Eurasia

Amid the Taliban’s Worsening Crackdown on Journalists, News in Afghanistan Is Forced to Adapt

On a Saturday morning last month, 31-year-old journalist Abdul Saboor Sirat took a taxi to a ceremony in his home city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan for “Afghan Journalists Day.” He joined around 100 people gathered in the basement of a cultural center. But within thirty minutes, the journalists meant …

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“Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah” Filmmaker on Showing the Impact of War on Humans

With the Iraq War underway, U.S. Marines were sent to clear out insurgents in the key strategic city of Fallujah in central Iraq in November 2004. The deaths of four U.S. contractors months earlier had sparked an outcry, becoming one of the triggers for a battle that would go on …

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Chabahar Port Transit Project: The Eastern Wing of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

The Chabahar Port Transit Project, is of great importance in the “International North–South Transport Corridor” (INSTC), because it is the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian Ocean., writes Valdai Club expert Vali Kaleji. In his article, Dr. Vali Kaleji, a Tehran-based expert on Central Asia and Caucasian …

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Grand Delusion – The Rise and Fall of American Ambitions in the Middle East

Grand Delusion – The Rise and Fall of American Ambitions in the Middle East. Steven Simon. Penguin Press, New York, 2023. It should be obvious that U.S. policy in the Middle East is now losing influence. Steven Simon’s new book “Grand Delusion – The Rise and Fall of American Ambitions …

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Pashinian Says Armenia Is Ready To Recognize Nagorno-Karabakh As Part Of Azerbaijan Under Certain Conditions

Armenia said it is ready to recognize the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of neighboring Azerbaijan under certain conditions, a compromise that could help end a decades-old conflict and revive an impoverished region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told a press conference on May 22 that any recognition by …

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Iranian President Replaces Chief Of Powerful Security Council

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has removed Ali Shamkhani as the head of the powerful Supreme National Security Council and replaced him with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a former chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who has been under sanctions from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United …

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Russia Claims Group Crossed Border From Ukraine In Attack; Nuclear Plant Back Online

Violent clashes erupted on the Russian-Ukrainian border with Moscow accusing a Ukrainian “sabotage group” of trying to make an incursion into the country, an allegation Kyiv rejected. Explosions and sporadic gunfire could be heard on May 22 in the Belgorod region, with the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, saying that fighting …

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Turkey’s Elections: Nationalist Identity Politics Wins Out Over Misery

There will be a second round for the presidential vote on May 28, but an opposition victory seems unlikely. Turkey is a country where average schooling is 6.5 years. In other words, the average person is a 7th grade drop-out. Ninety-five percent of Turkish citizens have never travelled abroad.

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F-16s won’t fundamentally alter the course of Ukraine War

Biden’s about-face raises many questions, but key among them are how effective can the aircraft really be, and what is the endgame? On Friday, the Biden administration paved the way for Western allies and partners to transfer their stocks of American-made F-16 Fighter jets to Ukraine and added that the …

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What Assad’s Future Means for Justice and the West

The Arab League’s decision to readmit Syria rewards brutality and betrays victims. It also confirms the marginalization of the United States and the irrelevance of Europe in the region. A collection of Arab countries grouped in the Arab League has brought President Bashar al-Assad back into its fold. The twenty-two-member-strong …

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