Yearly Archives: 2021

Egypt looks to expand counter-terrorism cooperation with Sudan

Egypt is seeking greater cooperation with Sudan’s transitional authorities to track down terrorist elements, including Islamic State and those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood . Sudanese security forces, led by the country’s intelligence services, have been cracking down on Islamic State (IS) members over the past weeks. Five members of …

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Russian-Iranian competition heats up in South Caucasus

For Moscow, contradictions with Tehran may turn out to be much more sensitive than disputes with Ankara. During Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Moscow on Oct. 5, one of the main topics of the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was rising tensions in Iranian-Azerbaijani ties. At …

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Erdogan threatens fresh military campaign in Syria

The Kurdish-held town of Tell Rifaat stands out as the focal point of a potential new crisis in northern Syria as Turkey threatens another military offensive amid discords with Russia and the United States. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised the specter of a new Turkish military campaign against Kurdish …

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Century-old grievances continue to fester in Yemen’s Tihama region

Grievances have been piling up unaddressed in Tihama, Yemen’s Red Sea coastal plain, for almost a hundred years. Since the revolt of al-Zaraniq against Imam Yahya Hameed al-Din of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom (then North Yemen) in 1925-26, consecutive Imams and the republican elite have pursued policies that have systematically marginalized …

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Iran’s threats could strengthen Azerbaijan-Israel relations

Iran-Azerbaijan relations have been going through a rough patch recently; both sides have genuine concerns that they want addressed. Iran could have addressed its various bones of contention with Azerbaijan through diplomatic channels. After all, both countries have full diplomatic relations; this includes fully functioning embassies and ambassadors on each …

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Cost of Conflict: An Analysis of the Costs of Russia’s Ongoing Hostilities in the Black Sea Region

Conflicts are enormously destructive. They destroy lives and property, uproot communities, and reduce the economic potential for all involved. This devastation often has an unaccounted cost, both in terms of the obvious direct destruction of lives and assets, as well as the indirect costs that weigh on economies, often for …

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Special Briefing: A reshaping of the Iraqi political scene, despite low turnout

A reshaping of the Iraqi political scene, despite low turnout As was widely expected, voter turnout in Iraq’s early parliamentary elections, held on Oct. 10, was historically low. Official turnout came in at 41% — out of 22.12 million registered voters — or an even lower 34% when taking into …

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Iran’s key demands for the revival of the JCPOA

Iran’s new conservative government under President Ebrahim Raisi has based its approach to the nuclear talks for the revival of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on three key documents that lay out clear directives: first, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Oct. 21, 2015 letter to then-President Hassan …

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Making sense of the Beirut clashes

Memories of the Lebanese civil war resurfaced this week as images appeared of children hiding in hallways and behind cars while deadly sectarian clashes unfolded outside their schools in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighborhood. Protests organized by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement to demand the removal of the judge investigating the August …

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As contas públicas dominadas pelo PRR

A proposta de OE2022 aponta para uma maior estatização da economia, uma enormíssima dependência da Europa para a realização de investimentos e uma perda de autonomia orçamental a prazo. O Orçamento do Estado para 2022 (OE2022) apresentado esta segunda-feira constitui a aplicação do orçamento europeu em Portugal. Ou seja, não …

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