Led by the self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (b.1971), ISIS promotes itself in Iraq and globally as a purified expression of original Islam.
As scenes of jubilation in Sunni cities coupled with fear and calls for jihad in Shia cities show how deep and explosive sectarian divisions are in Iraq, should Kurds be forced to stay on?
The influential nationalist-modernist ideology once attracted religious-sectarian support. Today that process is over, as the latter forces reclaim their older identities.
The shock to Israel's system from the intense conflict in Gaza is profound.
Cossacks have always been loyal to the Kremlin. The crisis in Ukraine has only confirmed that loyalty.
The squeeze between Iraqi, Syrian and international forces and the conflict between armed groups in the region is the gamble that the Islamic State has made. In return for this gamble, global jihadist recruitment from an ever growing list of nationalities and pledges of allegiance are the prizes.
An excerpt from an interview with a Palestinian Christian in Bethlehem, who isn't a politician or a militant, just a normal man trying to live his life under occupation, introduced by the interviewer.
Despite numerous human rights violations in the Marange diamond fields, the area is not classified as producing 'blood diamonds'. But by any ordinary definition, it should be. The diamonds are dripping with blood, as the battle between formal mining companies and illegal panners continues unabated
There has so far been little sign of the cooperation which could lead to some form of closure for the MH17 bereaved. But that could be changing…
Egypt's army, with support, used 30 June as the cover for a military coup and for the transformation of the anger against the Brotherhood into a bloody mandate not only to eliminate the Brotherhood, but to wipe out the 25 January Revolution. We must study the balance of power between us and our en
We may now be moving towards a renewed conflict or struggle over the entire land of Palestine/Israel between various manifestations of Palestinian nationalism on the one hand and Zionism on the other.
Outside the shop in Ramallah there are a few who stand holding posters that express their condemnation for the situation in Gaza, but not enough to block the streets or cause any real problems.
