Fri 24 July 2020: Apparently Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is “very distressed” by the decision to revert the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia into a mosque; it has been a museum since 1934. He made his views known in the latest edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. Quite why he and a […]
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Sun 19 July 2020: Iran is seeking to penetrate the Syrian cultural sphere, appealing to the dispossessed poor in areas of key strategic importance. Through a smattering of small-scale building projects, educational programs, Persian language-teaching, gifts and aid provision, the Islamic Republic aims to forge a sectarian Shiite identity among younger Syrians – in the hope of gaining […]
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Tue 14 July 2020: More than annual commemoration, Srebrenica genocide deserves reminder of dangers of ultra-nationalist extremism and bigotry It has been 25 years since the Srebrenica genocide, a major human tragedy, in which Bosnian Serb forces systematically murdered over eight thousand young and adult Muslim men because of their faith. The Srebrenica genocide, which […]
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Sun 05 July 2020: Following back-to-back successes by Government of National Accord, all sides seem to reorder positions ISTANBUL (AA) – Following back-to-back successes of the Government of National Accord, Libya’s UN-recognized legitimate administration, all sides seem to have reordered their positions. The safety of the capital Tripoli is no longer debated and the threats […]
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Fri 03 July 2020: Egypt’s military coup has lessons for all democracy advocates, including West’s hypocrisy, need to protect democratic values ANKARA (AA) – Today, July 3, 2020, marks the anniversary of the military coup carried out in Egypt seven years ago. The years that passed since have taught us a great deal. It goes […]
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Thu 02 July 2020: From the US and Brazil to India and the UK, the very qualities that catapult populist leaders to power are those that make them dismal failures at handling a serious national emergency. As the world completes five months since the first coronavirus death became public, more than 10 million people across […]
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Wed 01 July 2020: On 19 May, 1935, Thomas Edward Lawrence passed away following a week of remaining in a coma caused by a motorcycle crash in Dorset, England. The British Arabist, linguist, author of one of the most acclaimed works in the English language and military strategist, who had a senior role in the Arab Revolt […]
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Sat 27 June 2020: ISTANBUL (AA) – India, perceived as a pivot to the US policy of containing China, appears to be on the horns of strategic dilemma both regionally and globally. While it is weighing the costs of conflict to its economy as its army is engaged in a standoff with China along the […]
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Thu 25 June 2020: Have you heard the axiom “In war, truth is the first casualty”? As healthcare providers around the world wage war against the COVID-19 pandemic, national governments have taken to brawling with researchers, the media and each other over the veracity of the data used to monitor and track the disease’s march […]
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Wed 24 June 2020: A British aid worker has been kidnapped in Syria by members of a Sunni Islamist militant group in rebel-held Idlib, it emerged on Monday night. Tauqir Sharif, 31, from Walthamstow in East London lives and works in the north-west Syrian city, which has a large number of other British humanitarian workers […]
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