Iraq
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The Mosul offensive
In enemy heartland
Progress is slow in the battle for control of Mosul, with IS jihadists using booby traps and suicide commandos against the liberators. Karim El-Gawhary spoke to Kurdish fighters and refugees in some of the villages recaptured by the peshmerga
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The Mosul offensive
The Caliphate's cubs
In the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, Islamic State jihadists are fighting with their backs to the wall. In their desperation, they are increasingly deploying child suicide bombers. Judit Neurink reports from Irbil
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Profile: Nadia Murad
One woman's fight against Islamic State
She escaped from a living hell: Nadia Murad gives a face to the thousands of Yazidi women who were raped by members of IS. She openly tells of her time as a sex slave, her sorrow and her desire to change things. By Sabrina Pabst
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Oil and development in the Middle East
A two-edged sword
When poor countries started producing oil, they thought that was the key to economic growth and prosperity. Since then, the impact of resource wealth on producing countries has been the subject of endless debate. By Nassir Djafari
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Solving the conflicts in the Middle East
Tracing the fault lines
Simmering for decades beneath the surface of autocratic repression, conflicts such as the Sunni uprisings in Syria and Iraq, Shia unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, not to mention the rancour of the Kurds and Palestinians, are ongoing. The West is partly to blame. By Ishac Diwan
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Western involvement in the Middle East
A rotten legacy
Whatever else they were guilty of, the two authors of the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, George Bush and Tony Blair, displayed an astonishing ignorance of history. By Roger Hardy
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″Jihad Selfie″
No one is born a terrorist
Written and directed by Indonesian Noor Huda Ismail, ″Jihad Selfie″ takes an in-depth look at the reasons behind radicalism. It is a warning to parents and young people of how social media often functions as a breeding ground for IS fighters. By Edith Koesoemawiria
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Talking Turkey
″What happens on the Bosphorus affects us all″
The West′s attitude toward Turkey matters. For an outcome that reflects democratic values and is favourable to Western and Turkish interests alike, Western diplomats need to escalate their engagement with Turkey. Essay by Sweden′s former foreign minister, Carl Bildt
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Turkish involvement in Syria
Making enemies
Ankara has invaded Syria to keep Islamic State fighters out of its own territory and prevent Kurdish territorial gains. In Turkey, the dual strategy has not only met with approval: critical voices are growing louder. By Andreas Gorzewski
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Arab Puppet Theatre Foundation
One thousand sinking dinghies
The silent puppet performance ″One Thousand and One Titanics″ creatively combines traditional performing techniques such as shadow and glove puppetry with pantomime, music and dance to tell the story of those displaced by war and conflict. By Changiz M. Varzi
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International Crisis Group: Iraq's lost generation
Iraqi youth who came of age during the post-2003 turmoil share a sense of hopelessness and disempowerment. Across the political spectrum, they feel trapped: join a protest movement or militia, or emigrate. Read the full report by the International Crisis Group here
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The Chilcot Report
It's a no brainer
The lesson of the Iraq War should not be that armed intervention is to be avoided per se, but that such action should only be undertaken when it is the best available strategy – and the results are likely to justify the costs. By Richard Haass