August 9, 2021 Balkans, Eurasia
Την ώρα που γράφονται αυτές οι γραμμές (απόγευμα Τρίτης, 3 Αυγούστου) ολόκληρη η Αττική έχει σκεπαστεί από ένα μαύρο σύννεφο καπνού από την μεγάλη φωτιά της Βαρυμπόμπης. Μέχρι στιγμής, η πυρκαγιά μαίνεται ανεξέλεγκτη καταστρέφοντας δασικές εκτάσεις και κατοικίες, οδηγώντας σε εκτεταμένες εκκενώσεις οικισμών. Την ίδια στιγμή, βρίσκονται σε εξέλιξη πυρκαγιές …
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August 9, 2021 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Die politische Strategie ist alt: Die Feindschaft zum Westen und zu Israel soll von selbst gemachten Problemen ablenken. Dabei geht es nicht ohne Verhandlungen mit der EU. Der Ton ist gesetzt. Der Oberste Führer des Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hat zum Ausscheiden von Präsident Hassan Rohani und zur Übergabe an …
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August 9, 2021 Iran, Middle Orient
Ebrahim Raisi hat sein Amt als Präsident Irans angetreten. Er macht dem Volk viele Versprechen – doch eines ist nicht darunter. Wer ein hohes Staatsamt antritt, der stellt dem Volk gerne viel in Aussicht. Da macht auch Irans neuer Präsident keine Ausnahme. Die Wirtschaftskrise, Armut und Korruption – all jene …
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August 9, 2021 Eurasia, South East Asia
Whichever way one views China’s massive silo construction this year, it spells trouble. Recent discoveries of missile silo construction in China in 2021 have turned the international spotlight on Beijing’s nuclear ambitions. The findings (three so far) are all drawn from open-source commercial satellite imagery. They include 16 silos in …
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August 9, 2021 Afghanistan, South East Asia
Despite good intentions, the UK’s campaign in Afghanistan has ended in failure. Military deficiencies, a lack of a clear purpose and mission creep all had adverse effects on the British mission. There is anxiety in Whitehall about an Afghanistan inquiry. But this inquiry will not be like the 12-volume Chilcot …
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August 9, 2021 Afghanistan, Eurasia
The growing engagement of militias in the current fighting will not save the government in Kabul. Since the start of May, the Taliban have taken 211 district centres in Afghanistan, or about half the country in total, according to Taliban claims confirmed by local sources. Only a handful have been …
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August 9, 2021 Iran, Middle Orient
As conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi begins his presidency, what direction is Iran’s foreign policy likely to take? There are multiple ways to try to answer this fundamental question. One could, for instance, take a look at the individuals who are likely to advise Raisi on foreign policy issues. Judging by …
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August 9, 2021 Middle Orient
There is no doubt that the coup led by President Kais Saied in Tunisia has caused a major tremor in Arab societies yearning for freedom and democracy. They could smell the aroma of freedom from the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring. Tunisia gave them hope …
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August 9, 2021 South East Asia
The deployment of global green finance needs to be rapidly accelerated to close the massive infrastructure investment gap and to allow a transition to green forms of energy, transport, industry, urbanisation and agriculture. Yet so far, green finance lacks harmonised definitions on types of projects, disclosure requirements, impact thresholds and …
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August 9, 2021 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Israel’s defense minister warned on Thursday that his country is prepared to strike Iran, issuing the threat after a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker at sea that his nation blamed on Tehran. The comments by Benny Gantz come as Israel lobbies countries for action at the UN over …
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