Tag: Conflict

Macron’s explosive home front in the Gaza war

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PARIS  — In the days after Hamas struck Israel, French President Emmanuel Macron made a national address vowing his “unreserved solidarity” with Israel. 

A month later, he swerved to redress the balance, organizing a conference to support Gaza, joining calls for a cease-fire. In the days and months following Israel’s ground operation and airstrikes, Macron has amped up his support for Gaza, organizing aid airdrops with Jordan and even dispatching a helicopter carrier turned hospital ship to treat a trickle … Read more

What would open warfare between Israel and Iran look like? How tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes could spiral into full-scale conflict involving Tehran’s shady proxy forces and both sides trading long-range missile attacks

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The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attacks rocked the already precarious security landscape in the Middle East and stoked fears that violence could spread throughout the region.

Now that prospect seems increasingly likely, with the Islamic Republic vowing revenge on what it calls the ‘evil Zionist regime’ after a suspected IDF strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria killed 13 people, including two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds force generals. 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

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Why shiny, high-tech solutions won’t solve one of Africa’s worst crises

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Hainikoye hits Accept and a young woman greets him in Hausa, a gravelly language spoken across West Africa’s Sahel region. She has three new cows, and wants to know: Does he have advice on getting them through the lean season?

Hainikoye—a twentysomething agronomist who has “followed animals,” as Sahelians refer to herding, since he first learned to walk—opens an interface on his laptop and clicks on her village in southern Niger, where humped zebu roam the dipping hills and dried-up … Read more

The Road to 1948, and the Roots of a Perpetual Conflict

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One year matters more than any other for understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 1948, Jews realized their wildly improbable dream of a state, and Palestinians experienced the mass flight and expulsion called the Nakba, or catastrophe. The events are burned into the collective memories of these two peoples — often in diametrically opposed ways — and continue to shape their trajectories.

If 1948 was the beginning of an era, it was also the end of one — the period following

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The ‘dirty dozen’ of Davos – POLITICO

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It’s that time of year again: Leaders, business titans, philanthropists and celebs descend on the Swiss ski town of Davos to discuss the fate of the world and do deals/shots with the global elite at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

This year’s theme: “Rebuilding trust.” Prescient, given the dumpster fire the world seems to be turning into lately, both literally (climate change) and figuratively (where to

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Taiwan at election crossroads as war threat looms – POLITICO

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This story was originally published in German by WELT, a sister publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group.

Nate Lin wants to be prepared for war. 

On a Saturday morning in November, Lin, a 35-year-old Taiwanese man, practices how to apply a tourniquet to his right arm. In this fictive scenario, he’s been shot and is in danger of bleeding to death.

“It has to be pulled tighter to stop the bleeding,” warns the instructor.

It’s not the kind

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POLITICO Europe’s most-read stories of 2023 – POLITICO

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Well, here we are folks, at the end of another turbulent year.

When we put this list together at the end of 2022, its contents largely covered something many of us thought we would not see again in our lifetime: a major war in Europe. Now, we are grappling with two wars in our immediate neighborhood, as the slaughter drags on in Ukraine, and conflict rages between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In Ukraine, the long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia, which

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Migration is derailing leaders from Biden to Macron. Who’s next? – POLITICO

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BRUSSELS — Western leaders are grappling with how to handle two era-defining wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine. But there’s another issue, one far closer to home, that’s derailing governments in Europe and America: migration. 

In recent days, U.S. President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak all hit trouble amid intense domestic pressure to tackle immigration; all three emerged weakened

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The golden couple at the heart of Europe’s Qatargate scandal – POLITICO

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BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili and Francesco Giorgi had left nothing to chance.

The duo that would later become the most famous — many would say infamous — couple in the European Union capital had been gearing up for this moment for years.

As Qatar prepared to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were among the Gulf state’s fiercest advocates in Brussels, defending its record on human rights and fending off criticism of its treatment of migrant workers.

And now,

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How to Have a Healthy Argument

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I’ve heard of three Thanksgiving plans that got canceled because of disagreements over the Israel-Gaza War. In one case, over the past few weeks, a guy watched as his brother’s wife posted pictures of cease-fire rallies on Facebook. Finally he texted her: “So you love Hamas now?” She was horrified. After doing Thanksgiving together for two decades, they will not be continuing the tradition this year.

I could give you more examples of unproductive fights that ended plans, friendships, relationships,

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