Rage against the machines: is AI-powered government worth it?
From the Australian government’s new “data-driven profiling” trial for drug testing welfare recipients, to US law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology and the deployment of proprietary software in sentencing in many US courts … almost by stealth and with remarkably little outcry, tec…
Al-Qaeda Slaps Around Rival Jihadis, Takes Full Control of Idlib City
The question of which is the strongest rebel group in Syria has been answered. It’s Syrian al-Qaeda or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The two largest Syrian rebel groups, Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have clashed, and continue to clash, in numerous places in the main rebel-held territory …
Bank of America chooses Dublin as EU base after Brexit
Bank of America has picked Dublin as the main base for its EU investment banking and markets operations after Brexit, chief executive Brian Moynihan told the Financial Times. Mr Moynihan, who met Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Friday, said it was too soon to say how many employees th…
Down but Not Out: How the Islamic State Could Rebound
In the wake of the Islamic State’s defeat in Mosul, the fight between the organization and its adversaries has reached an inflection point. Over the past week, credible reports from Mosul — sometimes accompanied by purported video and photographic evidence — have indicated that members of the Iraqi …
Why Are There So Many Different Languages in the World?
The thatched roof held back the sun’s rays, but it could not keep the tropical heat at bay. As everyone at the research workshop headed outside for a break, small groups splintered off to gather in the shade of coconut trees and enjoy a breeze. I wandered from group to group, joining in the discussi…
“Take to the Streets”: Turkey’s Failed Coup, One Year Later
It has been one year since the failed coup attempt in Turkey and — aside from the senior putschists themselves — no one has any idea what actually happened that day and night or who was in charge. Our lack of clarity about the nature of the coup is even more surprising given the remarkable…
Death of a Jihadi Dream: The Battle of Mosul
Situated in the fertile plains of northern Iraq, Mosul finds itself in close proximity to the site of the legendary Battle of Gaugamela, where over 2,000 years ago Alexander the Great broke through Darius III’s wall of chariots and seized an empire. After surviving countless wars and falling under t…
How concrete can act as a sponge for air pollution
Concrete surfaces can remove sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to air pollution, from the air, new research suggests. The findings could be a significant step toward the practice of using waste concrete to minimize air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, as many as seven million…
No one knows what will replace the so-called caliphate
It has been a long war, with many horrors. But three years after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ascended the pulpit of the Nuri mosque in Mosul to call on all Muslims to flock to his “caliphate”, Islamic State (IS) is suffering two crushing blows. In Iraq, the jihadists have all but lost Mosul; they blew…
Can Russia and America Work Together in Syria?
The United States is willing to work jointly with Russia to conduct stability operations in a post-ISIS Syria. Those stability measures could include jointly monitored no-fly zones and cease-fire observation missions. But exactly how such arrangements might be implemented are likely to be the subjec…