What does the latest Brexit delay mean for the UK and EU?
The UK Government and the EU have agreed a third extension of the Article 50 period. The latest extension was confirmed on 29 October, two days before the scheduled Brexit deadline of 31 October. This Insight discusses how the decision was reached, what was agreed, and implications for the UK’s ongoing EU membership. How was […]
Brexit: revised Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration report published by Committee
The House of Lords EU Select Committee has today published its report on the revised EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration on future UK-EU relations ahead of House of Lords consideration of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which starts on Monday 13 January. Report: Brexit: revised Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (HTML) Report: Brexit: revised Withdrawal […]
NATO: Fit for the Future
At the end of 2018, I met with our troops during Trident Juncture, NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War. Over 50,000 men and women came from across Europe and North America to take part. They moved heavy equipment – 65 ships, 250 aircraft and 10,000 land vehicles – across borders at record speed. They […]
Trump administration expected to approve Israel annexing areas of West Bank
John T Bennet – White House officials and senior lawmakers are operating under the assumption that Israel will soon begin annexing areas of the West Bank, according to a Senate source familiar with recent conversations. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, Donald Trump‘s son-in-law and top Middle East peace envoy, briefed senators on Wednesday behind closed doors about efforts between […]
Models of Integration in Europe
Immigration integration “models” are inseparable from types of State European Issue n°449 = It has been customary since the 1980’s to associate the idea of integration with that of a “model”, as if each country had a specific “pattern” when dealing with its immigrants. This notion is not unfounded, although it leads to simplified, partially […]
Egypt and Turkey’s energy face-off in the Mediterranean
by Rasha Mahmoud is an Egyptian journalist, scriptwriter and filmmaker. She has worked for Anadolu Agency, HuffPost and Huna Sotak. The US Geological Survey estimates there to be 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves in the Mediterranean’s Leviathan Basin, and the countries in the region are on a quest to acquire what they consider their rightful share. The competition over gas resources expanded in mid-February when Egyptian announced an agreement with US-based Chevron and […]
The growing threat of ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Africa
By the Newafricanmagazine – From the Sahel to Mozambique, terror attacks by groups affiliated to ISIS and Al-Qaeda have been on the increase in recent years. Al Venter takes a detailed look what is happening in the terror hotspots and how African countries and their allies are responding to the problem Colonel Alain Bayle, erstwhile French military […]
Isis and al-Qaeda join forces in West Africa
By Danielle Paquette and Joby Warrick – Groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, at war with each other in the Middle East, are working together to take control of territory across a vast stretch of West Africa, US and local officials say, sparking fears the regional threat could grow into a global crisis. Fighters appear […]
UN envoy: Impact of long Libya war on civilians ‘incalculable’
by Aljazeera – The impact of Libya’s nine-year war on civilians is “incalculable”, a UN official has said, with rising casualties and nearly 900,000 people now needing assistance. Yacoub El Hillo said on Monday a 55-point road map for ending the war in Libya – agreed to by 12 key leaders at a conference in Berlin on […]
Sudan: security firm’s ‘victims’ call on UAE to issue apology
By MEMO – Dozens of Sudanese workers who signed contracts with a UAE company have handed over a petition to the Council of Ministers demanding the government to request an official and public apology from the government in Abu Dhabi in addition to the total restitution of the victims’ rights, Anadolu Agency has reported. The workers had […]
Saudi-led coalition announces ceasefire in five-year Yemen war
DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Wednesday it was halting military operations nationwide in support of U.N. efforts to end a five-year war that has killed tens of thousands and spread hunger and disease.FILE PHOTO: A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering […]
Esper’s dark vision for US-China conflict makes war more likely
By: Bonnie Kristian for Defensenews.com – The Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban may not successfully bring our war in Afghanistan to a close. Some number of U.S. forces will remain on open-ended counterterrorism missions, their presence in harm’s way creating a constant risk of escalation, and a lot could change in the “many months” that […]
NATO Public Diplomacy partners with the Fulbright
This new programme’s aim is to foster awareness and understanding of NATO and promote debate on security and defence on a transatlantic level. International scholars apply annually via the Fulbright Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). The Fulbright Commission in Brussels and the NATO Public Diplomacy Division will review applications together. NATO’s Assistant Secretary […]
Estonian companies to develop a NATO cyber platform
The Tallinn-based companies, Guardtime and Cyber Technologies, will develop an automated command and development platform for the NATO Cyber Range. By Silver Tambur – The Estonian Centre for Defence Investment has signed an agreement with Guardtime and GT Cyber Technologies for the companies to develop over four years an automated command and development platform for the NATO […]
Obstacles to a Pan-European Army
Rapidly Increasing European Defense Capabilities By By Maxwell Zhu – American leadership and NATO have been the linchpin of European defense since the end of the Cold War, but the Trump administration’s actions have irrevocably damaged this relationship. President Trump has repeatedly and publicly called out European contributions to NATO, seriously considered withdrawing the United States from NATO, and has […]
How the coronavirus affects NATO and security
Militaries will have to strike a delicate balance between juggling domestic obligations and external security threats. By Luke Coffey – The rapid spread of the coronavirus has dominated news headlines all around the world. Tragic images and heartbreaking stories emerging from places like China, South Korea, Iran and Italy have started to focus on governments […]
The UN Won’t Save Idlib. The EU and NATO Can.
