July, 2021

• 26 July

  Putin warns of ‘unpreventable’ strikes by Russian navy

  

  The Russian president’s warning comes amid tensions between London and Moscow after a British warship entered waters close to Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that its navy is ready to carry out an “unpreventable strike” on enemy targets if it was in the country’s “national interests.” Putin …

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• 26 July

  Tunisia’s president accused of ‘coup’ after dismissing PM

  

  Tunisian president sacked PM Hicham Mechichi and suspended parliament after day of anti-government protests. Tunisia’s president has suspended parliament and dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi in a move condemned as an attack on democracy by his rivals but which others greeted with celebrations on the streets. President Kais Saied said …

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• 26 July

  Will Biden and Kadhimi Produce Platitudes on Iraq?

  

  At the White House on Monday, the Iraqi leader needs a guarantee that Biden won’t use Iraq’s independence as a pawn in negotiations with Iran. At a military parade in Baghdad in late June, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi saluted the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of largely Iranian-backed …

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• 26 July

  The Final Nail in the Coffin for Privacy? The Saga of the NSO Group’s Spyware

  

  An investigation revealed that spyware tools from Israeli-based surveillance firm NSO Group have been used to target political dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists. NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware tool is so sophisticated that it can defeat high-end encryption and security protocols of electronic devices. Prior to this week’s news reports, …

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• 26 July

  Operating in the Gray Zone: China’s Cyber Operations Call for a Unified Response

  

  The Biden administration responded to China’s aggressive cyber operations by “naming and shaming” Beijing in an attempt to confront the growing threat posed by criminal hackers. For China, cyberattacks are an asymmetric means of confronting the West while attempting to maintain a thinly veiled veneer of plausible deniability.

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• 26 July

  Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Counterterrorism and Peacekeeping in the Sahel

  

  The recent announcement by President Macron that France would end Operation Barkhane, its regional counterterrorism military operation in the Sahel, raises questions about the role of regional and international partners in countering the rising tide of jihadist violence in the region. At the July G5 Sahel summit, Macron further explained …

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• 26 July

  ‘Pegasus Project’ Uncovers a Privacy Nightmare

  

  Pegasus, military-grade spyware designed by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to track terrorists, was used to hack 37 smartphones of journalists, human rights activists and politicians, according to an investigation known as “The Pegasus Project” conducted by The Washington Post and 16 other news organizations led by the journalism …

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• 26 July

  Taliban active in Pakistan too, retain links with Al Qaeda

  

  New Delhi: Afghan Taliban and their local associates are active in Pakistan’s border regions, sources told VOA as Pakistan has acknowledged that bodies of militants killed in Afghanistan arrive in Pakistan, and wounded Taliban are treated in local hospitals. In a June 27 interview with Geo News, a local Pakistani …

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• 26 July

  Assad Clinging to Power in Syria with Iranian and Russian Assistance

  

  The re-election of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad illustrates the failure of Western policy thus far to achieve meaningful political change in Syria. Russia and Iran have benefitted strategically from their respective military support of the Assad government. The July 2021 renewal of a UN cross-border aid mechanism to opposition-held …

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• 26 July

  Головне питання. Що сталося з Байденом?

  

  Основний сюжет тижня — те, що відбувається у відносинах України, Німеччини та США в галузі будівництва Північного потоку-2. Україну, грубо кажучи, кинули американські й німецькі партнери Але є подальший розвиток у цього сюжету, який може вплинути на подальший хід подій. Видання Politico написало на цьому тижні, що Білий дім вимагає …

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