Buttes-Chaumont, one of Paris’ hidden gems, is a leafy urban oasis for residents in the French capital’s eastern arrondissements. For the past several weeks, it has also been home to Karim, a 27-year-old immigrant from Tunisia, and three of his f
Category: Geopolitics
Massive fishing ships from virtually all the major world powers are draining a way of life from the local fishing-based economy. It could also presage larger geopolitical battles to come.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا WHAT IS THE LIMIT?A Turkish grassroots campaign to “welcome our Syrian brothers to our country” is organizing a caravan to transport citizens from Istanbul on July 16th to the Turkish-Syrian border where refugees are staying. Calling the effort “For Syria – we will go to the limit” […]
As many as 1,200 Somali refugees per day are crossing over to Kenya to escape violence and drought. The UN is sounding the alarm about the effects of drought, two years after its Refugee Agency and other humanitarian groups were forced out of Somalia by t
A report has resurfaced that says radioactive waste from World War II was brought in1967 to a storage facility in Asse, in northern Germany, raising old questions about Hitler’s quest for an atomic bomb. But historians dispute that Nazi scientist
Taking off from Sicily, a reporter chronicles a night of airborne surveillance of movements on the ground in Libya, and coordination of strikes against Gaddafi-controlled targets.
Latin America lost one of its most beloved folk musicians this past weekend, when unidentified gunmen in Guatemala shot and killed Facundo Cabral of Argentina. Overun by gangs and mafia groups, Guatemala has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
A new law designed to crack down on NGOs is one of several signs that Cambodia is edging back toward authoritarianism nearly two decades after the UN stepped in following brutal civil wars. The international community, by turning a blind eye to government
Op-Ed: Though politicians from all corners have declared their desire for a new Constitution, they all slip back into outdated rhetoric when it comes time to hash out the words to help build Turkey’s future.
As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei quarrel, the guardians of the Islamic Revolution are growing stronger.
An Italian mobster is on trial for allegedly killing his ex-wife. Their teenage daughter, hoping to “re-start her life,” will take the witness stand — testifying not only against her father, but also against a pair of gangster uncles an
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou has made good relations with China a cornerstone of his administration, but suspicions still simmer on either side of the Taiwan Strait.
As South Sudan declares its independence, its capital city Juba is a complicated and fast- growing metropolis, teeming with prostitutes, adventurers, refugees and NGOs
With major doubts about the reliability of the alleged victim, France is buzzing again with conspiracy theories around the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. The latest focuses on the Sofitel hotel, site of alleged act.
Since the beginning of protests in Yemen, women there have not only been taking off their veils, they’ve been giving speeches and confronting Islamists.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا ONE DEATH*As the English-language media reports the latest death toll out of the central Syrian city of Hama with figures varying from 11 to 22 dead, the Arabic media and social networks are focusing on the death of one man in Hama named Ibrahim Qashoush. Qashoush, a […]
Egyptions are wary that US financial aid to government and civil society programs is Washington’s way of whitewashing its past support for Mubarak – and laying the groundwork for future meddling.
Despite dissent among top Iranian leaders, Tehran appears to be now throwing its weight behind Gaddafi’s regime rather than the rebels. Iran hopes the West gets bogged down in Libya and can’t pursue Syria or Iran’s own nuclear program.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie TENSION RISINGLebanon’s A-Nahar daily reports on the growing acrimony between the new Hezbollah-backed government and the March 14 opposition faction, headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The UN’s Special Tribunal for Lebanon last week indicted four men, believed to be members of Hezbollah, […]
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The Libyan Diaspora And The War
Libyans who have left, and others with experience abroad, play a key role for the anti-government forces in coordinating and communicating with the outside world.
Fifteen months after losing its president in a tragic plane crash, Poland takes stock of its past — recent and not-so-recent — and looks to a future that is once again charged with a sense of opportunity for a nation still looking to fulfil its potentia
A R A B I C A ارابيكا THE CITYBBC Arabic features an in-depth report from the central Syrian city of Hama, which had been the site last Friday of the largest demonstrations in the past four months of unrest. “Witnesses said about 30 buses full of armed police officers and soldiers entered the city […]
In interview with Le Monde, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi doesn’t exclude a cease-fire and negotiations, but otherwise strikes an aggressive posture toward the rebels and the West.
Since Strauss-Kahn’s arrest on attempted rape charges, and with the latest news that his accuser’s credibility is in doubt, those who know him best paint the picture of a public enigma whose desire for freedom – and women – always risked undermin
From Day One, the African-born New York hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault has either been seen as the most innocent of victims, or the center of a plot to take advantage of an influential leader with a weakness for women.
The region reacts to news that the ever influential and controversial Venezuelan President has announced from Cuba that he is being treated for cancer.
Op-Ed: In last week’s “2+2” summit in Washington, U.S. and Japanese government officials made it clear that they see Chinese growth as a threat to regional stability. Their response is a coordinated policy of containment, which lacks a wider vision for th
The Socialist party primary to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 is in full swing. Politicians react to sudden news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be back in the running.
Despite some signs of decrease right-wing extremist violence in Germany as a whole, the former Communist eastern part of the country has registered an uptick in Neo-Nazi action.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا > SYRIAN ARMY*AFP Arabic reports at least 16 Syrians were believed killed as the army pushed into new villages in northwest Syria, close to the Turkish border. “The soldiers deployed in the villages and began raids,” said Ramy Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian-based Syrian Observatory […]
Upon returning from Afghanistan, French Army Chaplain Julien de Pommerol accused the military of bending to Islamic pressures and “babouche-licking.” Some accuse him of Islamophobia, others applaud his candor.
In a view from the ground in Brega, signs of bombing campaigns carried out with oil production in mind. Gaddafi loyalists say NATO attacks kills civilians, spares the oil in a dirty war.
Rebels in the southern mountains have advanced on government troops, and France believes they may have best chance of reaching Tripoli, which could lead to Gaddafi’s overthrow.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا JORDAN: ROUGH POLITICSIn Jordan’s Lower House of Parliament, largely wedded to the status quo, Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit barely managed to win a 53-50 vote of confidence following accusations of involvement in a murky casino deal involving King Abdullah’s closest advisers and confidantes. The representatives already voted […]
Venezuela’s normally bombastic president has been uncharacteristically quiet as he recovers from hip surgery in Cuba. Chávez’s prolonged silence is now sparking rumors that his health condition could be far worse than officials sources a
A R A B I C A ارابيكا 12-MM TALKING*A man in the northern Syrian city of Idlib found a creative way to describe recent protests in the city. “The city of Idlib, June 26th 2011,” he begins the narrative, while filming bullets placed on two pieces of white paper spelling out the word “freedom” […]
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Flickers Of Hope In Somalia
Plagued by civil war, terrorism and poverty, Somalia and its capital Mogadishu are often described as hell on earth. But thanks to international help and a handful of courageous citizens, some light has appeared at the end of the tunnel for the troubled A
A police clampdown on Maori activists in New Zealand netted an unlikely “terror” suspect: 27-year-old Urs Signer of Switzerland. Awaiting his trial, Signer continues life as “usual” in the indigenous village of Parihaka, where he lives with his Maori part
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie ALL-SYRIA FRIDAYThe “Friday of the Fall of Legitimacy” was met with protests around the country. Meanwhile, the Syrian military rolled up to within 500 meters of the Turkish border. HAMAA short clip of protests in the small city of Hama is here. This one, […]
Op-Ed: If China indeed wants to be a protagonist on the world stage, it can no longer ignore human rights issues. A good place to start would be the case of artist Ai Weiwei, whose recent release from jail had everything to do with Chinese Premier Wen Jia