Geopolitics

With the United States struggling to find capable “moderate” rebel forces that it can support in Syria, Washington has secretly started backing brigades that fight alongside al-Qaeda groups against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Two of these groups, Division 13 and Fursan al-Haq, have gained grounds while fighting alongside a group …

Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, took two steps forward when he met with Israeli Armenian leaders on April 24 but one step back when he failed to characterize the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks for what it was — genocide. As …

The European Union is once again struggling to come up with a coherent asylum strategy for its 28 members. In recent years, the rising number of asylum seekers entering the European Union through countries such as Italy and Greece has generated friction among member states, fueled criticism of the …

BY NABEEL KHOURY President Barack Obama, in his interview with Tom Friedman on April 5, was at his intellectual best. He convincingly explained the framework agreement with Iran while stressing serious strategic disagreement with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i. Tom Friedman, in turn, was at his diplomatic best, …

Saudi Arabia is burning through foreign reserves at an unprecedented pace as the new king’s generosity toward state workers and conflict in the region further strain public finances already damaged by the slump in oil prices. The kingdom spent $36 billion of the central bank’s net foreign assets – …

By ERIC EDELMAN and TZVI KAHN n a major speech on Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued what amounted to a warning of things to come. He called the U.S. account of Iranian obligations under the nuclear framework agreement “faulty, incorrect and contrary to the substance …

By Michael Deacon The Telegraph According to a preliminary estimate, GDP growth in the UK slowed to 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, with output in the construction sector falling for the second consecutive quarter. My question to the panel is: what do you think …

Exclusive: Jim Sillars, who was Alex Salmond’s number two, says party members will insist another referendum is ‘first line’ of 2016 Holyrood manifesto By Ben Riley-Smith The Telegraph The SNP will propose another independence referendum in its Scottish election manifesto, the former deputy leader has said amid fears …

Azer News “Armenia is trying to maintain the status quo by carrying out various armed provocations on the contact line”. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Herbert Salber. Herbert Salber said they are closely following the …