Author: Sidika Ayaz

Wars are fought in many ways. In trenches, behind the wheel of tank, at the trigger of an artillery piece, in the rear supporting the troops. But the war in the Ukraine also fights with guile and disguise, deceit, surprise and humor. No intelligence, cold warriors, or secrecy but the unmistaken conviction of bringing the fight to the Russian regime. The team is led by a quirky former academic, a housewife, a gifted arty-farty guy, an editor, some journalists and a few volunteers. There is a cat-lady, a Thor of thunder, a bunch of nerds working out the quirks, and…

Evidence from the European Parliament’s graft investigation provides a record of more than 300 alleged attempts to manipulate EU democracy. Call them the Qatargate annual reports. A vast cache of leaked documents from the police investigation into the biggest corruption case to hit the EU in decades — seen by POLITICO — uncovers the full extent of the European Parliament’s money- Over four years the files suggest that key suspects, including former Member of the European Parliament Pier Antonio Panzeri and his aide Francesco Giorgi, meticulously recorded alleged attempts to manipulate the Parliament, the EU’s foremost democratic body, and wider…

The Netanyahu administration appears intent on spreading Israel’s conflict with Hamas to wider regions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier this week warned that it may set its sights on Türkiye, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s crimes against humanity. Sources from Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the Turkish Armed Forces were powerful enough to stave off any threat and danger targeting the country. Answering questions regarding the possibility of a spillover of the conflict after Israel’s attack on Lebanon and Iran’s targeting of Israel with a barrage of missiles, sources said the ministry and the army…

Moscow 22/5 (57.14) According to NATO’s top military official, Russia does not have enough troops to make a significant advance in the north-east of Ukraine. “The Russians don’t have the numbers necessary to do a strategic breakthrough,” NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Christopher Cavoli told reporters last week. “They don’t have the skill and the capability to do it; to operate at the scale necessary to exploit any breakthrough to strategic advantage,” the general said. According to earlier statements by Putin, Russia’s intention is not to take the city of Kharkiv, but rather to create a security zone, a sanitary…

The president of Iran was on Sunday night feared dead after the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in a mountainous region. The lives of Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amirabdollahian, his foreign minister, were “at risk”, an Iranian official said during a large search and rescue mission. Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian interior minister, blamed the crash, which came just a month after Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel, on poor weather conditions. State media described the incident as an “accident”. The chief of staff of the Iranian military ordered the entire army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)…

The Czechs have never forgotten that allies handed over their Sudetenland Province to Hitler in 1938 after the German dictator promised it would be “last territorial demand I have to make in Europe.” The Czechs have never forgotten that allies handed over their Sudetenland Province to Hitler in 1938 after the German dictator promised it would be “the last territorial demand I have to make in Europe.” Months later, Nazis occupied their country and waged war in Europe and around the world for seven more years, killing tens of millions. To many today, Ukraine is the next Sudetenland as it…

London (10/03 – 77.78)Up-and-down relations between Iran and Tajikistan in the past decade shot up again after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s official visit to Dushanbe on November 8-9, his second trip to the Tajik capital in 18 months. Raisi’s visit to Tajikistan was symbolically important amid a rapprochement between the countries that overshadowed the relatively standard batch of bilateral agreements that were signed. During the trip, Raisi and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, announced a historic visa-free travel agreement for their citizens and deals in trade, transportation, and culture, among others. High-ranking visits have become a regular occurrence between the…

A Pole, a German, a Frenchmen, and a Swiss meet in a bar, or was it a Swiss, a French, a German, and a Slovak, I forgot. However, what otherwise sounded like the beginning of a quirky joke was in fact an informal luncheon by some of the brightest analysts of the European Union in early December last year. Nationalities aside, the topic of the lunch was, of course, the Ukraine. The basic question was simple, Are We at War? Will Russia win? What’s the consequence for Europe if Russia wins? What is the European Union willingness to defend the…

PA President’s son Tareq Abbas also holds positions in other ventures incorporated by offshore company. Leaked documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal Tareq Abbas, son of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, holds shares worth nearly $1 million in an offshore company with ties to the Palestinian Authority. The documents, leaked as part of the massive ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, show that a company called the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC) was registered in September 1994 in the British Virgin Islands. Since then, the company’s economic portfolio has grown substantially, and is active in virtually every Palestinian economic sphere, including…

This year’s increase in tourism demand in popular destinations such as Greece, Spain and Turkey occurred amid hyperinflationary conditions, with both airfares and hotel prices rising sharply. The war in Israel is another factor ahead of the 2024 season to redirect bookings to Greece and Spain, who retain the advantage of safety as destinations to boost bookings until the start of the upcoming season. Already, the messages are positive, but more is needed to draw safe estimates. For its part, Turkey will bet next year on the availability of tourist packages at lower prices. Egypt will resort to the same…