In mid-August, Syria’s Druze minority crossed a historic threshold. In its southern province, demonstrators demanded self-determination for the first time, rejecting Damascus’s authority and waving Israeli flags – a stunning departure for a community long known for cautious neutrality. The shift came in the wake of July’s violence in Suweida, …

In a move that sparked international condemnation, a group of Israeli settlers crossed into Syrian territory near the village of Bariqa in Quneitra province on 18 August and attempted to establish a new settlement on Israeli military-controlled land. The incursion, three kilometres away from Alonei Habashan, an Israeli settlement located …

Iranian parliamentarians introduced a three-part bill on August 28 to withdraw Iran from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), likely to pressure the E3 (the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) to not reimpose UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Iran.[1] The bill would require Iran to leave …

Leaders from France, Germany and Poland visited the capital Chisinau to celebrate Moldova’s independence day and display their backing for its government’s quest to join the EU, ahead of crucial elections. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined independence day celebrations in …

For all the vast commentary in the Western media on the Russia-Ukraine war, a persistent fact remains: beyond the immediate theatre of conflict, few observers possess a clear or consistent grasp of events on the ground. The fog of war—historically the product of battlefield confusion—has thickened in the digital age, …

The power to control access to money is no longer the exclusive privilege of the sovereign. Increasingly, the rules governing how money is created, moves, and is held are enforced not by governments alone but by code, online networks, and protocols beyond the authority of any single nation. The U.S. …

In an article published August 15, 2024 on the website of the PFLP-affiliated Masar Badil organization, Masar Badil founder and executive committee member Khaled Barakat emphasized that since October 7, 2023, and despite “the realities of the past 22 months,” Hizbullah has enjoyed broader “popular support, especially among youth and …

It should not have been a surprise that the August 15 summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump failed to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. It had long been clear that Putin was not prepared to offer any terms that would allow a credible …

It is not clear whether the recent Israeli and U.S. military strikes have decreased or increased the likelihood of a nuclear-armed Iran. The attacks have certainly inflicted major damage to the country’s nuclear program. But they have not extinguished the Islamic Republic’s interest in nuclear weapons. They have amplified uncertainty …

The Lebanese government will reportedly attempt to persuade rather than coerce Hezbollah to disarm. Hezbollah is unlikely to disarm on its own accord and has historically evaded previous disarmament efforts. US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack said that the Lebanese government will focus on persuasion to encourage Hezbollah disarmament after his …