December, 2020

• 21 December

  Is America on the Verge of Winning in Syria?

  As the Biden team begins its work next month, it needs to reassess American policy in Syria, Robert Ford, former U.S. Ambassador to Damascus writes Last week a senior official from the US Department of State told a congressional committee that the enduring defeat of ISIS (or Da’esh) in Syria, …

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• 21 December

  China, Russia extend agreement on notifications of launches of ballistic missiles and space missile carriers

  Approved by the heads of state of China and Russia, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a video conference and signed a Protocol on the extension of the agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the …

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• 21 December

  Russian Officials, State Media Tight-Lipped On Report FSB Agents Poisoned Navalny

  Russian state media has been slow to react to a detailed investigation reportedly showing that Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny was poisoned by members of the Federal Security Service (FSB), raising questions about whether authorities have been caught off guard.

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• 21 December

  Russian Influence in the Mediterranean

  Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in comments at the MED Dialogue, accused the United States of playing political games in the Mediterranean and stalling the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Libya. It’s unfortunate and unhelpful that Mr. Lavrov again gets the …

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• 21 December

  Israel-Hamas contacts advance on prisoner exchange

  Contradicting reports have emerged about talks for an Israel-Hamas prisoner-exchange deal after an Egyptian delegation visited Gaza last week. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported this morning that Israel proposed a deal in which Israel would release hundreds of security prisoners in exchange for returning of bodies of two IDF soldiers …

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• 21 December

  UN: Libya’s rivals fail to agree on how to name government

  U.N. acting envoy for Libya Stephanie Williams says the country’s rivals have failed to agree on a mechanism to choose a transitional government that would lead the conflict-stricken country to elections in December next year.

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• 21 December

  Netanyahu taps Mossad's deputy chief as intelligence agency's next head

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced on Tuesday he has decided to appoint Mossad’s Deputy Director D. as the next chief of the clandestine intelligence agency. D. is considered a protégé of current Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and has spent his entire military career in the intelligence agency as part …

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• 21 December

  The Brexit Blame Game

  Both the UK and the EU are engaged in a game of brinkmanship, amounting to a kind of shadow theatre— neither wants to shoulder the blame for the UK’s exit from the EU without a trade deal between the two. The stakes are higher for the UK.

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• 21 December

  We Have a Fascism Problem

  To admit the truth about Trump and authoritarianism then means they have to do something about it. Many people do not want to take that leap. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, July 23, 2020

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• 21 December

  Israel-Tunisia normalization ‘not on the agenda,’ Tunisian PM says

  Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that he respects Morocco’s choice to recognize the Jewish state but that Tunisia is not considering doing the same. Tunisia has no plans to follow Morocco’s lead and normalize relations with Israel, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said Monday.

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