History.com: This Day In History (April 25-1859): Ground broken for Suez Canal

By History.com Editors. At Port Said, Egypt, ground is broken for the Suez Canal, an artificial waterway intended to stretch 101 miles across the isthmus of Suez and connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas. Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat who organized the colossal undertaking, delivered the pickax blow that inaugurated construction. Canals have

Russia Today: The Middle East crisis has made one thing clear about the US

By Bradley Blankenship. The veto on Palestinian statehood and Israeli strikes on Iran are signs of irreversible decline in American soft power So-called Western values, especially those touted by the United States, have long revealed themselves to be hollow and contradictory. The country’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain famously stated that “all men are

Asharq Al-Awsat: One War and Two Visions

By Amir Taheri. If you thought you knew all you need to know about the war in Gaza, think again. Much depends on where and how you get your news from. Last week I decided to do a little, obviously non-scientific, experiment by following the Gaza news through two channels: the old BBC, one of

History.com: This Day In History (November 3-1918): Central Powers face rebellion on the home front

By History.com Editors. As the First World War draws to a close, angry rebels in both Germany and Austria-Hungary revolt on November 3, 1918, raising the red banner of the revolutionary socialist Communist Party and threatening to follow the Russian example in bringing down their imperialist governments. By the last week of October 1918, three

History.com: This Day In History (October 18-1916): British soldier Harry Farr executed for cowardice

By History.com Editors. At dawn on October 18, 1916, Private Harry Farr of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is executed for cowardice after he refused to go forward into the front-line trenches on the Western Front during World War I. After joining the BEF in 1914, Farr was sent to the front in France; the

Consortium News: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine

By As’ad AbuKhalil. Historian Rashid Khalidi’s concise and at times personal take on a century of colonial conquest and resistance in Palestine is a highly accessible read that focuses on key events and themes.  There is a plethora of books on the Arab-Israeli conflict and yet those of us who teach the subject on college campuses

History.com: This Day In History (August 27-1955): “The Guinness Book of Records” debuts

By History.com Editors. On August 27, 1955, the first edition of “The Guinness Book of Records” is published in Great Britain; it quickly proves to be a hit. Now known as the “Guinness World Records” book, the annual publication features a wide range of feats related to humans and animals.  The inspiration for the record

History.com: This Day In History (19 May-1935): Lawrence of Arabia dies

By History.com Editors. T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Tremadog, Wales, in 1888.

History.com: This Day In History (December 01-1959): Antarctica made a military-free continent

By History.com Editors. Twelve nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign the Antarctica Treaty, which bans military activity and weapons testing on that continent. It was the first arms control agreement signed in the Cold War period. Since the 1800s a number of nations, including Great Britain, Australia, Chile and Norway, laid

History.com: This Day In History (November 20-1945):Nuremberg trials begin

By History.com Editors. Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II beginning on November 20, 1945. The Nuremberg trials were conducted by an international tribunal made up of representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Great Britain. It was the first trial of its kind