OPINION

The OPEC oil cartel may face pressure to lower production quotas, as its efforts to defend the market against shale producers is finally paying off. OPEC looks unlikely to reduce production quotas as its strategy of lowering oil prices to maintain market share begins paying off. Saudi Arabia is facing pressure from other …

BY GIORGIO CAFIERO AND DANIEL WAGNER In early November, Pakistan’s chief of army staff, General Raheel Sharif, made an important visit to Saudi Arabia. The general met with King Salman and other top officials in Riyadh, where he stressed Islamabad’s commitment to ensuring the safety and protection of …

BY JAMES M. DORSEY Words but no actions. That is Amnesty International’s evaluation of promised Qatari labor reforms on the fifth year of the awarding of the 2022 World Cup hosting rights to the Gulf state. Qatar’s failure to enact wide-ranging reforms heightens the risk of its hosting …

Russians are more convinced than at any time in recent history that their country is a great power, as enthusiasm over military campaigns in Ukraine and Syria seems to outweigh worries about a deep economic slump. Sixty-five percent of Russians surveyed by the independent Levada Center pollster said …

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces will receive more than 50 modern pieces of weaponry in 2015, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch platforms, Strategic Missile Forces’ press spokesman Col. Igor Egorov said Tuesday. “More than 50 modern pieces of weaponry, military and special equipment, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, autonomous launch platforms, mobile command centers …

The strategic hilltops in south-western Syria’s Daraa province have reportedly been seized by the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces during their ongoing advance on Al-Nusra Front militants. The Syrian Army, jointly with the country’s National Defense Forces, have managed to capture the strategic hilltops of Koum Aqre, located in south-western …

Russia is actually building an all-over air defense zone in Syria, according to Russian Zvezda TV channel. The Hmeymim air base, Russian jets and also pilots will be protected by the most advanced Russian weapons. After a Turkish jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria, the Russian Defense …

The Syrian army has taken control of key areas in northern Syria, and is near to completing the encirclement of a key town in the Latakia province still under the control of the Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist group, an army spokesperson said Monday. “We have cleared the 1122 height and virtually completed surrounding the Salma …

Oil produced by the Islamic State group finances its bloodlust. But how is it extracted, transported and sold? Who is buying it, and how does it reach Israel? Oil produced from fields under the control of the Islamic State group is at the heart of a new investigation …