Eurasia

Intel: US to announce agreement to pull ‘combat troops’ from Iraq

Security will be at top of agenda for US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue today, and when US President Joe Biden hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on July 26. US and Iraqi officials are preparing a statement that will likely mention a time frame for the withdrawal of American “combat troops” from …

Read More »

Intra-Libyan talks on election law to take place in Rome on July 26-29 – authorities

The focus will be on the need to adopt the necessary legal acts to organize the presidential and parliamentary elections Intra-Libyan talks on developing a unified stance on the law on general elections are expected to take place in the Italian capital of Rome on July 26-29, Parliament Spokesman Abdullah …

Read More »

Qatar’s foreign minister visits Iran to meet top officials

Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi to discuss bilateral relations. Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani travelled to Tehran for an unannounced visit and met top officials, days after visiting Washington, Iran’s state news agency reported. IRNA said that Al Thani, who …

Read More »

Search underway after migrant boat sinks off Turkish coast

Eight migrants are still missing after their boat bound for Italy sunk southwest of the Turkish town of Kas. Search-and-rescue operations are underway in the Aegean Sea after a boat carrying 45 migrants sank off the southern coast of Turkey, Greek and Turkish officials said Friday. The state-run Anadolu Agency …

Read More »

Iraq still needs US help to defeat Islamic State, foreign minister says

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein made the remarks ahead of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s visit to Washington on Monday. Iraq still needs support from the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Friday amid reports the Biden administration is planning to withdraw combat troops …

Read More »

Amid Iranian gas shortage, Iraq searches for alternatives

Iran’s dilapidated gas infrastructure has limited its transfers to Iraq, adding to Iraq’s own energy crisis. Iraqi parliamentary sources said on July 21 political conflicts are “preventing the investment of natural gas in the Mansouriya field in the Diyala governorate (north of Baghdad). The field’s resources are enough to meet …

Read More »

Tunisian police storm Al Jazeera’s offices amid political upheaval

Following President Kais Saied’s suspension of parliament, Tunisian troops on Monday prevented the parliament speaker from entering the building. A day after President Kais Saied staged what critics called a coup, police in Tunisia have stormed the Al Jazeera office in the capital city and Tunisian troops have surrounded the …

Read More »

Putin warns of ‘unpreventable’ strikes by Russian navy

The Russian president’s warning comes amid tensions between London and Moscow after a British warship entered waters close to Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that its navy is ready to carry out an “unpreventable strike” on enemy targets if it was in the country’s “national interests.” Putin …

Read More »

The Final Nail in the Coffin for Privacy? The Saga of the NSO Group’s Spyware

An investigation revealed that spyware tools from Israeli-based surveillance firm NSO Group have been used to target political dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists. NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware tool is so sophisticated that it can defeat high-end encryption and security protocols of electronic devices. Prior to this week’s news reports, …

Read More »

Operating in the Gray Zone: China’s Cyber Operations Call for a Unified Response

The Biden administration responded to China’s aggressive cyber operations by “naming and shaming” Beijing in an attempt to confront the growing threat posed by criminal hackers. For China, cyberattacks are an asymmetric means of confronting the West while attempting to maintain a thinly veiled veneer of plausible deniability.

Read More »