Lebanon’s foreign minister summoned the German ambassador on Tuesday to explain Berlin’s decision last week to ban the Shi’ite Hezbollah movement on its soil.
Read More »Freedom House Drops Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro From List Of Democracies
In its latest report, U.S.-based democracy monitor Freedom House warns of a “stunning democratic breakdown” across Central Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia as many leaders in the region attempt to do away with any remaining checks on their power.
Read More »Captured Mercenary Admits Plans to Kidnap Venezuela's Maduro, Take Him to US on Plane
The Venezuelan military thwarted an attempted naval invasion by heavily-armed mercenaries coming from Colombia on Sunday morning, neutralizing multiple fighters and capturing at least two US nationals among them. More mercenaries have surrendered in the days since.
Read More »Russian ‘Murder Plot’ Strains Czech Diplomatic Ties
A briefcase stuffed with ricin… Mayors under police protection… An alleged Russian assassination plot has thrown Czech foreign policy into turmoil. Reports that Russian assassins are targeting Czechs politicians may sound like the plot of a classic Cold War thriller, but they are the product of a very contemporary tussle.
Read More »Violence and Hunger Stalk Refugees and Migrants in Albania
Dozens of refugees and migrants trying to cross Albania have been reduced to begging for food on the streets of Tirana, victims of gang violence and under-funding at a state-run reception centre.
Read More »China’s Balkan Investments Are Paradoxically Speeding Region’s EU Integration
If the EU suddenly seems more interested than it was in integrating the Western Balkans, it is partly because the expansion into the region by large regional powers such as China has got Brussels worried.
Read More »Poland Postpones Presidential Election
After weeks of infighting and controversial efforts to organise a postal ballot during the pandemic, Poland’s ruling coalition has agreed not to hold the vote this Sunday.
Read More »Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda
The Islamic State used this banner in a recent issue of its Al-Naba newsletter, as well as online, to advertise its latest attack on Al-Qaeda. On April 29, the Islamic State’s “province” (wilayah) in Yemen released a lengthy video that is intended to undermine al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy within the jihadists’ …
Read More »Collecting and analyzing Shiite militia attacks against the U.S. presence in Iraq
There is a growing consensus that attacks against U.S. facilities and personnel in Iraq by Iran-backed Shiite Militia Groups (SMGs) are increasingly becoming a “new normal.” These attacks ebb and flow pursuant to several political conditions, some of which remain outside the control of the U.S. Having both quantitative and …
Read More »Trump Nominee to Lead US Intelligence Promises 'Unvarnished Truth'
More than eight months after he was first tapped to lead U.S. intelligence efforts, Congressman John Ratcliffe repeatedly pledged to skeptical lawmakers that he would abandon partisan politics and provide the president and top policymakers the “unvarnished truth,” no matter what they wanted to hear.
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