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Defense & Security

Moldova: Engaging neighbors, not just Global powers

In this era of Great Power competition, or Cold War 2.0, there are a plethora of analyses and commentaries about evolving geopolitical affairs, including...

NATO shifts into high gear at 2025 Hague Summit

Many are calling the June 24-25 NATO Summit in the Hague “the Trump Summit,” noting it was “historic” and “transformational.” But most of the...

United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius resolve the Chagos Islands issue

The United Kingdom agreed on May 22 to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after a last-minute legal challenge was thrown out...

What chance for peace in Sudan?

The conflict in Sudan has raged for two years, causing immense human suffering, regional instability, arms proliferation and massive displacement of the population. South...

False economy: Washington will regret closing important diplomatic posts

At this point many readers will have seen press reports indicating that a large number of American embassies and consulates are being studied for...

G7 condemns China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan

In a statement issued on April 6, 2025, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States...

Germany removes key debt brake budget limits in historic move

Rushing to arrive at a workable arrangement before the new post-election German parliament convened on March 25, Friedrich Merz’s victorious CDU/CSU bloc and the...

Swedish Foxtrot criminal network in Washington’s sanctions crosshairs

The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings,...

Washington targets Houthi leaders for terrorism, Russia ties and weapons procurement

Under U.S. President Donald Trump, there is no ambivalence in Washington regarding the Houthis. Handling all of the statutory requirements required to press the...

Despite slippage, Germany’s political center appears to hold

Germany’s February 23 parliamentary elections played out largely along predicted lines, with the main question on election day being how many parties would reach...

EU leaders in Kyiv back Ukraine, but Trump won’t blame Russia

On the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders travelled to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and to declare their...

The dance begins: Rubio and Lavrov engage (alone) on Ukraine

Clearly working overtime to move the U.S.-Russia peace effort for Ukraine forward, both countries’ foreign ministers met on February 18 in Riyadh for the...

Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet

On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...

The New Face of an Old Enemy: The renewed dangers of ISIS and al-Qaeda

A dangerous cocktail of indifference and complacency enabled al-Qaeda to evolve from a shadowy fringe network in the early 1990s into one of the...

Donald Trump is inaugurated amidst promises of security, stability and prosperity

After storming a frigid Washington D.C. during his extended inauguration festivities on January 20, Donald J Trump, America’s 47th and 45th President, launched a...

Undeclared “open season” on energy infrastructure in Europe

Russia is claiming it has shot down nine Ukrainian drones that tried to attack the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Europe through...

NATO and EU strengthen Baltic Sea infrastructure protection after Estlink2 undersea power cable damaged

The damage of an undersea power cable off the coast of Finland in the Baltic Sea is the latest in a series of suspected...

Is there any hope for a democratic and peaceful Syria?

Most observers will argue that a democratic and peaceful Syria is just a pipedream, but at least in the first weeks since Bashar-al-Assad’s rushed...

United States-Japan-Philippines inaugural maritime dialogue focuses on Chinese provocations

The United States, Philippines, and Japan raised “serious concerns” over China’s repeated blocking and continuing harassment of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea...

Facing mounting challenges, new EU Commission takes office

Amidst global geopolitical turmoil, the European Commission of Ursula von der Leyen officially took office on December 1 with the President pledging that over...

Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis

On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...

Allies condemn the DPRK’s deployment of troops to Russia

The G7 countries, the EU as well as Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand on November 6 expressed "grave concern" over the deployment of...

How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism

France raised one billion euros "for the people of Lebanon," with a declared goal “to provide humanitarian aid." French President Emmanuel Macron even made...

Drone producers in China and Russia face new U.S. sanctions

In recent months, the Biden administration’s sanctions taskmasters at the State and Treasury Departments have clearly gone into overdrive, designating new targets/entities at least...

Washington orders new sanctions against Hamas’ sham fundraising network

Going after key elements of the Hamas European fundraising network on the anniversary of the Gaza war, on October 7 the U.S. Treasury Department’s...

