An Embarrassment of Riches

Review – This Is Not Propaganda by Peter Pomerantsev

We live in a golden age not of fact, but of fiction. The possibilities of new media have led to an embarrassment of riches. Where once there was a lack of information, there is now overabundance, with half of the world’s population possessing access to the internet, and the sum of human knowledge accessible from a device most in the rich world carry in their pockets, and replace for an almost trivial sum when its screen gets scratched.

Britain Has Little Room for Manoeuvre in the Strait of Hormuz

Britain’s next prime minister was never likely to have enjoyed an easy start. With no majority in the House of Commons, and having reached a point with Brexit which proved impassable enough to end the career of Theresa May, Boris Johnson will not have the strongest of hands upon assuming office.

Chemical Provocation

The Syrian civil war’s most horrific feature has become its most consistent undertone – one of the threat of war crimes committed with chemical weapons.

Hundreds of attacks have been made with chemical weapons, whose manufacture and use are restricted by international agreement. A report by the Global Public Policy Institute recorded more than 336 incidents in which the use of chemical weapons in Syria was likely. Of those incidents, 98 per cent, the report claimed, were carried out by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian Refugees Face Jeopardy in Lebanon

Since the Syrian civil war began, and as millions were internally displaced or fled the country, Lebanon has felt the effect.

Approximately 1.5 million Syrians reside in Lebanon, which has a population of 6 million. The situation is the responsibility of Lebanon’s government, one it does not relish, and a reminder to the Lebanese of the conflict in the country on their border and the uncertain times in which they live.

An ISIS Resurgence Is Worryingly Possible, But Not Certain

The speed with which the Islamic State conquered territory after its advent in 2014 and in the years that followed cannot be denied. Nor can the ferocity and threat of its rule. The apparent self-confidence of its theology and the devotion with which fighters – foreign and local – flocked to its cause made it a threat seen across the world.