To help prevent a U.S.-Iran war in their neighborhood, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have called for diplomacy. They have reached out to Iranian officials to de-escalate. And they have provided Tehran with humanitarian assistance to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
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Kidnappings, cross-border clashes threaten increasingly fragile status quo in Syria’s south
The recent deployment of Syrian army Fourth Division troops to Daraa is yet another reminder of the deadly unrest ongoing in southwestern Syria. Sent to pacify Mazayreeb following an unprecedented armed attack after which several soldiers were publicly executed, Daraa’s western countryside still regularly witnesses violent unrest including assassinations, hit-and-run …
Read More »The Abbas declaration: Why this time may be different
In a dramatic statement delivered yesterday in Ramallah and broadcast on Palestine TV, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared an end to all agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and both Israel and the United States.
Read More »Abbas's Precious Gift to Iran: Hamas
By halting the security crackdown on Hamas, Abbas would be paving the way for terrorists to kill him and his associates in the West Bank, as they had already begun to do in 2007 in the Gaza Strip, and possibly again in a coup in 2014.
Read More »US-China Tensions Rise as Beijing Signals Tightening Controls on Hong Kong
China’s decision to propose new legislation tightening control over Hong Kong has sparked a wave of condemnation from American lawmakers and officials, in yet another sign of worsening relations between the economic superpowers.
Read More »India Voices Unusual Criticism of China's Conduct in South China Sea
India has voiced a rare note of criticism of China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea, amid a tensions between the two Asian powers on their long land border.
Read More »Commerce Department to Add Two Dozen Chinese Companies with Ties to WMD and Military Activities to the Entity List
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFriday, May 22, 2020 Office of Public Affairs(202) 482-4883publicaffairs@doc.gov The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced it will add 24 governmental and commercial organizations to the Entity List for engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United …
Read More »China slows defense budget growth to 6.6 % in 2020
China to hike defense spending by 6.6% China set its 2020 defense budget growth target at 6.6 percent, resulting in a draft budget of 1.268 trillion yuan ($178.2 billion), lower than the 7.5 percent growth in 2019.
Read More »China's Cyber War Against America
Beijing’s cyber offensive against the Free World is only part of what appears China’s effort to achieve global leadership in critical future technologies such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy systems, robotics, rare earth element exploitation, biotechnologies, as well as medical and agricultural advances.
Read More »'Alarming' military build-up underway in Libya, as COVID-19 heightens insecurity
The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday.
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