OPINION

he new military developments of Russia and China have tilted the balance in global military capabilities, says the newly released report by the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies which examines global military capabilities and defense economics. “Russia’s employment of advanced cruise missiles over Syria and China’s display of capabilities, like the longer range DF-26 missiles, …

Christians in the Middle East hope that Friday’s meeting between Russia’s Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis in Cuba will signal the beginning of the long overdue process of Christian reunification. During their historic meeting at Havana international airport the two Christian hierarchs signed a joint declaration, which many …

Paul Pillar Large-scale armed insurrection tends to move through identifiable phases that correspond roughly to what Mao Zedong described many years ago. In Mao’s formulation, the first of three phases emphasizes organization, propaganda, and the establishment of cadres and a presence in the areas in which the revolutionary …

Ariel Noyola Rodriguez The year 2016 has hardly begun and the losses in different stock markets around the world care colossal: nearly 8 trillion US dollars during the first three weeks of January according to the calculations of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The Government of the …

Mike Whitney Here’s what you need to know about the Syria peace talks: Four of the most powerful militias currently operating in Syria have been excluded from the negotiations. The Islamic State (ISIS), Jabhat al Nusra, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have …

Bilveer Singh Chinese Uighurs are adding a new dimension to the threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia. Battle-hardened, ideologically fortified and networking with Islamic State, the Uighur militants pose a new challenge to the region that can also complicate ties with China. A few days prior to Christmas …

Saeed Alikhani Italy and France were destinations for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s first official trips following the removal of sanctions that had been imposed on Iran over its peaceful nuclear program. During these trips, Rouhani was accompanied with a 200-member delegation, which consisted of officials at the highest …

Oil rates have recently witnessed fluctuations after reported intentions of Saudi Arabia and Russia cutting back their production to support oil prices. Rates increased after OPEC announced collaboration supporting oil prices side by side with extra-OPEC producers. London and New York based oil markets had closed weekly trade …