TimeLine Layout

May, 2024

  • 12 May

    Iran’s new nuclear policy between deterrence and pragmatism

    The recent escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran has sparked concerns about a potential shift in Tehran’s strategy toward full weaponization of its nuclear program. On April 14, in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed seven Iranians, including Quds …

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  • 12 May

    Why did China host unity talks between Fatah and Hamas?

    Last month, China hosted closed-door meetings in Beijing between representatives of the Palestinian political parties Fatah and Hamas to push towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation and a united Palestinian leadership. While details of the meetings have been kept under wraps, leaks indicate that Azzam al-Ahmad headed Fatah’s delegation and Mousa Abu Marzook …

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  • 12 May

    Ecocide in Gaza: The environmental impact of Israel’s war

    In the place of orchards, sandy beaches, and strawberry fields that were once the pride of Gazans, the coastal territory is now a dystopian landscape of military bases, craters, and ruins. “In northern Gaza, two-thirds of the land was agricultural – now there’s nothing left,” says Samar Safiya, a Gazan …

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  • 12 May

    Austrian Mystery Villas Owned by Former Romantic Partner of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Eduard Khudainatov

    Four luxurious properties were purchased by Khudainatov’s longtime partner for a total of 26 million euros. A longtime romantic partner of Eduard Khudainatov, a Kremlin-linked Russian oil boss placed under sanctions by the European Union in June 2022, owns four villas in an upscale Austrian ski town, reporting by paper …

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  • 12 May

    Infrastructure Is Remaking Geopolitics

    How Power Flows From the Systems That Connect the World Falling water levels in Panama’s Gatún Lake. A cyberattack on a payment platform. An earthquake disrupting silicon-chip production in Taiwan. Elon Musk deciding which countries have access to the Internet. At first glance, these things have nothing in common other …

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  • 12 May

    What Hamas Wants in Postwar Gaza

    The Power to Fight Without the Burden of Governing On May 6, in an effort to forestall an all-but-certain Israeli operation in Rafah, Hamas leaders said that they might be prepared to accept a hostage-for-prisoners agreement with Israel. Coming after weeks of stonewalling by Hamas, the announcement raised hopes in …

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  • 12 May

    The nuclear fatwa that wasn’t—how Iran sold the world a false narrative

    “The idea struck me to introduce the concept of a fatwa [during the 2004 nuclear] negotiations. There was no coordination [in advance],” Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator at the time recounted eight years after the incident. This was nothing short of a stroke of genius in shaping a false narrative about …

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  • 12 May

    The Message Europe Should Take From Xi’s Visit – OpEd

    Was Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years a success? It certainly appeared that Xi’s visits to France, Serbia and Hungary, which had both a trade and a political agenda, were successful for the Chinese leader. Can we say the same for France, the EU or Europe? Well, …

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  • 12 May

    Democracy Digest: A Dictator and a Holocaust Denier Walk into a Budapest Bar…

    Elsewhere, Czechia looks to toughen up EU migration pact as Hungary and Poland vote against it; EU Commission president visits Poland to talk defence; and hundreds of Slovak schools receive emails with bomb threats. In the same week that Chinese President Xi Jinping came to town, another less-heralded visitor to …

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  • 10 May

    Iran Update, May 9, 2024

    Israeli forces are re-clearing parts of the northern Gaza Strip, demonstrating that Hamas remains active beyond just Rafah.[i] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a clearing operation into Zaytoun neighborhood, southern Gaza City, on May 8, marking the third time that the IDF has conducted a clearing operation there.[ii] The …

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