Islamophoibia is the key to the far-right move into the mainstream, according to the Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies at Teesside University:
“Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali launched a counter-offensive on Monday after three days of strikes by French fighter jets on their strongholds in the desert north, vowing to drag France into a long and brutal ground war” …
- Mali Islamists Counter-attack, Threaten France (Reuters / Yahoo)
… while in Afghanistan, “well-connected militia chiefs … reluctant to disarm or cede influence” are “the legacy of the decade-long fight against the Soviets in the 1980s”:
- Afghanistan: The Challenge of ‘Good’ vs ‘Bad’ Militias (Christian Science Monitor)
“The Obama administration wants Saudi Arabia to keep supplying arms to Syrian rebels to force the ouster of Bashar al-Assad and to continue pumping oil at levels that keep gasoline prices low. In return, the United States says little or nothing publicly about human rights abuses in the kingdom”:
- Silenced in Saudi Arabia (Washington Post)
After unprecedented protests of the murder of 86 Shia in Baluchistan that went beyond the affected minority communities, the federal government has dismissed the provincial government:
- Protests Spread in Pakistan over Shiite killings (Christian Science Monitor)
- Pakistan Sacks Provincial Government After Attack (AP / Yime)
“King Abdullah’s decrees come against the backdrop of heavy restrictions on women, who are not allowed to travel, work, study abroad, marry, get divorced or gain admittance to a public hospital without permission from a male guardian”:
- Saudi King Allows Women on Top Advisory Council (AP / Guardian)
“Reports of the arrest of women-affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood organization in the UAE stirred national and international controversy, particularly regarding the claims of a “Muslim Sisterhood†particularly in the parent organization”:
“Western governments have built waivers into the sanctions regime – aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear programme – in an effort to ensure that essential medicines get through, but those waivers are not functioning, as they conflict with blanket restrictions on banking, as well as bans on ‘dual-use’ chemicals”:
An American who stayed behind “‘has absolutely no regrets’ about his … refusal to seek sanctuary in the embassy, saying[,] … ‘How dare we preach human rights and democracy and run at the first time we’re facing paper felonies…[?] To me [his Egyptian colleagues] are the future of this country and they’re worth fighting for”:
- Mostly Forgotten, Egyptian Trial of US NGO Workers Drags On (Christian Science Monitor)
With neither a military nor diplomatic resolution of the Syrian tragedy imminent, some seek to turn to the International Criminal Court:
- Assad Still Confident that He Can Control Syria (Washington Post)
- International Envoy Brahimi Ends Talks on Syria with Top Russian, US Officials (AP / Washington Post)
- Syria Conflict Causing ‘Staggering’ Humanitarian Crisis (BBC)
- Dozens of Countries Plan to Urge UN Security Council to Refer Syria to War Crimes Court (AP / Washington Post)
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