Yerevan-based analyst Benjamin Poghosyan says that Azerbaijan's actions in Nagorno-Karabakh presage further land grabs and broader conflict.

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At least four Kurdish demonstrators were shot dead last weekend in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, raising the specter of Arab-Kurdish conflict. The bloodshed was triggered by an Iraqi federal court rejecting Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's decision to let a Kurdish group reclaim its headquarters that are currently occupied by Iraqi security forces. 

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Hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers have been shot by Saudi border guards as they tried to cross in from Yemen, according to a chilling new report from Human Rights Watch.

The allegations were substantiated by international media outlets, including the Reuters news agency. Saudi Arabia denies the claims and Western governments have said little as they encourage the oil rich kingdom to establish formal ties with Israel.

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Aug. 15 marks the 39th anniversary of the launch of the armed campaign by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party against the Turkish state. The group has evolved over the years, shedding its demands for Kurdish independence. Yet however much it rejects the nationalist label, many Kurds continue to join the group in the hope of forcing Turkey to grant its long-repressed Kurdish minority autonomy at the very least. Failing to resolve the Kurdish issue remains one of the biggest obstacles to democracy in Turkey, says Dutch author Frederike Geerdink.

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Tunisia's descent into autocracy under President Cais Saied is continuing full throttle. The Islamist Ennahda which shared power in successive governments since Tunisia's 2011 Jasmine Revolution is the main target of Saied's ire. Dozens of its members including party leader Rached Ghannouchi are behind bars on flimsily documented charges. Many are being held in life threatening conditions.Their children are mobilizing across the globe to draw attention to their plight. 

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Several top US senators say Turkey's acquisition of US F-16 fighter jets hinges on its ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO. Turkey wants guarantees from Congress that it will sign off on the deal before securing parliamentary approval for Sweden's membership. However, Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, an influential body focusing on US-Greek relations, insists however that it will take more for Congress to approve the sale. 

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to tell the Turkish parliament to greenlight Sweden's NATO membership, prompting a flood of praise from alliance leaders. US President Joe Biden, who met with Erdogan for more than an hour, hailed him for what he termed Erdogan's courage. At the same time, Erdogan angered the Kremlin with a series of moves in support of Ukraine including backing its membership of NATO. Is Erdogan turning away from Russia in favor of America and Europe? Analyst Nicholas Danforth says such conclusions are premature.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the May presidential and parliamentary polls ushers in a new and irreversible era in Turkish politics, cementing one man rule

and reducing parliament to more of a rubber stamp. The sole threat to Erdogan's grip over power is Turkey's floundering economy but it looks like Turkey's longest serving ruler will muddle through — at least till nationwide local elections next spring. 

For more on Turkey's descent into autocracy read Yavuz Baydar's piece.

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The legacy of Qassem Soleimani, the legendary commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Al Quds Force, continues to reverberate across the region, says his biographer Arash Azizi. He has left a vacuum that has yet to be filled.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was just re-elected president even though pollsters predicted that his rival would win.

Turkey scholar Howard Eissenstat says that Erdogan, the country's most skilled politician in modern times, is a master at reading the nation's pulse. But can he sustain his rule in the midst of a failing economy and prevail in critical local elections that are to be held next year?

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