On a fateful day in February 2022, Ibrahim al-Marashi found himself praying in two religions for two Marias. In a world where narcissism and conflict cause immeasurable hurt, humanity can triumph over division, he writes. “On 24 February 2022, while travelling to Lebanon to visit his great-aunt Maria in Lebanon, Ibrahim al-Marashi’s thoughts were with […]
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Europe
Number of Solar Batteries doubles to over One Million in Germany in 2023
By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Germany’s boom in stationary batteries linked to solar PV systems accelerated last year, doubling the total number of units to more than one million, reports solar industry association BSW. The batteries have a combined capacity of 12 gigawatt-hours – enough to power 1.5 million […]
Jerusalem: Jewish Settler Movement makes bid for Large Expanse of Christian Armenian Quarter
By Svante Lundgren, Lund University | – The Armenian quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City is facing its biggest crisis in a long time. A Jewish businessman with connections to the radical settler movement is poised to develop a quarter of the neighbourhood’s territory, with plans to build a luxury hotel. If this goes ahead, it […]
Netherlands Judges Halt Export to Israel of F-35 Parts: “Disproportionate Civilian Casualties including Thousands of Children”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dutch News reports that an appeals court in The Hague, Netherlands, has ruled that the Dutch government must cease sending spare parts for the F-35 fighter-jet to Israel. The spare parts are technically owned by the U.S., but are kept in storage at Woensdrecht Air Base. The news site quotes […]
From the Siege of Leningrad to the Siege of Gaza: Colonialist Mentality
Montréal (Special to Informed Comment) – Eighty years ago, on January 27, 1944, people in the street were hugging each other and weeping with joy. They were celebrating the end of a nearly 900 days brutal siege. Soviet forces lifted the siege of Leningrad after ferocious battles. Exactly a year later they liberated Auschwitz. Even […]
Trump’s Far Right Allies Plot to Take over the European Union and Sink its Green Deal
( Tomdispatch.com) – It would be funny if it weren’t so potentially tragic — and consequential. No, I’m not thinking about Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign but a related development: the latest decisions from the European Union (EU) about Ukraine. As 2023 ended, European nations failed to agree on a $54-billion package of assistance for […]
Namibia, Victim of Germany’s 1904 Genocide, Lambastes Berlin for Denying Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Countries of the global South are most often denied a voice in Europe and North America. Our cable news brings on often corrupt former generals to explain countries such as Iraq and Yemen, but no Iraqi-American or Yemeni-American professors or journalists who actually know what they are talking about. This […]
Ukraine as a Global Economic War, and the Role of the Middle East
Review of Maximilian Hess, “Economic War: Ukraine and the Global Conflict between Russia and the West” (London: Hurst & Co., 2023). Barcelona (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The war in Ukraine is being fought at two different levels. The first one is the military confrontation, where developments are measured in numbers of casualties, kill […]
US-UK Airstrikes Risk strengthening the Houthi Rebels in Yemen and the Region
By Mahad Darar, Colorado State University | – The U.S.- and U.K.-led strikes on the rebel Houthi group in Yemen represent a dramatic new turn in the Middle East conflict – one that could have implications throughout the region. The attacks of Jan. 11, 2024, hit around 60 targets at 16 sites, according to the […]