Last chance for Angela Merkel

Germany's European Union presidency began yesterday. Given Chancellor Angela Merkel will quit politics in October 2021, she is likely to have a desire to make significant moves in the next six months to leave a lasting mark on European politics.


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Last chance for Angela Merkel
3 crucial points in the Libyan crisis

3 crucial points in the Libyan crisis

After Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) – with Turkish military support – launched Operation Volcano of Rage against putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar and his militias, conditions on the ground changed dramatically.


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History states that the Rohingya represent a distinct ethnic community that has evolved over the centuries in the Rakhine state of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Once, the Rohingya were a predominant feature of socio-political life in the country, yet successive military governments in Myanmar have consistently carried out a well-crafted coordinated campaign of brutal persecution and the dehumanization of the community – presumably with a view to wiping it out entirely.

After a long COVID-19 interval, the two U.S. presidential candidates launched their campaigns and started to meet voters. Trump campaign prefers to organize large rallies in the battleground states, despite a rise in the number of COVID-19 infections there. Joe Biden's campaign, on the other hand, chose to organize small gatherings as per social distancing rules and broadcast the former vice president's remarks online.

The Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) opponents suffer from a common condition: failing to understand the nature of power, no matter how hard they try. They cannot grasp the practice of seizing and preserving political power with an eye on internal and external factors. For a long time, I attributed that shortcoming to the opposition’s prolonged lack of proximity to power. I imagined that they simply had no experience with the difficulty of striking a healthy balance between the development and implementation of policy and the generation of legitimacy needed to maintain one’s power. I was obviously aware that their commitment to neo-nationalist, Kemalist and leftists ideologies effectively blinded them, perpetuating their weakness.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have launched two operations, Claw Tiger and Claw Eagle, which constitute some of the broadest cross-border military operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq in recent years.

Macron's damage to NATO and EU

Tensions between Turkey and France have escalated over Libya. The latter is part of a group of countries infuriated by putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s most recent military defeats. Having failed to stop a Turkish vessel en route to Tripoli, Paris now seeks to limit Ankara’s room to maneuver through the European Union and NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his government would not allow Turkey’s “dangerous game” in Libya, as his foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, urged the EU to discuss the future of its relationship with the Turks “with nothing ruled out, without being naive.” He attempted to justify his call with reference to the organization’s own interests.


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Macron's damage to NATO and EU
COVID-19 and Floyd riots Trump's reelection is at risk

COVID-19 and Floyd riots: Trump's reelection is at risk

Last week U.S. President Donald Trump officially launched his presidential campaign by speaking in different rallies in Oklahoma, Arizona and Wisconsin.


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As the Libyan putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar grows weaker, his sponsors begin to speak louder. Building on angry statements from Greece and France, Egypt raised the ante by taking a fresh step. That country’s usurper president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, declared an attack on Sirte and Jufra a "red line" for Cairo and threatened to "directly intervene" in Libya.

West needs greater understanding of pluralism, says Muslim scholar, illustrating Islamophobia across world

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's latest comments on the Libyan crisis have led to a discussion of the Egyptian state. Many observers began to rethink the perception and power of Egypt over the last seven decades. Most observers agree that el-Sissi has downgraded the position of Egypt. After the military coup in 2013 – which brought el-Sissi to power – Egypt transformed into a sub-contractor of two ambitious Gulf monarchies, namely the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Ankara’s intervention in Libya fueled a fresh debate in European and Middle Eastern capitals on Turkey's role in the world. Reflecting the view that Turkey has evolved into a more powerful player, that discussion has two dimensions: First, it concentrates on the concrete shifts in the balance of power in Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean. At the same time, it is a propaganda war with lots of speculation about "real" intentions. It would be impossible to make sense of Turkey’s most recent moves, capabilities and objectives without distinguishing those two aspects.