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar

It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...

UNGA 2024 overshadowed by Middle East turmoil

At the end of September, as usual, most of the world’s leaders converge on New York for the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session...

G7 Foreign Ministers condemn Tehran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized powers condemned on September 14 "in the strongest terms" Iran's sales and Russia's purchases...

The European Legion’s Activities in Libya

NATO seems to be seeking to intervene in Libya’s internal affairs and impose its control over the Libyan people’s oil and gas capabilities using...

China’s “dangerous and escalatory” activities against the Philippines in the South China Sea sparks condemnation from Washington

On August 31, the U.S. Department of State issued a strongly worded statement condemning the latest in a series of dangerous and escalatory actions...

UN forced to admit Hamas operatives infiltrated UNRWA staff

The United Nations acknowledged on August 5 that nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) may...

Living on the Fulcrum Point

In the summer of 2024, we are on a fulcrum point, namely, the key balancing point of a vital situation, and if we were...

U.S. Targets ISIS Facilitation Network across Africa

On July 23, the U.S. Government announced new sanctions against a network of three individuals associated with the expanded activities of the Islamic State...

NATO Summit: “Trump-proofing” Ukraine support while Biden appearances under a microscope

The July 9-11 NATO Summit was originally envisioned as a celebration of the alliance’s 75th anniversary at the organization’s founding venue in Washington D.C.,...

Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the U.S. condemn DPRK-Russia Cooperation

During his June 19-20 visit to Pyongyang, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty...

Genocide Rears its Ugly Head in Sudan’s Brutal War

The UN Security Council has called for a halt to the siege of the city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region, where 1.5 million...

EU-Central Asia discuss security challenges, joint cooperation

The European Union and the five Central Asian Deputy Foreign Ministers discussed common security challenges and joint cooperation to deepen ties between the two...

Manila rejects Beijing’s South China Sea demands as “absurd”

The Philippine Coast Guard accused its Chinese counterpart on June 7 of blocking efforts to evacuate a sick member of its armed forces in...

Tackling new threats to critical energy infrastructure

The explosions that targeted the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany in September 2022 and the suspected sabotage of Baltic-connector pipeline, which supplies...

EU welcomes Azerbaijan-Armenia peace treaty talks in Almaty

The European Union has welcomed the agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia to hold talks at the foreign ministers’ level to finalize negotiations for a...

New sanctions ordered following Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attacks against Israel

Following Iran’s massive, but ineffective, missile and drone strikes against Israel April 13, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their new sanctions...

Wider Middle East regional conflict must be avoided

In a moment of growing tensions in the Middle East, NE Global sat down for an interview about the Iran-Israel crisis with Giuseppe Manna,...

G7 Italy 2024 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on Addressing Global Challenges, Fostering Partnerships

The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the...

New U.S.-Japan-Philippines Pacific bulwark established

The leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the United States met in Washington April 11 for the first ever trilateral summit with a deep...

U.S. condemns latest PRC actions in South China Sea as dangerous

Coming just days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Manila (March 19), Washington released on March 23 a strongly worded statement of...

With Sweden now a NATO member, what’s next?

Sweden completed the necessary diplomatic formalities on March 7, depositing its instrument of accession with the U.S. State Department in Washington, which manages the...

U.S. zeroes in on Houthi revenue sources

The U.S. Government made several announcements this month regarding new sanctions on Houthi revenue sources, building on steps taken in coordination with the U.K....

Washington strongly condemns Houthi attacks on shipping

The U.S. State Department issued a strongly worded condemnation of Houthi attacks on international shipping on February 21st, equating many Houthi attacks with piracy.Washington...

UNRWA blasted for allegations that staffers supported Hamas

The United Nations agency that manages support for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on January 26 that it is starting an investigation into several employees...

US designates Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist organization

The Biden administration announced on January 17 that it is re-designating the Houthis, an Iranian-backed, Yemeni Shia Islamist group, as a terrorist organization. The...

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