Senate next week.
Israel Not Pushing Obama to Arm Syrian Rebels
A lack of Israeli pressure for the U.S. to intervene and Israel’s ability to go after sensitive targets in Syria on its own are factors in the Barack Obama administration’s reluctance to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war.Saudi Arabia Seen Unlikely to Seek Nukes If Iran Gets One
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.
U.S. Urged to Delink Foreign Military, State-building Actions
Development workers and aid strategists are urging the U.S. government to adopt a comprehensive strategy for addressing root problems in “fragile states”, warning that an outdated focus on military intervention is draining resources and exacerbating security problems.
Gangnam Style Finds a Tragic Touch in Gaza
“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
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
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.
Obama Administration Reveals Deep Divisions on Syria Policy
Though President Barack Obama has been reticent to involve his administration too deeply in the Syrian uprising, revelations over the past week have shown near-unanimous agreement among the president’s top national security advisors for greater military intervention.U.S. Urged to Lean Harder on Bahrain’s Ruling Family
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
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.
Gaza Gags Civil Liberties
Gaza is becoming increasingly radicalised as Hamas continues its crackdown on civil liberties, press freedom and the rights of women. In the last few weeks a number of journalists have been arrested and accused of being involved in “suspicious activities”, several detainees shot dead by police during arrest attempts, and female students asked to abide by a strict Islamic dress code.OP-ED: Obama and Bahrain: How to Save Al-Khalifa Rule
Despite the start of a government-inspired dialogue with the opposition Sunday, the Bahraini government continues to jail dissidents, arrest demonstrators, and use a rigged judicial system to convict them.
‘We Grow, They Bulldoze, We Re-Plant’
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.
Marriage Made in Civil Heaven
One couple’s modest marriage in Lebanon has catapulted them into media limelight and sparked a national debate pitting the Prime Minister against the President while eliciting stern condemnation from leading religious figures. Their union is both exceptional and controversial - it is the first civil marriage in the country.
OP-ED: Succeed or Fail? What Obama Must Do in the Middle East
Every U.S. president since Harry Truman has sought to disentangle the United States from the Middle East, and all have been sucked back into the region and its problems.
Golan Heights Braces for More Fighting
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.« 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
