Photo source: Foreign Policy By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront The attacks in the Sinai peninsula in May 2022 by the Islamic State were one of the deadliest in the region in recent memory, and they raise an important matter at hand: if Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must be supported by Western patrons for ‘counter-terrorism ties’, why is Islamic State still successful in expanding extremist activities in Egypt? And, why hasn’t he become successful until now? To combat extremism efforts, the Egyptian military had expanded in the areas of northern Sinai between the Gaza strip in the east and the Suez Canal in the west, allowing for a return of some civilian activity. But, the strategy has largely backfired as Islamic State militants are continuing to seek refuge in the desert, and are using different tactics such as sniping and planting explosives. Sinai, itself, has been brimming in conflict for decades. It started with Naseer’s dubious pan Arabism, and Egyptian discrimination against Arab ...

Photo source: Guardian By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront When Scott Morrison won an election in 2019, he said that he believed in miracles. In the 2022 election, it seems that he ran out of them. After the verdict, he accepted defeat, and believed in the ‘judgement of the Australian masses’. Among the two major party leaders, Morrison was looked at as more of an experienced image builder. He projected himself as the typical ‘Australian dad’, someone who you can trust, someone who had seen the country through the pandemic, and whose governing Liberal-National coalition had been the better economic manager of Australia. With time, however, Aussies started disliking him. The image of a trustworthy family man had been eroded over the past three years because they thought that it was not genuine, and not to be trusted. There were many moments in the last three years when his leadership fell short. Many of those affected by Australia’s natural disasters believed that he wasn’t on the gr...

  Photo source: US news By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront Emmanuel Macron’s re election in April 2022 marked an important moment in contemporary French politics. By securing a second mandate, he became the first French president in two decades to win re election, the last being Jacques Chirac in 2002. The achievement confirmed that Macron’s political experiment launched only a few years earlier with a brand new movement and without the backing of traditional party structures had transformed the country’s political landscape. His presidency has been defined by ambitious reform, an attempt to reshape the centre of French politics, and a controversial mix of liberal economic policies and assertive state authority. From the moment he first sought the presidency in 2017, Macron presented himself as a reformer determined to break with the old political order. France had long been dominated by the alternating power of the centre right Republicans and the Socialist Party. Macron dis...

  Photo source: Arab News By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront In a calculated manner, Turkey launched its new cross-border operation, codenamed Claw Lock against Kurdistan Worker’s Party in northern Iraq in April 2022. Post-2015, it is Turkey’s latest effort to strangle PKK’s freedom of movement, and gradually weaken its associates. Operation Claw-Lock is the successor of the similarly named joint air and ground operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt in 2021, and Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger in 2020. The Turkish military is carrying out helicopter-borne commando raids on mountains and into caves. Unlike past operations that concluded by winter, Turkish forces, in these new operations, are making gains all year round, through the establishment of an increasing number of military outposts, and forward operating bases in strategically important areas. Although these operations have failed to rout out PKK in the Qandil stronghold, they have nevertheless put unprecedented pressu...