Analysis & Opinion

While Taliban atrocities are widely understood, those committed by western forces and their allies have been wilfully ignored. As the author and Afghanistan expert Anand Gopal told me, the Taliban all but evaporated in 2001. But Afghan politicians in the new government exploited a US desire to eliminate “bad guys” by falsely claiming their opponents were Taliban supporters.

As the Afghan government and the Taliban continue their struggle over who will control Kabul, they ignore the fact that they will not wield any legitimacy unless the Afghan people grants it to them. The Afghan people are the sole sovereign over the country and as such, the power is in their hands.

Libya is racing against the clock to hold elections in late December. A July 1 deadline for resolving the constitutional (or legal) basis to hold the elections came and passed. A key meeting of the 74-member Libya Political Dialogue Committee meeting whose January roadmap set the election timeline ended indecisively on July 2.

Earlier this month, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued a scandalous ruling which practically made it legal for employers to discriminate against their  Muslim employees in workplaces across Europe.

Her revelation triggered memories of my own experience with an IUD and reminded me of how angry I am that women are just expected to embrace these invasive devices – in many cases inserted without any sort of pain relief (as Caitlin Moran so elegantly explained in her Times column).

This crime has been going on for decades. We see its effects in the horrific heat and wildfires unfolding this summer in the American West; in the megastorms that were so numerous in 2020 that scientists ran out of names for them; in the global projections that sea levels are set to rise by at least 20 feet (6 metres).

Ethiopia is witnessing a first of its kind elections for the People’s Chamber, an experience that some hope will change the face of the country. Others decided to boycott their votes fearing post-election violence.

On June 18, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold its 13th presidential election. This election will be one of the most critical in the country’s recent history for multiple reasons. The widening gap between the needs and desires of the Iranian people and those of the country’s rulers is profoundly undermining the regime’s legitimacy and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s power.

US President Joe Biden has launched his first official overseas trip with a warning to Russia that it faces "robust and meaningful" consequences if it engages in "harmful activities".

Don’t expect the coalition formed by the outgoing prime minister’s disgruntled minions to lead to much change in an already dreadful state of affairs.