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Israel warns Hamas to stay out of Gaza conflict with Islamic Jihad

Shortly after striking and killing three Islamic Jihad seniors, Israel sent Gaza-based Hamas warnings to stay out of the expected conflagration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned citizens Tuesday evening that the expected conflagration with Gaza-based Islamic Jihad might last several days and extend to more than one arena. Israel …

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Germany arrests two suspected Hezbollah members over ‘recruiting activities’

Germany designated the Lebanese militant group a terror organization in 2020 and has seen its relations with Iran sour in the last year. German authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of two suspected members of the Lebanese Iran-funded Hezbollah group, which Germany designated a terror organization in 2020. The German …

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Iran increases trade with BRICS including China, as it eyes to join bloc

Iran has seen a 14% year-on-year increase in non-oil trade with members of the five-state alliance, which includes Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. Iran has been ramping up trade with members of the BRICS group, as Tehran looks to join the five-nation alliance that is often seen as …

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Can Russian Overseas Publishing Emulate Its Cold War Success?

The publication of Russian-language writers abroad is unlikely to be very successful in the long term. An author’s main objective is to be read, and that is more easily accomplished inside Russia. One of the phenomena spawned by the Cold War era was tamizdat: the publication, free from censorship, of …

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Yes, Erdogan’s rule might actually end this weekend

Can elections remove an autocrat like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power? If you pose this question to Turkey watchers in Western capitals to get their take on the country’s upcoming election, you will get a resounding “no” from a significant number of them. Some will say Erdogan is …

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Turkey’s 2023 Elections: Perspectives on a Critical Vote

It is a cliché for politicians to claim that an upcoming election is the most critical vote in the history of the country. In Turkey’s case, however, the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14 are indeed the most consequential ever. The prospects for Turkey’s democratic future are at stake. …

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How to Spot an Autocrat’s Economic Lies

In China and Elsewhere, Forget the Numbers—Look at the Lights Winston Smith, the protagonist of George Orwell’s 1984, spends his days as an employee at the Ministry of Truth adjusting documents to conform to the fluctuating political needs of Big Brother’s regime. “Who controls the past controls the future, who …

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Beyond Ukraine’s Offensive

The West Needs to Prepare the Country’s Military for a Long War As the Russian winter offensive reaches its culmination, Ukraine is poised to seize the initiative. In the coming weeks, it plans to conduct an offensive operation, or series of offensives, that may prove decisive in this phase of …

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Why Is Pakistan Moving Towards A Failed State? Drastic Structural Reforms Are Required – OpEd

During the Second World War, the allied powers of the US, former Soviet Union, Great Britain, Germany, and France, being eminent winners in the war, laid the foundation of the United Nations and made international arrangements at the end of colonialism. Consequently, post-colonial nations emerged, and geographical boundaries were drawn …

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Will The US And Turkmenistan Finally Grow Closer? – Analysis

In April 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Rasit Meredow, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkmenistan for a working meeting in Washington, D.C. The meeting followed the Blinken-Meredow meeting at the U.S.-Central Asia (C5+1) ministerial meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan in February 2023. The U.S. statement on …

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