Greater Middle East

Are Rojava Kurds collaborating with Assad?

Amid confused fighting in northern Syria, accusations are mounting that the Rojava Kurds are collaborating with Russia—and, by extension, the genocidal Bashar Assad regime.

Afghanistan

Pakistani Taliban in university massacre

Taliban militants attacked a student poetry recital in honor of Pashtun independence hero Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan at a university that bears his name, leaving 20 dead.

Greater Middle East

Regional powers exploit Bahrain protests

Shi'ite protesters have repeatedly mobilized in Bahrain to demand the release of imprisoned dissident cleric Sheikh Ali Salman—ignored by the foreign media except in Iran.

Iran

Iran, Saudi Arabia wage execution war

Violent protests in Iran against Saudi Arabia's execution of a dissident Shi'ite cleric come as the Islamic Republic is itself preparing a mass execution of Sunni political prisoners.

Southeast Asia

Mindanao: toward sectarian war

In a series of Christmas eve attacks, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters killed several Christian peasants in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.