Iran’s demands for US forces to withdraw from a critical air base in Iraqi Kurdistan coupled with threats to expand operations against “American and Zionist mercenaries” are sending jitters across the Kurdish enclave, with many asking how far Tehran will go and what, if anything, the United States will do …

As the dust settles on the Taliban’s reconquest of Afghanistan, regional neighbors are adjusting their policies to take the new geostrategic reality into account. Among these countries are the self-proclaimed “iron brothers”—China and Pakistan. The good news for Beijing and Islamabad is that their respective policies on Taliban-run Afghanistan broadly …

The Turkish judiciary’s weakness in dealing with Islamic State suspects comes under the spotlight after a bombshell report on how a Syrian man suspected of ordering the burning to death of two Turkish soldiers in 2016 walked free from court and lived as a shopkeeper in Turkey. The first time …

Some believe that the Russian escalation in Syria’s Idlib is either a prelude to a major assault or a means of increasing pressure on Turkey. Since early September, Russia has been stepping up its military attacks and airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib and its surroundings. Russian President Vladimir …

The move came following pressure from the Turkish president. Ceding to pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s central bank trimmed its policy rate by 100 basis points to 18% on Thursday, in an apparent bid to stimulate the economy in the midst of high inflation and mounting popular discontent …

The Chinese authorities said on Friday that all cryptocurrency-related businesses are illegal and they urge the exit of cryptocurrency mining projects, as the country doubles down efforts on virtual currency regulation to fend off financial risks and facilitate improvement of the industrial structure for reaching carbon peak and neutrality goals. …

A top Chinese law enforcement official has called on police and local governments to step up their use of big data, artificial intelligence, and networked security cameras to stem potential social unrest in times of “growing uncertainty.” Chen Yixin, secretary general of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s political and …

On September 15, 2021, the heads of government of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the formation of AUKUS, “a new enhanced trilateral security partnership” between these three countries. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined U.S. President Joe Biden to “preserve …

If you think elementary, middle, and high school students know too little history, geography, and government, try asking them about the corporations that command so many hours of their day, their attention, what they consume, and their personal horizons. Howard Zinn published A Young People’s History of the United States …

China’s coal-fired power plants are facing the threat of bankruptcy as a result of government policies and soaring prices for coal, industry groups say. On Sept. 11, the South China Morning Post reported that companies in the power sector had petitioned authorities for increases in electricity rates to stem losses …