February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The US is edging closer to war with Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state security agency composed of armed groups, some of which are close to Iran, but which for the main are Iraqi nationalists. The US carried out a drone strike in Baghdad, Wednesday that killed three members of …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia
The debate over U.S. foreign aid is a distraction. That’s not to say that the amount of taxpayer money flowing to foreign countries in the form of military and economic assistance is insignificant. Even at less than 1% of the federal budget, the United States still spends more on foreign …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia
The United States (US) Congress is currently facing an unprecedented strain, primarily due to the ongoing tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats on a range of issues, spanning from domestic politics to international and geopolitical matters. Importantly, domestic issues now seem inseparably hyphenated with US national security and international politics. In …
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February 15, 2024 Albania, Balkans, Eurasia
Edi Rama’s justification for the migrant deal with Rome – that Albanians owe Italy a historic ‘debt’ to Italy – is based on a misreading of history. The protocols signed by Albanian PM Edi Rama and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni last November by which the government in Tirana will allow Italy …
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February 15, 2024 Africa, Eurasia
A few years ago, while reporting in Gaza, I paid a visit to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Mohammed, my fixer, wasn’t keen. The guards there, he explained, were unfriendly. Sometimes they’d fire in the air if people approached; other times they’d shoot to kill. Beatings or at least …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
On February 9, 2024, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his army would advance into Rafah, the last remaining city in Gaza not occupied by the Israelis. Most of the 2.3 million Palestinians who live in Gaza had fled to its southern border with Egypt after being told by …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
In multiple statements over the past 24 hours, US officials have made clear that they will take no action against Israel no matter how many civilians it massacres in its planned assault on Rafah, where one million displaced people are sheltering. These statements effectively give Israel a blank check to …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Ukraine says Russian troops are being trained on the use of Iranian drones at the Shayrat airfield in Syria’s western province of Homs. At the same time, Syria has extended permission for the United Nations to deliver aid to opposition-held areas in the northwest of the country via two Turkish …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Militants from the Islamic State group attacked military barracks in central Syria, while Deir-ez-Zor witnessed clashes between Kurdish forces and arab tribes. Missile attacks on US base in Syria Iranian-backed groups launched missile attacks on a US base on the west bank of the Euphrates River in Syria, MEMO reported. …
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February 15, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Explosions have been reported near a US army base in Syria following an attack linked to retaliatory US airstrikes against Iranian-aligned groups and their positions. Meanwhile, the United Nations and human rights organizations have called for increased aid for Syria, one year after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and the …
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