Bahrainis are calling their government’s intensified repression of all opposition “the Egyptian strategy”, believing that it is modelled on the ruthless campaign by the Egyptian security forces to crush even the smallest signs of dissent. In recent weeks leading advocates of human rights in Bahrain have been jailed in conditions directed at breaking them physically and mentally, while others, already in prison, have been given longer sentences. The Bahraini citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qasim, the spiritual leader of the Shia majority in Bahrain, was revoked and the headquarters of the main opposition party, al-Wifaq, closed and its activities suspended. Bahrain,…

L’humanité n’est plus terrestre, notre civilisation est stellaire… Nos robots ont conquis l’ensemble du système solaire, cinq sondes ont depuis longtemps dépassé l’orbite de la dernière planète, plusieurs autres, au cœur de notre système planétaire, surveillent notre étoile 24 h sur 24 et de tous les côtés à la fois, des satellites tournent autour de la Lune, Vénus, Mars, Saturne, une planète naine, une comète, des robots arpentent la surface de…

At a time when Arab governments across the region unveil grand economic reform ‘visions,’ Jordan has launched its own bold scheme to revive its faltering economy. Jordan is looking for a cure to what many Jordanians consider an economic burden: over 1.2 million Syrian migrants due to the war next door. Jordan is in the midst of trying to grapple with the influx of Syrian refugees, while staring blankly into the very real possibility of a major debt crisis. Jordan’s public debt has nearlydoubled from $18.9 billion when the Syrian crisis began in 2011 to $35.2 billion this year. The Hashemite…

Tout le nord de la Thaïlande palpite de vie sous le soleil printanier : c’est un jour idéal pour laver son nouveau pick-up Isuzu dans le ruisseau qui traverse le village de Tung Nha Noi. Pieds dans l’eau, un gars de 21 ans nettoie son bolide à l’éponge, tandis qu’hommes et animaux passent à côté. Voilà peu, les chances de posséder un tel véhicule auraient été quasi nulles pour un…

Francisco Alves Mendes Filho,[1] better known as Chico Mendes (December 15, 1944 – December 22, 1988), was a Brazilianrubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and indigenous peoples. He was assassinated by a rancher on December 22, 1988. The Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade), a body under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, is named in his honor. Early life[edit] Francisco "Chico" Alves Mendes Filho was born on December 15, 1944, in a rubber reserve called Seringal Bom Futuro,[2] outside of Xapuri, a small…