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Description: Defense officials from Europe, and the US attended the Shangri – La Defense Summit in Singapore where subjects such as the war in Ukraine and Chinese influence in the Indo – Pacific topped the agenda. Lithuania’s Defense Minister, Dovile Sakaliene, while speaking at the Summit, warned global leaders of the possible ramifications the war in Ukraine would have if and whether Russia prevails, while emphasizing the importance of the authoritarian axis formed between Russia, Iran, North Korea and China. French President Emmanuel Macron opened the Summit and while addressing defense officials he largely advocated for an enhanced European engagement in the Indo – Pacif
Description: Conservative right – wing Karol Nawrocki narrowly triumphed in the close presidential runoff election against the liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski. Nawrocki was briefly losing before the final vote count but managed to secure 50.89% of the votes as opposed to 49.11% of Trzaskowski. The closely monitored Polish presidential elections delivered a candidate which promised to make Poland more independent within the European Union as well as reinvigorated the political standing of the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS). The presidential function in Poland has a largely ceremonial role although the President is eligible to block key legislature and reforms wi
Description: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met his Syrian counterpart Asaad Al – Shibani in Damascus where they announced enhanced joint cooperation amid the lifting of Western sanctions. The meeting comes two days after Syria announced its government signed a cooperation agreement with a business consortium comprised of US, Turkish and Saudi companies for the restructuring of its electricity grid by developing a 5 thousand gas and solar power plants. Faisal announced that Saudi Arabia would be heavily involved in supporting the resuscitation of Syria’s public sector and infrastructure development as well as other forms of extended cooperation in sectors su
Description: The UN Security Council in a narrow vote approved the continuation of an arms embargo, prohibiting weapons exports to the country citing concerns over a potential civil war. Tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice – President Riek Machar escalated over the past couple of months which led to small scale confrontations between the White Army Militia loyal to Machar and government forces loyal to Kiir. Several African nations and local South Sudanese representatives deescalated the tensions but concerns over reigniting of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars persist. The initiative was pushed by the US which also issued travel bans and sanctions against the country
Description: Spokesperson for Hamas’ political bureau, Bassem Naim has stated that Hamas wanted reassurances and amendments to the US proposal for a ceasefire due to the biased nature of some points that have been previously agreed upon. Naim also stated that the current US proposal which offered a 60 – day hostilities cessation, exchange of hostages and prisoners and continued flow of aid in the Gaza Strip wasn’t in line with the ultimate goal of ending the war. Hamas has neither outrightly rejected nor accepted the ceasefire proposal further extending the humanitarian crisis and growing military offensive by Israel. Official press communique from the Israeli Prime Minister
Description: While attending the Shangri – La Defense Summit, Pakistan’s, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that a substantial military withdrawal has begun between Pakistan and India across all border regions. The countries were set upon a collision course due to the terrorist attack in the Pahalgam province which India blamed on Pakistani sponsored terrorist groups. The conflict escalated for a month, until backchanneled talks mediated by the US, yielded results and the confronting sides agreed to a ceasefire. General Mirza stated that Pakistan has begun its troop withdrawal from almost every region which marked a signifi
Description: US President Donald Trump has announced an increased arms package to Taiwan adding pressure to the already existing trade tensions and negotiations which have reportedly stalled. Taiwan earlier this year announced its intention to engage in a multibillion-dollar arms package with the US aiming to garner support from US President Trump and add to the military deterrent mechanisms against China. Chinese foreign officials have stated that the US is consistently sparking up new tensions by inciting Taiwan’s rearmament which China considers as part of its territory. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a different notion, announced that significant impasses have co
Description: The New York – based Court of International Trade (CIT) abruptly and unanimously blocked the effect of Trump’s tariffs on Wednesday. After the White House’s harsh reaction and the filing of an appeal before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, the tariffs remained in effect awaiting further legal proceedings. The CIT brought forward a unanimous decision to block the tariffs citing illegal overstepping of presidential jurisdictions to unilaterally impose tariffs and violations of the International Economics and Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) from 1977. CIT’s ruling was based on a filing from the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center and a small
Description: In line with recent information obtained from the fifth round of nuclear negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the media is speculating around a potential agreement and both countries were still actively negotiating. Araghchi dismissed the speculations by further stating that substantial progress has been made but the sides were not yet closing in on a final agreement. Recent propositions floated the idea of dispatching international inspectors from the IAEA and several countries from the Middle East, to monitor Iran’s nuclear compliance in return for the easement of sanctions which according to the Omani mediators represented a substa
Description: The Israeli government has officially approved the expansion of 22 new Israeli settlements in the West Bank as the US proposed a renewed ceasefire agreement. The initiative for the West Bank expansion was spearheaded by Israel’s far – right ministers of defense and finance, Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich and aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian statehood. The US ceasefire proposal was reportedly accepted by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet and included the release of 28 Israeli hostages in return for 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and a 60 – day cessation of hostilities with humanitarian aid still being supplied in Gaza. Hamas was reportedly c