May 30, 2021 South East Asia
The diplomatic row between China and Bangladesh that ensued last week highlights China’s fears about the potential of a “Quad Plus.” The Quad worries China and may explain why Beijing has forcefully attempted to dissuade other Asian states from joining the budding alliance. Bangladesh’s geostrategic position in Asia makes the …
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May 30, 2021 Afghanistan, India, South East Asia
India is hardly in a position to assert on the Afghan chessboard… The bottom line is that New Delhi is highly unlikely to do anything that may undermine the US strategy in Afghanistan, which, incidentally, also has an “Indo-Pacific” dimension to it… New Delhi selectively intensifies its engagement with those …
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May 30, 2021 Middle Orient
The U.N. Human Right Council has passed a resolution aimed to intensify scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, after the U.N. rights chief said Israeli forces may have committed war crimes in their war with Hamas. The 11-day conflict killed at least 248 in Gaza, including 66 children and 39 …
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May 30, 2021 Africa, Eurasia
Cairo is ramping up pressure on Addis Ababa again in tandem with Khartoum’s forces. Egypt and Sudan held joint military drills in Sudan this week amid reports that Ethiopia had begun a second filling of its controversial Nile dam. Egyptian ground, naval and air forces, including special forces and paratroopers, …
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May 30, 2021 Africa, Middle Orient
Egypt, which brokered last week’s cease-fire that ended hostilities and between Israel and Hamas and also hosted Palestinian reconciliation talks earlier this year, hopes it can help put in place a long-term truce. Egypt is working to broker an additional agreement between Israel and Hamas following the recent fighting. Israeli …
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May 30, 2021 Middle Orient
Amid protests demanding justice after a series of assassinations, Iraqi security forces have arrested the commander of one prominent militant faction. A day after a major protest demanding greater accountability in Iraq, especially as concerns the unsolved murders of several activists, the commander of a faction affiliated with the Popular …
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May 30, 2021 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The EU has long played an active role in seeking an end to Israeli-Palestinian hostilities. Why has it lost this role? The European Union was once viewed as an important and credible actor in the Middle East, even a potential counterweight to the United States. No longer. During the recent …
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May 30, 2021 Middle Orient
The IDF worries about the simultaneous speeches this week of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas Gaza commander Yahya Sinwar, as both groups could launch simultaneous and coordinated attacks against Israel Israeli media described the two-hour address delivered May 25 by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as the “coughing speech.” Right …
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May 30, 2021 Balkans, Middle Orient
The synergies between the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean theaters have grown substantially in recent years. Speaking at a meeting in Paphos, Cyprus in mid-April 2021 with his counterparts from Greece and Israel, as well as the former minister of state for foreign affairs of the UAE (now an advisor …
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May 30, 2021 Balkans
Croatia will procure 12 used French F3R Rafale fighter jets to modernise the country’s airforce, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced on Friday. “This is the largest investment in the Croatian Armed Forces, the largest investment in ensuring lasting peace and the security of Croatian citizens,” the Prime Minister said referencing …
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