International

Iraq's Reckoning: Iran-Backed Militias Defy September 30 Disarmament Deadline as PM al-Zaidi Heads to Washington

Background
Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, known in Arabic as the Hashd al-Shaabi, trace their origins to the summer of 2014, when a fatwa from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on Iraqis to take up arms against the advancing Islamic State after the collapse of the Iraqi army in Mosul. Tens of thousands answered the…

Half a Million Lives Hang on El-Obeid as Sudan's War Enters a Deadlier Political Phase

KHARTOUM/EL-OBEID 

More than three years into Sudan's civil war, the besieged city of El-Obeid has become the clearest marker yet of how far the conflict has drifted from any negotiated end. Rapid Support Forces (RSF) units have ringed North Kordofan's capital for months, cutting power to the city, striking…

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan's Democratic Senate Primary in a Blow to AIPAC-Backed Establishment

Background
Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, held for over a decade by Democrat Gary Peters, opened up when Peters announced he would not seek re-election in 2026, transforming the swing state into one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Democrats view Michigan as essential to retaking a Senate majority in…

US, Iran and Oman Edge Toward a Deal to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz After Months of War

Background
The United States, Iran and Oman are closing in on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to normal shipping traffic, a potential breakthrough in a conflict that has repeatedly convulsed the Gulf region since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran in February. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott…

Nine Months After Disputed Election, Tanzania's Political Crisis Still Hasn't Resolved — and a Court Just Handed the Opposition a Win

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

A Tanzanian appeals court dealt a setback to prosecutors on July 30 in the treason case against opposition leader Tundu Lissu, dismissing a bid by the director of public prosecutions to revive proceedings that a lower court had effectively frozen months earlier. The ruling is the…

Despite Two Peace Deals, Drone Warfare Escalates Between Congo's Army and Rwanda-Backed M23

Goma/Kinshasa, DRC

More than a year after the United States brokered a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and more than a year after Congolese officials and the M23 rebel movement agreed to a separate ceasefire in Doha, the two sides are fighting each other with attack…