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Thursday, September 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Arabs Rise for Rights
TURKEY-SYRIA: Why Erdogan Can’t Let Assad Down
A new week, a new campaign for Ankara's diplomacy. After a victorious arm-twisting on Saturday with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to divert the leadership of the aerial war against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from France to NATO, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned his attention to trouble closer to home, Syria.Syria Promises Reform as U.N. Condemns Crackdown
Protesters braved live ammunition from security forces Monday in the southern Syrian city of Dara'a, where rights groups say more than 60 people have been killed since pro-democracy activists took to the streets to demand greater freedoms from the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
LATIN AMERICA: Growing Opposition to Military Intervention in Libya
Latin America is still divided over the military intervention in Libya. But the nations that were initially opposed to it are gradually hardening their stance as the objective of the Western powers taking part in the air strikes authorised by the U.N. Security Council to protect civilians becomes less and less clear.OP-ED: No-fly Zone – Clouding Words of War
Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones; the rhetoric of humanitarian war in Washington, Europe and the U.N.; guarantees that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed; an air war which alone cannot decisively affect earthbound events.Libyan Rebels Facing Tough Fight for Sirte
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are resisting an advance by Libyan rebels towards the embattled Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte in the fiercest clashes since the start of a sweeping offensive that has brought a string of coastal towns under opposition control.Libya Not Quite the Same as Serbia
The month of March, named after the Roman god of war, Mars, appears to be the favourite among war planners in modern times.Democracy Movement Spreads to Syria
The revolution contagion sweeping across the Arab countries has spread to Syria leading to rare protests challenging the grip of the ruling Baath Party on the country. The regime was quick to describe the turmoil as a foreign-inspired plot aimed at punishing the country for its support of groups opposed to U.S. and Israeli policies in the region.African Union Urges Libya Dialogue
The Libyan government has agreed to a range of proposals from the African Union at a high level meeting held in Addis Ababa Friday, including democratic reforms and talks with the rebels.Deaths as Syrian Forces Fire on Protesters
Syrian security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city of Sanamin near Daraa, killing at least 20 people, according to one witness.TURKEY: Old Colonial Rivalries Revive over Libya
Turkey's volte-face Thursday evening to make a sizeable military contribution to NATO's intervention in the Libyan crisis, after two weeks of fierce opposition to the Alliance's mingling with Arab affairs, has further blurred Ankara's position in the North African conflict.
Foreign Labourers Targeted Throughout Bahrain
As protests in Bahrain continue, increasingly migrant workers are being victimised in violent hate crimes.
LIBYA: Obama Doctrine of Multilateralism on the Line
As the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) prepares to assume command and control of military operations in Libya after five days of the United States at the helm, U.S. President Barack Obama's doctrine of multilateralism is on the line.No Plans for Regime Change in Libya, Assures U.N. Chief
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon brushed aside widespread speculation that the U.S.-led military attacks on Libya is part of a much-wider plan with a hidden political agenda: the ouster of Muammar el-Gaddafi from power.EGYPT: Virginity Checks Are Army’s Latest Weapon
Fresh-faced Salwa El-Hosseiny had joined protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square when a plainclothes officer grabbed her and dragged her to army officers stationed in a nearby museum.OP-ED: Libya Intervention Threatens the Arab Spring
Despite its official U.N.-granted legality, the credibility of Western military action in Libya is rapidly dwindling. Within just 48 hours of the start of the bombing campaign, the U.S. and its allies lost the support of the Arab League.
LIBYA: U.N. Chief’s Ambivalent Role in the No-Fly Zone
When the U.N. Security Council adopted a wide-ranging resolution last week recommending humanitarian and military action inside Libya, both U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa were assigned key roles in "coordinating" the implementation of the mandate.Egyptians Endorse Constitutional Change Amid Mounting Polarisation
Egyptians overwhelmingly endorsed a raft of proposed constitutional changes in a nationwide referendum on Saturday. But while the vote -- the first since the Feb. 11 ouster of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak -- was hailed as the freest in recent Egyptian history, it also served to polarise public opinion along broadly sectarian lines.Libyan Rebels Form “Interim Government”
Libya's pro-democracy fighters have formed an "interim government" even as forces backing the country's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, press ahead with attacks against them.
African Union at a Loss Over Libya
On Saturday, the U.S., France and the UK launched attacks on Libya's air defences and other targets following U.N. Resolution 1973. The three African members of the Security Council voted for the resolution, but a chorus of criticism has greeted the air strikes.
YEMEN: Selling Freedom Tea at Change Square
Popcorn, peanuts, protest posters, tons of tea and the ubiquitous Yemeni flag dominate the anti-government sit-in demonstration outside Sana'a University as entrepreneurs have sought to meet the demands of protesters.Obama Leaves Door Open to Regime Change in Libya
The fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi remains up in the air after the United States and its allied partners began missile strikes over the weekend to impose a no-fly zone (NFZ) in the North African country.« 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
