A blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt entered its third month in August as negotiations to end it remained deadlocked. The comprehensive blockade cuts diplomatic relations between the countries, closes borders and land, air and sea routes, and even prohibits citizens of the boycotting nations from…
This village is a Muslim-free zone, reads a sign hanging at the entrance to a village in an area of Myanmar outside Rakhine state. The orders are directed at the country’s Rohingya population, an ethnic group of around 1.3 million that live mainly in Rakhine and who have been described as the “world’s most persecuted…
Propaganda frequently masquerades as ‘news’. A ‘news’ narrative’s relevant background needs to be understood, in order for the reader or hearer to be able to understand anything of the truth, from the propaganda, rather than be fooled by it (as the aristocracy’s managers and editors of fake ’news’-reports intend, and as they hire ‘reporters’ to…
The Kurdish region in Iraq held a “referendum” about splitting off from Iraq to form an independent state. The referendum was highly irregular and the outcome was assured. That such a referendum was held now had more to do with the beleaguered situation of the illegitimate regional president Barzani than with a genuine opportunity to…
Don’t laugh or adjust your sets. Donald Trump really is going ahead with a new military campaign in Afghanistan, despite an army of experts telling him it will only worsen matters. All he needs now is a Hollywood scriptwriter and Alec Baldwin. James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis is apparently living up to his namesake. Arriving in…
Predictably, the Deir ez-Zor offensive of the Syrian forces is not likely to be a leisurely stroll for the Syrian troops despite the strong Russian air support and involvement of the Iranian IRGC and Hezbollah units in actions. The militants of the terrorist group are putting up tough resistance. The death toll in this latest…
