Eurasia

The Madrid summit paved the way for Finland and Sweden to join and underscored that Russia is NATO’s chief security threat. But the alliance’s new defensive efforts aren’t likely to change Putin’s strategy in Ukraine. Moves by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) this week reportedly put the alliance on …

Various major Palestinian factions are working together on a new platform to challenge Fatah’s dominance of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh called June 19 for an agreement on a Palestinian strategy to overcome the internal division and build a national front that safeguards Palestinian principles and …

The raging war of words coincided with protracted diplomacy over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel has relentlessly criticized. Iran’s top nuclear negotiator and deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, issued a stern warning to Israel while talks over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal continued …

The Turkish government’s continued failure to stabilize the battered lira raises the prospect of inflation topping 100% in the fall. Consumer prices in Turkey rose 4.95% in June, bringing annual inflation to 78.6%, the highest reading since 1998, according to official data released Monday. The spiraling inflation — fueled mainly …

On his first trip abroad as prime minister, Yair Lapid met at the Elysée Palace in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran. Prime Minister Yair Lapid met a short while ago in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron. It was Lapid’s first official trip …

The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook paid over $20 million to the New York Times and $15 million to the Washington Post in annual fees. Even more valuable than the big checks was Facebook’s ability to push media content to its users. Last year, sources at several publishers were …

Various opinion polls put [Erdoğan’s] popularity at less than 30%, compared to the 52% with which he won re-election in 2018. Many Turks, although starving, are nevertheless proud that they have a leader who can confront the “infidel West” — including their traditional rival and neighbor, Greece. It is precisely …

When the inaugural BRIC summit took place in 2009, it was a moment of relative triumph for its members. While the West dealt with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — enjoyed temporary shelter from the turmoil. When South Africa …

In yet another sign of the Russian command’s efforts to make up for losses in the war in Ukraine, Russian military commissariats are recruiting “volunteers” to fight against Kyiv, volunteers who experience has shown the Russian army is far more likely to use as canon fodder than its own. Yevgeny …

Oil and gas workers at state giant Equinor are on strike in Norway, the largest producer of oil and gas in Western Europe. The strike is escalating Europe’s natural-gas crisis a week before a key pipeline with Russia shuts for maintenance. Benchmark Dutch natural gas futures surged 10% on Monday …