Eurasia

Slowing the pace of climate change and getting “tough” on China, especially over its human-rights abuses and unfair trade practices, are among the top priorities President Biden has announced for his new administration. Evidently, he believes that he can tame a rising China with harsh pressure tactics, while still gaining …

Cold political calculation has given wings to a motion to include ethnicity in ID cards in North Macedonia, setting the country apart from the rest of the world. Critics are alarmed.

Slovakia’s febrile politics and incompetent handling of the pandemic has made it vulnerable to Russian mischief using its Sputnik vaccine. In January, Prime Minister Igor Matovič was still expressing confidence that Slovakia would have enough Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for most of its adult population, and would only use the …

Armenian Defense Minister Vagarshak Arutyunyan has told Russia’s Novosti news agency that Yerevan would welcome an expansion of the Russian military base at Gyumri in Armenia because that would increase Armenia’s security

Iran says it has developed a new long-range wide-body combat drone that has a range of 3,000 kilometers, reports local media. The IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency, cited Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh as saying the Kaman-22 (Bow-22) is the first wide-body combat drone manufactured by local experts.

The United Kingdom’s trading aspirations in Asia will not negate its dependence on the European Union, nor will they unwind the dominant economic role of China in its neighbourhood. UK trade with Asia post-Brexit needs to be accompanied by efforts to engage Beijing in the strengthening of trade rules and …

The Syrian Democratic Forces’ recent campaign to conscript youth for military service is compounding economic hardship in Deir ez-Zor province, one of the poorest areas of Syria. In villages where the campaign is most active, young men are staying home for fear of arrest, forgoing daily wages and delaying grocery …

Some Hamas representatives claimed that they were warned by Israeli authorities against presenting their candidacy. Israel is trying to prevent Hamas from participating in the Palestinian parliamentary election, slated for May 22, Hamas officials said Tuesday.

Among the topics discussed in his visit were the threats being posed by Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies that have stationed themselves along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria. Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke about the ongoing threats posed by Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon in a Tuesday visit to the …

Former senior defense officials express support for Biden’s position not to lift Iran sanctions unless it returns to 2015 deal A group of former top officials from Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission, the IDF and the Mossad sent a letter on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing support for a …