PATRICK COCKBURN The map issued by the Pentagon to prove that Isis had lost territory shows how false optimism dominates the actions of the outside powers towards the Middle East.  A graphic illustration of Western wishful thinking about the decline of Islamic State (IS) is a well-publicised map …

Russia has done more for Crimean Tatars since the reunification than Ukraine has in over two decades while the peninsula was under its rule, Resit Kemal As, advisor of the head of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, told Sputnik.   According to the advisor, Russia has taken significant steps to solve the Crimean …

Gulf state’s investment arm adds latest acquisition of Claridge’s to portfolio already boasting landmarks from The Shard to Canary Wharf Qatar’s Constellation Hotels bought majority share in company behind Claridge’s, The Berkeley and The Connaught Five-star hotels latest in impressive list of high-profile acquisitions, including The Shard, Harrods …

By MARGHERITA STANCATI and HABIB KHAN TOTAKHIL Taliban representatives launched a series of meetings with Afghan government officials in the Gulf emirate of Qatar on Saturday, even as insurgents press an offensive around the country. Taliban and Afghan officials said an eight-member Taliban delegation and some Afghan officials were attending a …

VERDA ÖZER On the one hand, violence is re-erupting in Bosnia. On the other hand, Albania and Serbia seem to be at odds. And Serbia still doesn’t accept Kosovo’s independence. What is happening in the Balkans? Are we on the brink of a new war in Bosnia and …

Tulu Gümüştekin The general elections will be held on June 7, the first weekend of the month. This is the second time that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will not be able to be a candidate in parliamentarian elections since 2002 because he was elected president in August 2014. …

Tim Mak The Middle East is on a knife’s edge, thanks to a lunatic ISIS and a rising Iran. For American arms-makers, that means only one thing: opportunity. War in Yemen. The continued threat of ISIS. Ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria. Increasing Iranian influence. As America’s Middle …

The US is working with Saudi Arabia, UAE and the UN to start peace negotiations between Yemen’s government and the Houthis, said US Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry said the US was working “very hard” to help negotiate a solution to the crisis in Yemen through the …

GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN Key regional issues including the continuing Yemen crisis figured prominently during talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi here on Saturday. “The visit of El-Sissi, lasting less than two hours, focused on the restive regional scene, …