The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz A Gerges – engaging read for seasoned observers
The scope is perhaps too broad, and the prose a little dry, for this book to appeal to the general reader
Al Qaeda
US military targets Islamic State operatives in Somalia with air strikes
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth says strikes directed by Donald Trump and co-ordinated with Somalian government
Teenager pleads guilty to murdering three girls in Southport attack that sparked riots
Cardiff-born Axel Rudakubana (18) also admitted production of a biological toxin in terrorism offence
Ireland is not immune to the wave of foreign state espionage sweeping Europe
One of the first tasks of the new government will be how to persuade the incoming Trump administration that Ireland is not a soft touch
Top US officials meet new Syrian rulers
US diplomats discuss transition principles with representatives of Syria’s new de facto rulers led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
International Criminal Court jails former Islamic police head for crimes against humanity
‘Reign of terror’ in Timbuktu involved overseeing public amputations and floggings
At least 32 people killed in Somalia beach attack
State media says militant Islamist group al Shabaab behind explosion in Mogadishu
‘The reason I forgive is that I did a lot of bad things’: A former Guantánamo prisoner’s new life in Belize
Majid Khan, a former al-Qaeda courier who was imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay for two decades, has had an eventful year since his release
How fake news about the Madrid bombings continues to divide Spanish politics
The attack and its aftermath ended up driving a toxic wedge into Spanish politics and society which would coarsen public debate and sow a mistrust in the country’s democratic institutions
Netherlands raises terror threat level, with attack deemed ‘a realistic possibility’
National counterterrorism co-ordinator warns that al-Qaeda and Islamic State are using the Gaza conflict as a ‘call to action’
A Stranger in Your Own City, and Taking Sides: hard-hitting Middle East journalism memoirs
Lara Marlowe on notable new works by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and Sherine Tadros
Muqtada al-Sadr: Part popular mystical figure and part militia boss who whips up a mob at a whim
Politically powerful Shia cleric has stood up to Iran and his volatile persona continues to mesmerise his Iraqi compatriots
‘Iraq is now a teenage country’: Artists under pressure in Iraq
After decades of Iraq’s creative sector being held back, the country is ready to set out its own narrative. Three artists explain how they see their role
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan
‘Justice has been delivered’: Biden says death a major blow to terrorist network behind September 11th, 2001, attacks
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices