The Reference | Analysis

Analysis

‘It’s like another planet’: crossing the frontier from Gaza to work in Israel

Monday 02-01-2023 02:10 PM

There’s nothing quite like the Erez crossing, the only civilian route between Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip, anywhere else in the world. The Israeli side looks like an airport terminal, but is ...

Girls like me will change Iran. This is a revolution

Sunday 01-01-2023 06:25 PM

On the first morning at school after the protests started, I was sitting at the back of the class when a group of girls came up to me. They told me they were planning something: at breaktime, they ...

The Taliban Are Abusing Western Aid

Sunday 01-01-2023 05:19 PM

The Taliban’s shocking treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan has been capturing global headlines since the Islamists regained power and began winding the clock back to the last time they ...

Russia launches ‘massive’ attack on Ukraine cities with 120 missiles and drones

Thursday 29-12-2022 07:09 PM

Russia launched more than 120 missiles and drones against targets in Ukraine this morning as Moscow rejected a “peace formula” proposed by President Zelensky as a basis for negotiations. Explosions ...

Moscow on the Med: A Faraway War Transforms a Turkish Resort Town

Thursday 29-12-2022 06:55 PM

The ice cream man grappled with how much the war in Ukraine had changed his neighborhood. So many Russians had moved to Antalya, a resort city in southern Turkey, that local families were being ...

Iranian Government Relies on Loyal Supporters as Bulwark Against Protests

Wednesday 28-12-2022 11:49 AM

When Revolutionary Guard member Mohammed Zareh Mowaydi was killed fighting Iranian protesters last month, the military broadcast footage of his body, with a cleric holding up the dead man’s right ...

Why Putin can count on Africa for now

Wednesday 28-12-2022 11:05 AM

The unconvincing United Nations Assembly vote this year to condemn President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine confirmed a view long held by experts: that a new scramble for Africa was under way. ...

Russian City Mourns Its Lost Soldiers, but Doesn’t Resent Putin’s War

Wednesday 28-12-2022 10:31 AM

Even under a thick coating of snow, the graveyard for Russian soldiers killed in the Ukraine war is awash in color. Graves are heaped with wreaths of plastic flowers and, at each mound, flags ...

Russian Air Base Is Attacked, as Ukraine Discounts Escalation Threat

Tuesday 27-12-2022 03:51 PM

Ukraine launched a drone attack at an air base deep within Russian territory, killing three servicemen, the Kremlin said on Monday, as Kyiv’s forces demonstrated that they are increasingly willing ...

Six Factors That Will Shape Russia’s Winter War in Ukraine

Monday 26-12-2022 02:09 PM

As Russia’s war in Ukraine moves into another year, the next few months will provide critical clues as to whether Moscow’s forces will be able to halt or even reverse the momentum gained by ...

The Ukraine War Is Pushing Turkey Closer to Russia

Sunday 25-12-2022 08:34 PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is deepening economic ties with Russia in a high-risk bid to support his country’s economy, defying Western sanctions on Moscow amid contentious relations with ...

Russian Shelling Kills at Least 10 in Christmas Eve Attack on Kherson, Ukraine Says

Sunday 25-12-2022 08:19 PM

Russian shelling killed at least 10 people and injured 68 in the southern city of Kherson on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, turning central streets into a grisly scene of ...

U.S. Steps Up Raids Against Islamic State Militants in Syria

Sunday 25-12-2022 07:34 PM

The Pentagon said it has stepped up raids against Islamic State in Syria, conducting nearly a dozen risky helicopter and ground operations to kill or capture top militant operatives. In December, ...

Russia Threatens to Cut Oil Output in Response to Western Sanctions

Saturday 24-12-2022 05:08 PM

Moscow threatened to cut oil output in response to Western price caps, setting the stage for an escalation of the energy war that has run parallel to the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking on state ...

‘I don’t know what to do’: Skyrocketing inflation and rent prices leave many in Turkey struggling

Saturday 24-12-2022 04:52 PM

For decades, Canan lived a fairly comfortable life as a school teacher in Istanbul. She even managed to help send her 23-year-old daughter off to study abroad, and retired earlier this year to live ...