November, 2020

• 19 November

  China now has the nuclear strength to hit back at a first strike, former PLA colonel says

  China has spent the last two decades building defences for its nuclear armoury on land and at sea, ensuring that the military can hit back at a nuclear attack and deter others from launching one, according a former Chinese senior colonel.

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• 19 November

  Trump Administration Plans to Designate Yemen’s Houthis as Terrorists

  The Trump administration is preparing to designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi insurgents a terrorist organization before leaving office in January, fueling fears the move will disrupt international aid efforts and upend United Nations-brokered peace efforts between the Shiite movement and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, according to several diplomatic sources.

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• 19 November

  Trump to order troop reductions in Afghanistan, Iraq

  President Donald Trump is expected to cut a significant number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a smaller number in Iraq by the final days of his presidency, U.S. officials said Monday. The plan would run counter to military commanders’ advice over the past year, while still falling short of …

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• 19 November

  Dermer: Rejoining the nuclear agreement with Iran is ‘a mistake’

  “The first thing I would say to the incoming administration is sit with your allies in the region,” Israel’s ambassador said. If President-elect Joe Biden decides to join the nuclear deal with Iran, “it would be a mistake,” Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer said Monday.

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• 19 November

  IEDs found near border with Syria

  Explosive devices were in Israeli territory, close to location where IDF foiled terror attack in the summer. The IDF has found improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Israeli territory near the border with Syria in the southern Golan Heights, the military said on Tuesday.

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• 19 November

  Did Russia miscalculate in recent Azerbaijan-Armenia clashes?

  Russia has behaved throughout the conflict like it had other important issues to deal with. Russia brokered the end of fighting in Nagorna-Karabakh last week in a deal that will see many Armenians leaving their homes and areas handed over to Azerbaijan. It is a humiliating defeat for Armenia, a …

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• 19 November

  How did Iran, al-Qaeda end up in bed together?

  The wild world of intelligence: Were Jerusalem, Tehran both side shows in the latest attack that took out Abu Muhammad al-Masri? Sunnis hate Shi’ites, and Shi’ites hate Sunnis – for around 1,400 years.Never the twain shall meet.

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• 19 November

  How Trump’s team appeased Turkey up until its final months in office

  Trump’s State Department finally turns on Turkey after years of misleading its own partners, potentially trying to sabotage Biden as he comes into office. The US administration of President Donald Trump enabled Turkey to invade Afrin in Syria where 150,000 Kurds were ethnically cleansed in 2018 and then followed up …

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• 19 November

  Trump can help Israel against Iran in final months – analysis

  It’s likely that the US and Israel have something up their sleeves that can’t be mentioned. When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his trip to the region last week, State Department officials said his stop in Israel from Wednesday to Friday will be on “a variety of issues, …

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• 19 November

  Israel, EU discuss possible rail between Mediterranean and Gulf states

  The discussion came after Israel recently signed historic deals to normalize ties with Gulf states Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Israel and the European Union (EU) have launched talks to deepen economic cooperation and discussed the possibility of creating a new trade corridor between the east Mediterranean and Gulf …

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