This Viewpoint essay was submitted by Bahraini citizen Ahmed Al Mahri in response to this post – Bahrain Citizens Write Letter to US Congress Denouncing Protesters.   I am a Bahraini citizen, 25 years old, working in the banking sector. I would like to tell the world what is really happening in Bahrain, where every day More »

Since the founding of the United Nations, Middle Eastern countries – with their Muslim majority – have witnessed persistent conflict and these conflicts have been deliberated in countless U.N. Security Council debates and resolutions.  One idea that has generated great controversy  as of late is the merits and drawbacks of the appointment of a More »

China strongly defended its veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria again Monday, saying its decision was ultimately aimed at avoiding more casualties. Monday’s Foreign Ministry briefing was dominated by China’s decision, along with Russia, to block the resolution condemning Syria’s crackdown on anti-government protesters and calling for President Bashar al-Assad to More »

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is sharply criticizing the U.N. Security Council for its handling of a controversial resolution on Syria, which Russia and China blocked by using their veto power. Lavrov says the resolution should not have come to a vote before his visit to Damascus, which begins Tuesday. The Russian foreign minister says Russia More »

Has habibi music passed its prime? Is Egyptian popular music becoming more political as the counterculture changes with the times? Vote in our poll and watch Rebecca Collard’s profile of hip-hop band Arabian Knightz. Reporter’s Notebook – Rebecca Collard in Cairo Karim Eissa, one of three members of the group, told me then about how Egypt’s More »

The United States has suspended operations of its embassy in Damascus, Syria, as of February 6, according to a statement released by the office of the State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland. “Ambassador Ford and all American personnel have now departed the country, “ the release states, but emphasizes that Ford remains the U.S. ambassador to More »

Why has there been no Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia? Are Saudis frightened of the consequences of dissent? Are they politically too apathetic? Are they happy with their socio-economic system? Human rights activists suggest it may be a little of all of the above. What do you think? Background Report In mid-December 2011, a series of More »

Attack comes several days after activists reported what they called a massacre in Homs, saying at least 200 people died More »

Egyptian investigative judges have referred 43 people, including 19 U.S. citizens, to trial before a criminal court for their alleged involvement in the banned activities of pro-democracy groups that received what Cairo calls “illegal foreign funding.” A statement issued Sunday by the judges overseeing the probe listed at least one of the charges as “running More »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for “friends of a democratic Syria” to push to end President Bashar al-Assad’s bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters and promote a political transition that would see him step down. Clinton spoke in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, a day after Russia and China blocked a U.N. Security Council More »

Protesters and police in Egypt clashed Sunday for a fourth straight day in Cairo. Security personnel were trying to keep protesters away from government buildings in the capital. The protesters are calling for the ruling military council to surrender power to a civilian government. Officials say at least 12 people have died and 2,500 others have More »

Wielding their veto power, Russia and China have again blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria that would have condemned President Bashar al-Assad’s nearly year-long crackdown on anti-government protests. The 15-member council voted on a Western and Arab-backed resolution that condemned the violence and called for Assad to step aside. Thirteen members voted in More »

Invoking the 30th anniversary of a bloody massacre in the Syrian city of Hama, U.S. President Barack Obama, has issued what appears to be his strongest statement to date on the handling of a nearly eleven month-old anti-regime uprising by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Accusing Assad of “disdain for human life and More »

Sergey Lavrov says measure should treat anti- and pro-government forces more equally rather than appear to be taking sides in civil war More »

Violent clashes enter third day, as thousands protest lack of action by authorities during stampede at football match earlier this week More »

A newly-released survey finds that majorities across the Middle East have positive views about Turkey and its role in the region.  This according to the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), which yesterday released its third annual Perception of Turkey in the Middle East survey. Out of more than 2,300 respondents  TESEV surveyed across More »

The online publication Bahrainviews.com has posted a letter to U.S. Congress in which the citizens of Bahrain, as its signatories, denounce the actions of “peaceful protesters” against the kingdom’s civilian population and its police forces. They also accuse local human rights activists of misrepresenting the situation in Bahrain for their own political gain.  (Read More »

After violent clashes between government forces and Muslim Brotherhood insurgents in several trouble spots in 1982, then-President Hafez Al-Assad ordered troops into the restive city of Hama.  For three weeks Syrian tanks and planes bombarded Hama while soldiers airlifted in by helicopter carried out house-to-house searches and on-the-spot executions. Estimates of the total number More »