Eurasia

Bottom Line Up Front The domestic challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and social unrest in the United States are necessitating Trump administration adjustments to policy in the Middle East. The twin crises are likely to limit the Trump administration’s willingness to address tensions with any of its regional adversaries. …

Bottom Line Up Front In this photo taken from video is Abdelmalek Droukdel. The French military and allied forces in Mali killed the longtime leader of al-Qaida’s North African arm, who commanded jihadists in his native Algeria and then spread their movement across Africa’s Sahel region, France’s defense minister said …

The RSC plan also advocates that Congress impose further new sanctions on “Iran’s petrochemical, shipping, financial, construction and automotive sectors.” Legislation would also target “Iran’s human rights violations and regional aggression, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. And it suggests sanctioning the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), …

Plans to socially re-arrange poor ‘non-Western’ neighbourhoods are jeopardizing Denmark’s reputation as a socially responsible country, Jamila Versi, from the Almen Modstand group says.

In 2018, Albanian authorities said they had busted an organised crime group with tentacles reaching across Europe. Then a newly-created team of special prosecutors backtracked.

An improvised bomb found last week strapped to a teddy bear in the Libyan capital featured a mortar shell produced last year in Serbia. Despite an arms embargo, Serbian weapons are still finding their way to the North African country.

It may seem obvious, with double-digit unemployment and plunging economic output. But if there was any remaining doubt that the U.S. is in a recession, it’s now been removed by the official scorekeepers at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kosovo Tensions continued between caretaker PM Kurti and President Thaçi following collapse of Kurti’s govt in late March and Thaçi’s April nomination of former Deputy PM Avdullah Hoti to form new govt.

Anti-government protest in Lebanon turns violent, with skirmishes also reported between police and demonstrators.

Once again, and despite the dangers, Lebanese protesters have taken to the streets. Although limited in numbers, it is the first time they have stood so close to the presidential palace in Beirut and the first time they have openly requested the full respect of the constitution. Indeed, a few …