Planet Watch
A ‘New Oil Order’?
Experts declare a "new oil order" in which hydrocarbons will lose market share to renewables. But is it market conditions or geopolitics that explain the current price slump?
Tag: Saudi Arabia
Iran
Syrian and Iranian socialists oppose dictatorships
A newly formed Alliance of Syrian and Iranian Socialists issues a call for civil struggle against the ayatollahs, regional strongmen like Assad and Erdogan, and the jihadists alike.
Greater Middle East
More Green Berets to Syria: on whose side?
Obama is to mobilize 250 troops to Syria, helping Arab militias fight ISIS. Will these militias be brought under the Kurdish-led coalition—or will the Kurds be isolated to appease Turkey?
Greater Middle East
Protests in Egypt over Red Sea islands transfer
New protests have erupted in Egypt calling for the downfall of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over his decision to turn two disputed islands over to Saudi Arabia.
Iran
Global executions surge —yet again
Amnesty International's annual report on the death penalty again notes an alarming surge in the number of executions worldwide—now reaching the highest total since 1989.
Greater Middle East
US strikes AQAP training camp in Yemen
The US killed "dozens" of AQAP fighters in an air-strike on a training camp, but claims of denying the group "safe haven" ring hollow as its zones of control grow in Yemen.
Greater Middle East
Syria: ‘ceasefire’ signals escalation (of course)
The Syrian ceasefire announced in Munich does not apply to US or Russian air-strikes on "terrorists," and comes as Turkey and Saudi Arabia are preparing military intervention.
Greater Middle East
Syria: will fall of Aleppo internationalize the war?
As Syrian regime troops and Russian warplanes advance on Aleppo, some 100,000 have fled the city for the Turkish border—prompting Turkey and Saudi Arabia to threaten intervention.
Greater Middle East
Saudi executions for 2015 set 20-year record
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in the kingdom in 20 years—overwhelmingly for non-lethal offenses.
Southeast Asia
Jakarta: ISIS franchise exploited sectarian tensions
The ISIS-affiliated network that carried out the Jakarta attacks emerged from the sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province.
Watching the Shadows
Obama’s seventh year: a World War 4 Report scorecard
World War 4 Report offers its annual annotated assessment of Obama's moves in dismantling, continuing or escalating the apparatus of the Global War on Terrorism.
Iran
Iran, Saudi Arabia wage execution war
Violent protests in Iran against Saudi Arabia's execution of a dissident Shi'ite cleric come as the Islamic Republic is itself preparing a mass execution of Sunni political prisoners.