by Asa Winstanley

The Afghanistan debate in Parliament this week was nothing less than nauseating.

Ministers, MPs and shadow ministers all united to ratchet up a bizarre form of rhetoric that somehow managed to be both war-like and totally impotent at the same time.

They seemed to think that British occupation forces should be re-deployed back into Afghanistan, despite the exit of US occupation forces. Twenty years of war and occupation there was not enough for them, it seems.

by Yvonne Ridley

Most Western media outlets are carrying headlines and hype about the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan after the fighting force swept through the country at a blistering pace which has left military strategists gasping. Within 24 hours of making his "I am staying" speech, President Ashraf Ghani fled from Kabul when the Taliban entered the city. Apparently, he has gone to Tajikstan while an interim government headed by Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar takes over.

by Halima Ben Nasr

"Endemics, viruses and microbes" are descriptions used by Tunisian President Kais Saied in almost every speech he delivers to attack those who disagree with him. "No turning back and no compromise. The washing machine of political anecdotes will come to cleanse, and for some people, their place is in sewage canals."

by AW Siddiqui

Indian Delta variant of Covid-19 strain is a lot more infectious, and a greater focus on airborne transmission is needed to manage the spread of this virus, say the Infectious diseases experts in Australia.

by Maya Abuali

Beyond dealing with the Gaza Strip's already uninhabitable living conditions, Palestinian cancer patients in the enclave are unable to receive proper treatment due to numerous obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation state.

by Haifa Zangana

The interviews are harrowing. "It was the same routine, every day hanging me up and beating me. There are things they did to me there that I am too ashamed to talk about, but one thing I can tell you is that two times they made me sit on a bottle."

This is from interview number 106. The detainee who gave interview number 107 said: "They cuffed my hands behind my back and hanged my handcuffs from a hook on a chain from the ceiling. They didn't really ask me questions, they just kept shouting [at me] to confess."

by Abdul Khaliq

Everyone can see that the Congress party is in the throes of an existential crisis, particularly after its drubbing in the last Lok Sabha elections. Since then, it has been humiliated in every assembly election. It has ceded power pre-term in Madhya Pradesh as a consequence of defections, and Rajasthan is poised on a knife-edge. In Punjab, the chief minister and state president of the party are at daggers drawn, and there are ominous rumblings in Chhattisgarh.

by Sanaa Marsini

The 25 July 2021 was a watershed in the history of democracy in Tunisia, not just because it coincided with Republic Day celebrations, but it was also the day on which the president announced a set of extraordinary measures within the framework of activating article 80 of the constitution.

by Sari Orabi

Israel's export of technology used by repressive regimes to establish their authority, not only over their political opponents, but also against large parts of civil society, is nothing new. News of this has been spreading since 2017 at least and the inauguration of the Arab-Israeli alliance under the auspices of the Trump administration.

by Robert Inlakesh

With Tunisian President Kais Saied seizing power, in what has been called a coup by the country's largest political party, it seems that the last stronghold of democracy in Northern Africa, having emerged from the Arab Spring, is falling. Celebrated by some, such a transition could have its consequences especially with the involvement of Gulf dictatorships.

by Yvonne Ridley

Let's stop all the hand wringing and angst over Afghanistan. Now. It's fooling no one. America, Britain and their NATO allies have had 20 years to help put the country back on its feet, deliver human rights, female equality and a democratic government free of corruption. They've failed.

by Nasim Ahmed

The global hacking scandal involving Israel's notorious NSO Group has sparked fury around the world as the full extent of the industrial scale spying operation targeting politicians, academics and activists begin to emerge.