US and international health officials confirmed on August 29 that Israel has agreed to implement a temporary humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip to vaccinate children against polio.[1] The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office emphasized that the pause is not related to the longer-term ceasefire proposal currently under discussion in Doha.[2] …
Read More »Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (August 19-26 , 2024)
On August 25, 2024, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing 340 rockets at air defense facilities in northern Israel and launching a large number of UAVs at IDF bases in retaliation to the killing of Fuad Shukr, the organization’s military commander. Earlier, the Israeli Air Force carried out a pre-emptive strike …
Read More »Chinese Lending Adapts to Central Asia’s Realities
China’s relationships with Central Asian borrowers are hardly one-size-fits-all. Chinese financial players have adapted and used different models, demonstrating the country’s flexibility as a lender. Preface China Local/Global China has become a global power, but there is too little debate about how this has happened and what it means. Many …
Read More »Will Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency change Iran’s domestic and foreign policies?
The Iranian president’s ability to implement his electoral program remains limited, given what his previous reformist presidents have achieved, as none of them were able to bring about fundamental changes in Iran’s domestic and foreign policies. Pezeshkian’s presidential program is likely to strongly confront the conservatives who have controlled parliament …
Read More »Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis.
The new Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, spoke with a senior Hamas figure andstressed that Iran would support any agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip that would beacceptable to the Palestinians and the “resistance.” E_187_24Download
Read More »Scepticism Surrounds Revived Truth and Reconciliation Initiative in Kosovo
Experts fear a ‘presidential’ commission for truth and reconciliation in Kosovo will not enjoy the required independence from political influence or legitimacy among all ethnic communities. Kosovo is to make a fresh attempt to create a truth and reconciliation commission that will look at the events of the 1998-99 war, …
Read More »Millions Spent on War Memorials in Bosnia, But to What Effect?
War memorials are dotted all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but rarely are they unveiled without controversy. They have cost more than 5 million euros in the past decade, and experts say few have really contributed to reconciliation. Irmela Sabanovic was five years old in the middle of the 1992-5 war …
Read More »The case for a long reset with Russia Washington will need allies in the fight against China
As the bold Ukrainian assault into Kursk Oblast enters its third week, the general mood in the West is one of triumph. The offensive, we’re told, vindicates the wisdom of the transatlantic liberal establishment in supporting Kyiv. Suddenly, a Russian victory no longer seems inevitable. The truth, however, is that …
Read More »Why is a Brit running a Chinese weapons conference? CCP and Russian ‘experts’ will be in attendance
The city of Xi’an was once famed as the birthplace of the Silk Road, the tortuous trade route along which caravans bore textiles, jade and other luxury products to Persia, Egypt and Europe for more than 1,500 years. Just outside the city lies another ancient marker of its erstwhile wealth …
Read More »How Significant Is Iran’s Influence In The Middle East? – Analysis
Over the past few years, Iran has been increasingly exerting its influence in the Middle East, particularly on Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. How real is Iran’s influence? After the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the commander of the …
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