A French Navy vessel will conduct surveillance activities in the East China Sea until early March as part of international efforts to block North Korea from engaging in ship-to-ship transfers of goods at sea in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. It will be …

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS) — The 25th Attack Group began flying the first active-duty operated U.S. Air Forces in Europe MQ-9 Reaper sorties in Romania via remote-split operations as of Feb. 1. The 25th ATKG is a unit under the command of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing. Both …

Iranian media reported tentative steps by the U.S. and its European allies in the P5+1 group, which negotiated the original 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran, to resume adherence to that deal and back away from Trump administration policies, including the 2018 reimposition of economic sanctions.

The North Korean authorities have reportedly ordered the expansion of political prison camps in the country. A source told Daily NK that North Korea, having declared war on the so-called “anti-socialist and non-socialist phenomenon” during the recent Eighth Party Congress, intends to overhaul its incarceration facilities ahead of a major …

Iraq’s diverse groups have long been pitted against each other. A USIP partner is looking to change that through curriculum reform. Vida Hanna, a director for public relations at Catholic University in Erbil, recalled the first week of her first-grade year when a classmate called her a kafir, or an …

Lacking better options, Russia appears to be pursuing a ‘spheres of influence’ model. Five years into Russia’s military intervention in Syria, understanding Moscow’s endgame could provide critical insights into the decade-long conflict’s trajectory, as well as Russia’s posture in the Middle East and beyond. Although still evolving and subject to …

Mediators alone do not guarantee success, but there are few examples of significant peace agreements in their absence. At present, the Afghan peace negotiations (APN) between the Afghan government and the Taliban do not involve any third-party presence beyond hosting and supporting roles. The parties to the conflict and members …

The United States has a critical role to play in positioning peacekeepers to fulfill increasingly complex and demanding mandates. When American politicians want to temper voter’s concerns over U.S. military commitments overseas, many employ perhaps the most worn-out foreign policy cliché: “The United States cannot police the world.” After all, …

Although the international community can help, Libyans will ultimately have to decide for themselves how to reach a sustainable peace. This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the uprising that overthrew the four-decade dictatorship of Muammar Qaddafi. In the intervening decade, Libya has been mired in conflict and political gridlock, …

Can Washington work with its allies and partners to shape Beijing’s behavior and find realistic ways to cooperate on shared interests? Last week, President Biden held a call with General Secretary Xi Jinping, China’s paramount leader. They reportedly talked for more than two hours, a length that, combined with the …