May, 2023

• 24 May

  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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• 24 May

  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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• 24 May

  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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• 24 May

  Time to Get Serious About Moldova

  

  Moldova lacks technical and administrative capacity required for EU accession. Brussels needs to do much more to put its European perspective on track. For Moldova, 2022 was the worst of years and the best of years. Russia’s war in Ukraine turned life upside down. The country, often ranked as the …

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• 24 May

  Ukrainians Wait for Their Return Home

  

  President Zelensky’s appeal to G7 leaders for more military assistance is not only about defeating Russia. It is about making Ukraine safe for refugees to return and rebuild the country. Over several days of non-stop meetings in Europe, the Middle East, and at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Ukrainian President …

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• 24 May

  Iran claims to arrest an ‘Israel-linked cell’ on the border with Kurdish Iraq

  

  Intelligence and Security Minister Esmail Khatib alleges the detained are Kurdish Iraqis cooperating with the Jewish state Iran’s Intelligence and Security Minister Esmail Khatib arrested a “terrorist” group, at the western border of Iran, on Sunday, for alleged ties to Israel, according to the semi-official Nour News agency. “A terrorist …

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• 24 May

  New Troubles in Nagorno-Karabakh: Understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis

  

  What is happening? There is a growing risk of major violence in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, the mountainous enclave over which Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars since the end of Soviet rule. On 23 April, Baku opened a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, a highway traversing Azerbaijani territory that …

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• 24 May

  Iran says ‘terrorist’ group linked to Israel has been arrested, Nour News reports

  Iran’s intelligence minister said a “terrorist” group linked to Israel was arrested on the western borders of Iran on Sunday, according to the semi-official Nour News agency. “A terrorist group associated with the Zionist regime which entered the country from the western borders was arrested,” said Esmail Khatib. The statement …

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• 24 May

  Turkish operations eliminate nearly 38,000 terrorists since 2015

  

  Türkiye has eliminated more than 37,800 terrorists in the past eight years, according to National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. “Since July 24, 2015, a total of 37,860 terrorists have been neutralized,” Akar said on Sunday at a conference in Istanbul on the Syrian conflict and the fight against terrorism. Six …

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• 24 May

  Lebanese army says it arrests prominent Al Qaeda leader in Deir Ammar town

  The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had arrested a prominent Al Qaeda leader in Deir Ammar town, northeast of the city of Tripoli. It identified the arrested man only as “T.M.” and said in a statement that the arrest took place on Friday. “T.M. is one of the most …

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