By Sinan Ülgen – In its latest convulsion, the war in Syria has produced its biggest humanitarian calamity yet. But the world’s attention is focused elsewhere. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military operation targeting Idlib, in the northwest of the country, has uprooted more than 900,000 civilians—the majority of them women and children—according to United Nations […]
A Post-Brexit Europe in a New Decade
By Judy Dempsey – For Carnegieeurope – “Get Brexit done” was the slogan that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative party pitched during a short election campaign. Yes, he won what he wanted: a parliamentary majority. His interlocutors in Brussels and the other EU member states are relieved. Brexit was becoming a distraction for a European Union […]
Europe and NATO’s Shame Over Syria and Turkey
JUDY DEMPSEY – Maybe Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was right. In October 2019, the German defense minister suggested the creation of an internationally controlled security zone along the Turkey-Syria border, which could be led by NATO. It would have provided some kind of safe haven. It would have also addressed some of Turkey’s security concerns. Nothing came of her proposals, […]
Virus Fears Spread at Camps for ISIS Families in Syria’s North East
Crisis Group – When someone dies at al-Hol, a detention camp in north-eastern Syria that holds mostly women and children related to ISIS militants, the blame turns rapidly to COVID-19. Fears are mounting about the illness, even though there are no confirmed cases, and even though untimely death is already common, due to harsh living […]
Europe’s Absence in the Middle East
By Judy Dempsey For Carnegie Europe- When the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the European Union clinched a deal with Iran on its nuclear program in 2015, there were some hopes that the agreement would usher in a period of stability in the Middle East. But when Donald Trump was elected U.S. […]
Europe and the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Middle East
By Rusi – Tobias Borck– As Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, governments on the continent have closed borders and turned inwards, scrambling to curb the outbreak and minimise the economic fallout. The crisis is raising big questions about European solidarity, while pushing other matters such as the negotiations about the future […]
Ravaged by war, Middle Eastern countries face a new scourge
CAIRO — When Dr. Ismail al-Mansouri goes to work in Yemen’s capital, he puts on one of the hospital’s few pairs of medical gloves. Then he enters a cramped clinic teeming with listless patients, many malnourished, some vomiting, others with diarrhea. Al-Mansouri, a pediatrician, has been struggling for years to battle the rapid spread of […]
US wages endless war on terror, but fails in war on coronavirus
From MEE – The United States built an entire infrastructure to counter terrorism and criminalise Muslim communities, spending nearly $6.4 trillion in wars that killed half a million people since 2001. In contrast, there has been little focus on preparing the country for the Covid-19 pandemic. This begs the question: what is the bigger threat? The world has been gripped by Covid-19, especially […]
Human Rights and Democracy: striving for dignity and equality around the world
From the European Commission– Today, the European Commission and the High Representative set out the priorities and way ahead on Human rights and Democracy, adopting a Joint Communication and the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for 2020-2024. Further, they put forward a joint proposal to the Council to act by qualified majority […]
The Coronavirus in Europe: From Lockdowns to Power Grabs
By Amy Braun schweiger, and Hugh Williamson of HRW – The coronavirus has rapidly spread through Italy and Spain, making them two of the world’s COVID-19 hot spots. Elsewhere in Europe, the Hungarian government has used the virus as an excuse to grab power, and other governments are using it to target critics. Human Rights Watch’s Europe and […]
HRW: Wider Steps Needed to Protect Prisoners’ Health in Italy
Fatima Burhan, Research Assistant, Europe & Central Asia – HRW – With news that four prisoners in Italy tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bolder steps to protect the health of detainees and guards and alleviate overcrowding in its penitentiary system are all the more urgent. On March 16, the government […]
HRW: Qatar: Protect Migrant Workers During Pandemic
(Beirut) – Qatari authorities should ensure that migrant workers receive adequate protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, a coalition of 16 nongovernmental organizations and trade unions said in a letter on March 31, 2020 to Qatar’s prime minister and interior minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani. The groups include Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Migrant-Rights.org. While acknowledging the positive […]
HRW: Gulf States: Ease Immigration Detention in Pandemic
(Beirut) – People in immigration detention in Gulf countries pending deportation should be given alternatives to detention amid health risks and global travel restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries should also curb arrests of undocumented migrants, including of workers who “abscond;” lift any overstay fines; and […]
Domestic Workers in Middle East Risk Abuse Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Rothna Begum Senior Researcher, Women’s Rights Division – HRW -Governments around the world have imposed restrictions on movements of citizens to counter the threat of COVID-19 and limit its spread. But for millions of Asian and African migrant domestic workers in the Middle East, these important safeguards also increase the risk of serious abuse. I […]
