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What is Macron looking for in the ruins of Beirut?
08
Aug
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What is Macron looking for in the ruins of Beirut?

PEJOURNAL - The principle that emerged during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Beirut yesterday after the deadly explosion of the city's pier: "The return of the perpetrator to the crime scene is the accepted principle in all criminal cases." It seems that Macron still thinks that Lebanon is a French colony. After months of street protests by the French people, he did not give a convincing response to the unjust and corrupt policies of his government to the people of his country. Now he has come to Beirut to provide international aid to Lebanon in the face…
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AP: Russia vs. Biden, China vs. Trump
08
Aug
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AP: Russia vs. Biden, China vs. Trump

PEJOURNAL - U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, the country’s counterintelligence chief said Friday in the most specific warning to date about the threat of foreign interference. U.S. officials also believe that China does not want Trump to win a second term and has accelerated its criticism of the White House, expanding its efforts to shape public policy in America and to pressure political figures seen as opposed…
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Reuters: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners
07
Aug
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Reuters: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners

PEJOURNAL - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to announce his running mate ahead of his party’s national convention that kicks off on Aug. 17. Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Here are the contenders likely under consideration, according to people familiar with the process. Senator Kamala Harris Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill. Harris, 55, is widely viewed as a favorite. She is a battle-tested former presidential…
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Covid-19; The curious case of ASEAN countries
05
Aug
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Covid-19; The curious case of ASEAN countries

BY: Chaitra Arjunpuri PEJOURNAL - When Covid-19 hit the East, first China, then Thailand, Japan, and South Korea last year, the West observed the situation carefully from the other side of the world. Not many of them expected how severely they would be hit very soon, as the death toll rocketed over 200,000 in Europe and 600,000 in the United States. As of now, the US, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK are all ahead of China with the highest numbers of reported cases and deaths.  Though Southeast Asian countries, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, were among the first to be hit by COVID-19, the US has become the new global epicenter of the pandemic,…
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Inequality in Great Britain
05
Aug
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Inequality in Great Britain

BY: Andrew Rupp PEJOURNAL - With its super-diverse population paired with a long and rich history, Great Britain continues to rival the United States of America with its high levels of prosperity, education, and progress in science and technology. However, it also rivals America’s proclivity for the ongoing permission of severe and escalating inequalities. A striking example is the vastly skewed life expectancies in the northern English city of Stockton-on-Tees. These citizens have a 17.3-year difference in life expectancy in just a 3-mile radius, showing a harrowing contrast in the quality of life between the upper and lower classes (Ons.gov.uk,…
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Massive Beirut blast kills more than 70, injures thousands: AP
05
Aug
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Massive Beirut blast kills more than 70, injures thousands: AP

PEJOURNAL - A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. More than 70 people were killed and 3,000 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, officials said. It was not clear what caused the blast, which struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to Germany’s geosciences center GFZ, and was heard and felt as far away as Cyprus more than 200 kilometers (180 miles) across the Mediterranean. Lebanon’s interior minister said it appeared that a large cache of…
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China, U.S. to review trade deal, air other grievances on August 15: Reuters
05
Aug
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China, U.S. to review trade deal, air other grievances on August 15: Reuters

PEJOURNAL - U.S. and Chinese officials will review the implementation of their Phase 1 trade deal and likely air mutual grievances in an increasingly tense relationship during an Aug. 15 videoconference, two people familiar with the plans said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the principal negotiators for the two countries, will participate in the meeting, an initial six-month review of the pact activated on Feb. 15. The meeting plans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the U.S. Treasury did not respond to requests for comment. Under…
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LIBYA’S CIVIL WAR; THE WEST’S OIL CRUSADE NO ONE WANTED
04
Aug
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LIBYA’S CIVIL WAR; THE WEST’S OIL CRUSADE NO ONE WANTED

BY: Begona Arechalde PEJOURNAL - It has been a turbulent week in Libya. Following the UN-backed GNA government's announcement to recapture the city of Sirte on July 18, Egypt declared that it will deploy its troops in the neighboring country next Monday to protect its national security "from criminal armed militias and foreign terrorist elements." Turkey, the main GNA supporter in the war, warned Cairo that such a move could be considered an invasion. The United States, concerned about Russian influence in the region, has accused Moscow of breaking the arms embargo in the country. The Libyan Civil War began…
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Political Economy Journal: Russia’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East
04
Aug
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Political Economy Journal: Russia’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East

BY: Daniel Ranjbar PEJOURNAL - In 1787, with several European ambassadors, the Russian Empress Catherine II visited Crimea. The purpose of the trip was to reassure and deceive the ambassadors before a new war against the Sublime Porte with regard to Russia’s true power ability. To this end, Crimean Governor Grigory Potemkin set up mobile villages full of soldiers dressed as farmers to show a fake picture of a fully developed countryside with flourishing agricultural activity. Since then, ‘Potemkin settlements’  have become synonymous with diplomatic deceit and have had a profound influence on the history of Russian foreign policy.  As…
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Political Economy Journal: Thailand – United States relations
29
Jul
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Political Economy Journal: Thailand – United States relations

In accordance to recent U.S. activities in South China Sea PEJOURNAL - Kingdom of Thailand, located in the heart of South East Asia, inheriting the historical name of Indochina, can act a very crucial geostrategic role in both regional scale tensions (such as India China rivalry) and global scale conflicts (such as U.S. China tension in South China Sea). Thanks to its stable situation in ASEAN region and regarding to its eco-cultural stereotype, Thailand can also be a very important place for conducting intelligence and security operations. Below, we reviewed the milestones in Thai U.S. relationship, amid the unstable geopolitical…
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