April, 2024

• 29 April

  Russia and Iran Agree to Deepen Security Ties

  

  Latest Developments Russia is ready to expand military and technical cooperation with Iran, the Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti reported on April 26. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart Gharaei Ashtiani discussed enhanced security ties during a meeting in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a …

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• 29 April

  Ukraine welcomes delayed US aid but few say they expect Russia’s defeat

  

  Experts say the $61bn package that was debated for months will replenish military stocks but won’t help Kyiv’s forces counterattack. Tamara was pregnant when she had to hide for three weeks in the ice-cold basement of her house in Chernihiv, a northern Ukrainian city. “When [Russian bomber] planes were above …

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• 29 April

  Putin’s Brittle Regime

  

  Like the Soviet One That Preceded It, His System Is Always on the Brink of Collapse By many outward appearances, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power is stronger than ever. The country has rebounded from early military defeats in Ukraine and the initial shock of Western sanctions. State oil …

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• 29 April

  The four-country push in Europe to recognise Palestine as a state

  

  Last week, European leaders agreed for the first time to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. By then, more than 34,000 Palestinians – two-thirds of them women and children – had been killed in Israel’s war, launched after Hamas’ deadly 7 October attack. Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and France constitute the …

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• 29 April

  The long shadow of US and UK torture in the Middle East

  

  In-depth: The failure to address past violations in the ‘war on terror’ has enabled UK and US-backed torture practices to re-emerge, this time in Syria. The US and UK’s complicity in torture and detention practices has once again come under the spotlight amid revelations of the systematic abuses and preventable …

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• 29 April

  Is an Anti-Iran Alliance Emerging in the Middle East?

  

  The Limits of Cooperation Between Israel and the Arab States When Iran directed over 300 missiles and drones at Israel on April 13, Jordan helped fend off the attack. Initial media reports suggested that several other Arab states assisted in Israel’s defense, efforts they later denied. Nonetheless, a chorus of …

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• 29 April

  The Axis of Upheaval

  

  How America’s Adversaries Are Uniting to Overturn the Global Order In the early morning of January 2, Russian forces launched a massive missile attack on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv that killed at least five civilians, injured more than 100, and damaged infrastructure. The incident was notable not …

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• 29 April

  Torture, Abu Ghraib, and the Legacy of the U.S. War on Iraq

  

  “To this day I feel humiliation for what was done to me… The time I spent in Abu Ghraib — it ended my life. I’m only half a human now.” That’s what Abu Ghraib survivor Talib al-Majli had to say about the 16 months he spent at that notorious prison …

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• 29 April

  The Ideological Coup: How Disciples of Kahane Became the New Face of Israel

  

  Throughout history, fringe religious Zionist parties have had limited success in achieving the kind of electoral victories that would allow them an actual share in the country’s political decision-making. The impressive number of 17 seats won by Israel’s extremist religious party, Shas, in the 1999 elections, was a watershed moment …

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• 29 April

  Russian Influence In South Caucasus Should Not Be Written Off – OpEd

  

  Has the South Caucasus become the new Middle East? Or has it become a second playing field for the Middle East’s geopolitical interests? Analysts often use the Syrian file to link both regions. We notice in both these files the same players: Turkiye, Russia, Iran and, in the background, the …

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