Military & Security

25

Aug

Belarus, Canada, Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, China, COVID-19, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO, Russia, Ukraine

Is NATO prepared to celebrate its centenary?

BY: Jacobien van der Kleij PEJOURNAL - NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated, following the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers on 17 June 2020, that the dire situation of COVID-19 does not imply that other challenges have gone away. With 70 years behind them, NATO member states have been hit with numerous historic consequential shifts and threats, shaping the direction of NATO, its deterrence and defence strategies, and indeed its very structure. These include the Readiness Action Plan, launched in 2014 and the Readiness Initiative in 2018, aiming to enhance the readiness of existing national force and new security challenges.…

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15

Aug

arms embargo, Iran, U.S., UNSC

UNSC defeated a U.S. resolution to extend arms embargo on Iran

PEJOURNAL - The U.N. Security Council on Friday resoundingly defeated a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, with the Trump administration getting support from only the Dominican Republic. The vote in the 15-member council was two in favor, two against and 11 abstentions, leaving it far short of the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption. Russia and China strongly opposed the resolution, but didn’t need to use their vetoes. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the defeat of the resolution ahead of a very brief virtual council meeting to reveal the vote. The…

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12

Aug

Crisis, Houthi, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Yemen Crisis; External Intervenes

BY: Daniel Ranjbar PEJOURNAL - War and violence have dominated the contemporary history of Yemen, a nation that has survived decades of armed rebellion and uprising to split and reunite into two countries. The civil war in Yemen has been a battle between the two factions, each calling itself the Yemeni government since 2015 with its supporters and allies. The war between the government forces of Abdul Mansur Hadi and southern Aden is based on the conflict between Aden and former forces of Ansarullah and pro-Ali al-Saleh. Ansarullah’s forces marched into Taiz Province on March 22, invading other parts of…

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09

Aug

ASEAN, ballistic missile, China, COVID19, hypersonic missiles, Military, Pooya Mirzaei, South China Sea, Thailand, USA

What is the US looking for in Thailand amid pandemic?

PEJOURNAL - Thailand, one of the first countries to be affected by the outbreak of coronavirus, ranked high in the fight against corona and has not had a single new case of infection in the last two months. In this regard, the Corona Fighting Headquarter in this country has created very strict rules and protocols for people and foreign tourists, and this decision has been very effective. On August 3, at 7:00 AM, 71 U.S. troops from the island of Guam flew OAE6555, a privately-owned passenger aircraft, to U-Tapao Airport in Sattahip District, Thailand. The U.S. troops, under Alternative State…

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25

Jul

agreement, Eli Vered Hazan, inter-party, Israel, Likud party, María Corina Machado, Netanyahu, VENEZUELA, Vente Venezuela

Venezuela opposition party signed a cooperation agreement with Israel’s Likud party

PEJOURNAL - An opposition party, called Vente Venezuela,through its leader, María Corina Machado, signed a cooperation agreement with Israel's Likud party, which is in government through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vente Venezuela described this decision as "a historic and very important step". In the document, signed by Eli Vered Hazan, representing the Likud Foreign Relations Division, and by María Corina, on behalf of Vente Venezuela, both parties pledge to strengthen relations between the peoples of Israel and Venezuela. The political organizations also announced that the cooperation included "political, ideological and social issues, as well as making progress on issues related…

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24

Jul

Egypt, Ethiopia, Nile River, pejournal, Political Economy Journal, Renaissance Dam

The Ethiopia and Egypt Water Dispute: How likely are war threats to materialize?

BY: Begona Arechalde PEJOURNAL - Last week, Ethiopia and Egypt, two countries nourished by the waters of the Nile River, again exchanged threats of military intervention regarding the filling of the $4.5 billion hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building in the east of the country. The dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and Africa’s largest, is becoming a contemporary Rubicon that, if crossed, could irreparably harm the relationship between these two countries. On Tuesday, July 21, a new round of online negotiations managed to reduce tensions, putting the cooperation option back on the table. The Grand Renaissance…

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20

Jul

Abu Dhabi, Corona virus, Israel, Mohammad Benzayed, Mossad, Netanyahu, Pooya Mirzaei, Shabak, Tel Aviv, The UAE, Zionist regime

The UAE and the Israel; Two decades of cooperation

PEJOURNAL - The series of events and developments in the last two decades in the UAE show that this government has sought to normalize relations with the Israeli regime and during this time has tried to involve its allies in this field. The UAE did not even wait for the Zionist regime to agree to the Arab leaders' peace plan at the Beirut summit, and began its relations with the regime in this direction, which accelerated with the beginning of the coronation of "Mohammad Benzayed". The first official visit of Zionist officials to the UAE took place in 2003, when…

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14

Jul

Asian markets, Corona virus, COVID19, Nasdaq, Reuters, U.S.-China tensions

Reuters: Asian markets struggle to digest coronavirus spike

PEJOURNAL - Asian shares are showing a mixed picture on Tuesday after a volatile day in U.S. equity markets amid persistent concerns over the record number of new coronavirus cases worldwide and signs of an economic rebound. Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures lost 0.76% in early trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.22%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures rose 0.39%. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.21%. After a strong start in the United States, equity markets sold off when California announced it was slowing the state’s reopening, shutting bars and banning indoor restaurant dining statewide in response…

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06

Jul

BP, CIMB, Energy, Hontop, Malaysia, Oil, Reuters, Singapore

Reuters: CIMB alleges ‘suspicious’ Hontop Energy oil deals with BP

PEJOURNAL - Singapore’s High Court has appointed an independent supervisor to oversee the restructuring of trader Hontop Energy. The move came after Malaysian lender CIMB, its biggest creditor, raised concerns about what it described as ‘suspicious’ deals involving oil major BP, according to an affidavit filed with the court this week and reviewed by Reuters. Hontop, the trading arm of Chinese independent refiner China Wanda Holding Group Co Ltd, is one of four commodity trading firms in Singapore which ran into financial trouble as the oil price crashed. CIMB is seeking repayment of $105 million it lent the company. In…

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06

Jul

COVID19, Europe, financial crisis, PANDEMIC

Is Europe ready to face this new financial crisis?

BY: Elena Lazzaro* , Luca Carelli* PEJOURNAL - The Covid-19 crisis has shaken the global economy putting many countries on their knees. Although this isnot the first pandemic in human history, Covid-19 presents a number of characteristics that make it a uniqueevent. First of all, much like with natural disasters, this virus comes from exogenous factors uncorrelated to countries’economies; however unlike these, it does not remain circumscribed to a specific area.Additionally, when comparing the current economic recession to that of 2007, it appears clear that the formerdoes not present a sheer financial nature; however, as in the case of the…

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