Eurasia

One year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ended America’s nation-building project in the “graveyard of empires,” the Taliban-led country faces mass starvation and state collapse. Amidst that cauldron of human misery is what remains of al Qaeda, the terrorist group whose jihadist violence led the U.S. into Afghanistan way …

As a result of the clashes, Zirak Zahir, a Kurdish shepherd, and a militant were killed, he said. The other assailant fled the scene. A Kurdish shepherd was killed in southeast Kirkuk on Sunday by suspected ISIS militants, a security source told Kurdistan 24.

Armed supporters of a powerful Iraqi cleric who clashed with security forces in the capital began to withdraw from the streets Tuesday, restoring a measure of calm after a serious escalation of the nation’s political crisis. Following two days of deadly unrest that sparked fears instability might spread throughout the …

How a Burst Real-Estate Bubble Threatens China’s Economy The Chinese real estate sector is teetering. The largest private Chinese developer has defaulted on its external bonds. Most developers are struggling to refinance their domestic bonds. Home prices have gone down for the last 11 months. New construction is down 45 …

Iran has successfully implemented advanced uranium enrichment program, with the first of its cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges operating at its Natanz underground fuel enrichment plant, Reuters first reported, citing a report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The report comes as the world powers, …

The US dollar may be losing its dominance in the Middle East to the yuan. Egypt has decided to issue bond’s denominated in China’s currency, the yuan. Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said at a press conference today that Egypt will issue $1.5 and $2 billion’s worth of the yuan-denominated …

Iranian authorities have called on Iraqi factions to seek political solutions as Baghdad streets saw deadly clashes between members of the Shiite Sadrist movement and their Tehran-backed rivals. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said constitution-based dialogue among political blocs was the only path toward stability and security in Iraq, where the …

Prime Minister Yair Lapid was surprised by the briefings to the press of Mossad Director David Barnea, who accused the West and the United States of generating a strategic catastrophe for the region. The intense efforts by world powers to reach agreement with Iran on its nuclear program are sending …

Following Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s order, his followers have withdrawn completely from the Green Zone and evacuated the parliament building. At a press conference at noon in Baghdad, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered his followers to withdraw from the Green Zone within 60 minutes. …

The situation in Baghdad has calmed somewhat after cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to pull back. Several regional countries have issued statements on the political violence in Iraq, expressing concern at the violence and urging calm. Last night supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the seat …