Read my lips: Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn (Uninhabited Summer Houses), Rethink Everything
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Russia in the labyrinth of Middle East politics
This is a concise and timely handbook to Russia policy in the Middle East, writes GAVIN O’TOOLE
Russian ground support Sukhoi Su-25 at Latakia, Syria on October 3 2015
[Mil.ru/CC]
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys an imaginative revival of the dance classic
MARIA DUARTE and JOHN GREEN review Michael, The North, Exit 8, Rose of Nevada
GORDON PARSONS salutes the apt return of Brecht’s vaudevillian cartoon drama that retains the vitality of the boxing or the circus ring
New releases from Public Image Ltd, William Basinski, John Luther Adams
Banksy’s identity may have been published – but was the investigation in the public interest, asks PETER BENGTSEN
Russian Foreign Policy towards the Middle East: New Trends, Old Traditions
Edited by Nikolay Kozhanov
Hurst £25
WHILE there is still no hard evidence that Syrian mercenaries recruited by Russia have arrived in Ukraine or started fighting there, there is no doubt thousands have signed up to do so.
Reports have proliferated since March that Moscow is using its close ties with the regime of Bashar al-Assad to source a new supply of potential cannon fodder for its Ukrainian adventure.
There is nothing new about Syrian fighters serving as mercenaries abroad in countries such as Libya on behalf of Russian foreign policy interests, often under the cloak of deniability and at low cost.
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Tehran retaliates with attacks on Israel, the Gulf Arab states and crude oil flows
In the first half of a two-part article, PETER MERTENS looks at how Nato’s €800 billion ‘Readiness 2030’ plan serves Washington’s pivot to the Pacific, forcing Europeans to dismantle social security and slash pensions to fund it
