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Wednesday, September 16, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Arabs Rise for Rights
OP-ED: The Sacred and the Secular – Promoting Muslim Democracy
The presence of religion in public space challenges our ideas about the roles of faith in our lives and politics. Over the last centuries, proponents of secularisation have claimed that as societies modernise, the role of religion in public and private life diminishes. For them, modern rationality, science, and the ideal of representative governments as sovereign replace religion as a source of authority, regulation, and security.EGYPT: Political Punch with a Religious Thrust
More than three months since the fall of the Mubarak regime, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement is well on its way to forming its first official political party since its inception in 1928. But while the nascent party is to be based on "the principles of Islamic Law and respect for freedom of belief," some critics see this as a contradiction.Politics Could Dominate G8 Summit of World Leaders
When leaders of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialised nations meet in Deauville, France later this week, there is a strong possibility that politics will take precedence over traditional socioeconomic issues like food security and development aid, which are being overshadowed by the Arab revolution and Palestinian statehood.
Arab Spring Solidarity Defies National Boundaries
Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North Africa and the Middle East against unwanted rulers. But what is now known as the "Arab Awakening" is not confined to people resisting within their own borders. Some Arabs are helping the fight in neighbouring countries too.EGYPT: Secularists Unite to Take On Islamists
Liberal and secular Egyptians at the core of mass protests that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak are scrambling to form a unified political front ahead of critical parliamentary elections in which they will face the better-organised Islamists.OP-ED: Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion
All cultures contribute to the enrichment of humankind. Human beings must respect one another in all their diversity of belief, culture and language. Differences within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed but cherished as a precious asset of humanity. This is a core challenge of the 21st century.U.S.: Congress Pushes for Vote on Libya Intervention
As the War Powers Act, which purportedly authorised U.S. President Barack Obama to wage war in Libya for 60 days without Congressional approval, expires Friday, experts here continue to question the strategic focus of the NATO-led operation, with pressure mounting from Capitol Hill on the Obama administration to lay out what its desired end game in Libya will be.Few Surprises in Obama’s Mideast Speech
In a much-anticipated speech on the Middle East and North Africa on Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama broadly outlined an ambitious set of U.S.-guided initiatives intended to reinforce economic and political prosperity, democratic reforms and, most emphatically, self-determination for the millions of protestors throughout the region who have taken to the streets over the past six months.A Bad Week for Iranian Diplomacy
As U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled a new economic support plan for fledgling democracies in the Middle East and set down principles for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Tehran called back two ships carrying demonstrators who had intended to show solidarity with beleaguered Shiites in Bahrain.OP-ED: The Fate of Minorities in the Arab Spring
From the shores of the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf, women and men in many Arab-Muslim countries are demanding that their rulers democratise, and that dictators monopolising power and national wealth for their own profit step down.EGYPT: Hidden Hands Stoke Sectarian Strife
Recent Muslim-Christian clashes have renewed fears of sectarian conflict in Egypt. But many local analysts - along with wide swathes of the public - believe sectarian tensions are being stoked by elements loyal to the ousted Hosni Mubarak regime in possible coordination with Israel.
LIBYA: Ajdabiya Seeks Semblance of Peace
Although the front line is at its gates in eastern Libya, the city of Ajdabiya is trying to get back to normal under threat of attack by the troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and, especially, under the risk posed by unexploded ordnance in streets, gardens and houses.Yemen Rivals Fail to Sign GCC-Brokered Deal
Yemen's president has for a second time backed out of a Gulf- sponsored deal to transfer power.
Spring Not New to Arab Women
Women have been taking leading roles in the Arab uprisings of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Morocco and Bahrain - shattering many decades old Western myths that Arab women are powerless and enslaved.Obama Faces Mounting Arab Disillusionment
On the eve of a much-anticipated address by President Barack Obama on U.S. policy in the Middle East, a new survey suggests that disillusionment with both Obama and Washington's approaches to the region are once again on the rise throughout the Muslim world.
Egypt Hunts Down the Right to Love
Abeer Fakhry, a young Christian woman, had only wanted to live with a man who would love and respect her, and not with her abusive husband. But within months of trying to escape her marriage, and her faith, Abeer finds herself chased by her family, by the Orthodox Christian Church, by the fundamentalist Islamic Salafi Group and, lately, by Egypt’s top army generals.
War Crimes Prosecutor Seeks Gaddafi Warrant
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has asked a three-judge panel to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his second-eldest son, Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi.Expectations Build for Obama Mideast Policy Speech
With Jordan's King Abdullah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coming to Washington next week, anticipation of a major Middle East policy speech by President Barack Obama set for Thursday is growing rapidly.Black Market in Arms Flourishing as Arab Spring Continues
As the Syrian uprisings escalate in violence, Lebanon’s black market in arms is flourishing, with prices of light and medium weapons driven higher by Lebanese and Syrian demand.World in the Throes of a Human Rights Revolution, Says Amnesty
The growing demands for democratic reforms spreading across the Middle East and North Africa - along with the dramatic rise of social media networks - have triggered "a human rights revolution on the threshold of a historic change", says Amnesty International (AI).POLITICS: Balkanisation of Libya
As the battle for Libya rages on - with the country’s economic heartland, Misurata, being the scene of some of the uprising’s fiercest fighting - experts are warning that a ‘Balkanisation’ of Libya is possible if the U.S. and NATO opt to exploit loopholes in U.N. Resolution 1973 by arming the opposition.« 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
