One of the unifying themes of the Sunni jihadi movement as it has developed over the past half-century has been the view that Western-style democracy is an affront to Islam. Even worse, it is a religion fundamentally incompatible with the faith, a version of polytheism (shirk) in which authority is …

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lauds approvals as part of a ‘clear strategic move to strengthen settlement’ Israel has approved the construction of 764 houses in three Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday. The decision is likely to stoke tensions in the …

Toplines Russian forces are reportedly preparing to conduct long-range strikes against substations powering Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on January 17 that Russia is considering strikes on electricity transmission substations on which Ukrainian nuclear power plants depend to operate.[1] …