ISIS’s reclusive leader has taken a rare risk at an unusual moment: in 2019 the “Caliphate” is gone and Baghdadi has to move around clandestinely in a hostile environment patrolled by the most powerful military in the world. It remains to be seen if the frequency of Baghdadi’s media appearances will change significantly in the future.
Photo: AP
The meeting comes against the backdrop of increasing Chinese influence in the region
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of REpublic of Tajikistan
Afghans know that peace and counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan is inextricably entwined with international politics as also with Pakistan’s game of terror sponsorship.
Photo: RFE/RL
One fifth of the world’s crude and oil liquids are transported through the strait, making it the world’s most important oil artery
Photo: Stratfor
The Islamist takeover of Mecca’s Grand Mosque in 1979 has been turned into a television drama, spotlighting a controversial narrative Saudi Arabia is using to support social changes once deemed un-Islamic.
Photo: Reuters/Suhaib Salem
While stopping short of violating its 2015 deal with world powers for now, Iran threatened more action if countries do not shield it from U.S. sanctions.
Photo: iStock
Middle Eastern autocrats are unlikely to respond to the protests in Algeria and Sudan any differently than they did in 2011.
Photo: Charlie Kimber?ROAPE
The jihadists who carried out the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka were educated members of their country’s elite, a background that’s closer to the terrorist norm than the exception
Among the most prominent reasons behind religious and sectarian clashes in the Arab world today is the belief in exclusiveness of the “right-to” the absolute truth, and the reluctance to accept diversity and respect religious pluralism.
Photo: theChive/Pinterest
under the BRI, the Chinese are essentially building a mercantilist system in parallel in which tenders and contracts are won only by Chinese enterprises.
Photo: Belt and Forum News