Yearly Archives: 2020

Moscow and Ankara will continue uneasy cooperation

As Russia partially reopens international travel amidst the ongoing pandemic, Turkey is in the top three countries for resumed Russian flights. Moscow also touts possible space cooperation with Turkey amidst tensions with the US on this issue. Despite disagreements between Moscow and Ankara over Syria, Libya, and the broader Black …

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What Would a Post-Putin Russia Look Like?

On July 1st, the Russian public voted overwhelmingly in a disputed referendum to amend its constitution and extend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tenure until 2036.

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Can an ISIS Terrorist be Rehabilitated and Reintegrated into Society?

Debates across the world are raging, discussing the issues pertaining to the repatriation of foreign terrorist fighters [FTFs] who left their home countries to fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] or live under their so-called Caliphate. Some died in Syria and some have made their way …

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Hezbollah operatives seen behind spike in drug trafficking, analysts say

At first glance, the shipping trailers that arrived at the Italian port of Salerno appeared to contain only paper, rolled up on giant industrial spools as tall as a man. But when an investigator sliced into one of the rolls with an electric saw, he unleashed an avalanche of little …

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Beirut Will Take Decades To Rebuild

Lebanon, the Switzerland of Middle-East and its capital Beirut-the Paris of Middle-East, a house to 2.4 million people 1 , out of 6.8 2 million in whole of Lebanon , are smothered by blasts on August 4, 2020, by 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate kept in a waterfront warehouse at …

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Beirut Goes Up In Smoke

To see Beirut and its port area with a huge mushroom cloud hanging above is a truly surreal sight. But what is not surreal in battered Lebanese capital? A big part of the downtown looks flattened, thoroughly ruined.

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Iran: China's Newest Colony?

The deal is a clear win for China; the $400 billion will be invested over 25 years, which is a small amount of money for the second-largest economy in the world. China will also have full authority over Iran’s islands, gain access to Iran’s oil at a highly discounted rate …

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