OPINION

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 …

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 …

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 …

By PAUL LARUDEE A month ago, the city of Idlib fell to opposition fighters, mainly al-Qaeda and its affiliates and allies.  It was a major blow to the Syrian army.  Last Saturday, the nearby town of Jisr al-Shughour also fell, mostly to the same groups. Fighting against the Syrian government …

By Marlow Stern The documentary Among the Believers provides an eye-opening behind the scenes portrait of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, which trains young children for jihad. Among the Believers, a chilling new documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, opens on a terribly cute 5-year-old …

By Michael Tomasky You don’t have to say you love her, because the election isn’t even directly about her. It’s about finally undoing the Reagan revolution. In the last few days, I’ve heard from a couple of relatives who have, or know of friends who have, come down …